Forge Cafe Weekly Update: June 15th 2013

Well where to begin? It's that time of week again with another busy week for our community. Sup3rNo7a has been at it again making even more spectacular medals and so has fueled our medal hunting addictions. Theres a lot to say and not enough space to say it. Over the past few days we have seen a huge variety of games unveiled at E3; ranging from the likes of 'Below' to our sites future - Halo 5. Not to mention a closer look at the next generation of consoles. But, without further ado here are some of the highlights of the past few days.

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1. Xbox

Microsoft’s E3 press conference was this Monday it gave another glimpse of what’s to come with details on both games and how they will be played. We got an insight on how Xbox Smart Glass will be integrated into games. It will have a part yo play in all of them one way or another, in some cases more actively than others. ‘Project Spark’ is one such game in which Smart Glass will take a front row seat. The premise of this game is not dissimilar to that of Little Big Plant, from the game play reveal here is what we got. You shall start with a blank canvas, from here you shall tell your Xbox ‘mountains’ and it shall build mountains. You shall tell your Xbox to create a river, and a river shall be created – through the Kinect you will start shaping your very own world. Then come details, you select a biome, again through Kinect. From here it’s down solely to you, your controller and if you have it Xbox Smart Glass. It’s at this point you add your own creative flair, an essence of yourself into the game. Sculpt natural architecture into the land, summon minions and create a battlefield or even a Woopy Goldberg machine. Finite touches can be made through your tablet, phone and controller. If you were wondering, yes it does mean you can play Xbox whilst at work. Smart Glass will also house an interactive connection with the Xbox One it will give you the ability to download DLC’s, start lobbies whilst you play through single player, or even another multiplayer session. It will update your game progression as you play giving tips on how to complete a section of the level you’re at or how to navigate a multiplayer map to get to the best vantage points you can also check up on what your friends have done and how much better you are when compared to them. Time to bring out your competitive sides.

This upcoming fragment of information is something that I, myself am very excited for. Upload studio. Every new Xbox One will feature an internal game DVR, that will allow you to pause at any given time in your game and start recording a clip. Then you can edit it, add few effects and upload it to show off to your friends then with the mere touch of a button you can get right back in the action where you left off. What’s more Microsoft and Twitch have confirmed an agreement. Which only has a positive side to it – we will be able to live stream whenever we want, whatever we want, to whom ever we want straight onto Twitch. Another great feature being added allows silver membership accounts to use matchmaking. Provided that a gold account is stored on the Xbox you are using. The gold member does not have to be signed in for silver members to use this feature.

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Crunched Numbers

Number of posts: 8618
Posts per day: 29.44
Number of topics: 1046
Topics per day: 3.57
Chatbox Messages: 115,445

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Still Here

Microsoft announced during their Xbox One reveal that they had something big in store for the 360, we finally got to see what that was. A new model of the 360 was revealed during the Microsoft E3 press conference. Whilst changes are mostly cosmetic it’s set to be even “quieter, sleeker and smaller” than before alongside this Xbox Live Gold members will receive 2 free games each month future titles will include Halo 3 and Assassins Creed 2. But to kick it off Fable III will be available for ‘purchase’ all you have to do is change your payment type to Microsoft Points and it’s yours for absolutely nothing. The 360 is also set to receive many new titles, some exclusive and others coinciding with the Xbox One. World of Tanks is one such title. The popular PC game has been custom built for playability on the 360 it will be able to support lobbies of up to 30 people, more importantly its free; what more could we ask?

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Highlights

‘Halo’ has been confirmed for release in 2014. Here’s what we know so far – there will be dedicated servers (and hopefully server side hit registration?) the game will run at 60 FPS. Alongside Battlefield 4 these are the only console games to date that have achieved this. That’s actually all we know… Words of a ‘halo engine’ were spoken, but for now that’s just speculation. I’m sure you’ve all seen the announcement trailer, besides the fact that the Chief is wearing a cloak or to the common man; sack cloth what did you think of it? The giant bird like structure is what’s got my mind running, that and its connection with Cortona’s chip.

Destiny, a game thats been on the horizon for what feels like years has finally got that much more closer. I doubt there is one of you who hasn't heard of this title, I would almost go as far to say as you have all seen the game play reveal. Until now there has been a lot of speculation around this game, second hand rumours and whispers amongst the community. My words don't do this game justice, so instead I shall redirect you to two locations. One the gameplay reveal and two one of the interviews, there is one thing we can tell you in confidence however. Peter Dinklage has been confirmed as the 'Ghost' voice

Titanfall. A new franchise on the gaming scene, this chooses an interesting mix between campaign based mechanics and the classic multiplayer feel blending the two to create something unique. In multiplayer you are a pilot, a driver of a titan as the game progresses you get the opportunity to pilot one. There is a contrast between the pilot and the titan. One is fast and hard to hit, the other a lumbering hulk kitted with a large amount of tech, which should make for some interesting dynamic.

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Cafe Captions Week 5

Unfortunately due to turn out, there was no winner for week 4. Hopefully this week there will be ample submissions, if you have a screenshot of your own that you think deserves a place in the competition submit the image on this form. So here is this weeks screen shot. Set. Game. Good luck.



Submit your captions here!

As we ready ourselves for a new generation of gaming, we are a just that little bit closer to a new beginning. See you there.
Viva la Cafe.

Shop Medals Added

Sup3rNo7a cranked out some medals today that I have personally been anxious about for a while. With the smorgasbord of new items that were added to our shop, all members are now able to reach a final goal of earning rare, and prestigious medals signifying the individual's conquest of complete dominance of a Shop category. To earn these medals, collect all of the items in the category of your choosing, and present your list to an Admin in exchange for one of the rarest profile medals at our site.



Remember, most of the items in our shop are set up in such a way that you are able to sell them back to the Oracle for a diminished payout. This helps members in balancing their budget with items that they want, and items that they no longer need. Once you earn one of these "Shop" medals, you are free to sell, trade and auction them off at your own accord. The race is on...

Weekly Update: June 9th 2013

As you linger dangerously close to the edge of falling into this update, know that I come only bringing good news, and that contained within is the contents that will surely be 5-8 minutes well spent on your behalf. When the reality of the situation declares that there are plenty of things you could be doing at this moment other than being right here, certainly and without doubt this should be a moment of gratitude of my behalf. Without an observer, me creating this would prove to be somewhat meaningless. But alas, the case is not so. As you have made it this far without turning back, and for that it is understood by both of us, that we are now both dependent on each other. See you at the end.

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Battling with subtitles

A successful first few rounds of our new 'Cafe Captions' screenshot champs, and it looks like it is a feature that we are going to permanently put in place here. Straight up hijacking the idea from 343's weekly caption contests, Forge Cafe makes off like the Hamburgler with a sack of patties as this fun edition makes it's debut with some hilarious turnouts of clever bubble talk. For the time being and dependent on it's continued success, I will be giving away a Halo 4 themed code to be redeemed on your Xbox on a weekly basis to the winning caption. These are courtesy of BS Angel and 343, and range from dashboard themes to pic packs. Doesn't get much sweeter than that folks. Step up your game and lay down some seriously clever dialogue and walk away with some Xbox bling and a profile medal. Bada-bing, and, bada-boom.

Other Guy1 and FC Quicksilver got equal votes last week, so they will both be getting a trinket, nice job fellas. So now as we roll into week 4 of our Cafe Captions, we come across a snapshot of some unusual airborne ballistics. Hook this screenshot up with a good caption, and win yourself a cool prize.



SUBMIT YOUR CAPTIONS HERE!

Would you like to submit a screenshot to be used in one of our weekly Cafe Captions? Doing so is easy and takes only a few moments. Click here and send in your screenshot's information. We will take a look, and post it up if you've got something workable. This link will be available from now on in every Weekly update, as well as being linked in some of our Staff's signatures.

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3+4+3= Spartan Assault
harry_c0 writes:

Spartan Assault
343’s latest endeavour “Spartan Assault is a twin-stick-style, top-down arcade shooter that, over the course of 25 missions, will recreate classic battles fought by the UNSC.” Sounds enticing. This will be the latest game in the Halo franchise, and is exclusive to windows 8 and windows 8 phones, the game looks to be a lot more casual, yet immersive within the Halo lore. You are placed as the lovable Sarah Palmar from Spartan ops in the happenings between Halo 3 and 4. Just like with ‘war games’ the missions are set within a simulation (within a simulation) you can switch between different simulations and battle waves of covenant or defend a pelican drop site. Spartan assault will see the return of some of the classic weapons and vehicles , hornets, smgs and brute shots. Along with all this you’ll also unlock exclusive waypoint information and Halo 4 emblems.

Weapon Skins
343 and McFarlane Have unleashed a new set of Halo 4 figurines, each containing a code assigned to each model. The images below show the two Didact themed skins: one for the venetor armour and one for the suppressor; there are also new skins for the scout armour, DMR and storm rifle. The codes and figures will be released this October.

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The more you know
Number of posts: 8538
Posts per day: 29.85
Number of topics: 1035
Topics per day: 3.62
Chatbox messages: 113,749

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Buildings, Mastered

Here is what I consider to be the creamy center of this update. The fluffy, whipped, chocolatey center of this deliciously baked mid-coffee treat. It is time to announce the winners of the "Master Builder" Forge contest. But before I do, and you 'spoil' the results below, know this going into it; this was without a doubt one of my personal favorite contests that we have hosted here, and despite the low count of submissions, we really enjoyed looking at all of your maps. The level of detail in your forward thinking, obvious planning and construction, and attention to detail was a pleasure to observe. I assembled judges the way I always do, in a dimly lit room, in the back of a Thai restaurant on the bad side of downtown. We sat around the poker table like men, fired up the Xbox on a 14" black and white tube television, and we got the job done.

Congratulations to our Winners. Spectacular work everyone, you will see this contest again...

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Adjustments, Taxes and Dreams...

Keeping you included in the inner circle of the site's workings and mechanics, here is a quick run down of some fluctuations around the site that may or may not effect your day to day activities here. Up first, the Bank has adjusted it's interest and withdrawal fees as time has proven that the income to consumption rate is off balance and needs to be slowed down. Before you are all buying gold Rolex's and throwing Points out of the window like uneaten chicken nuggets. That, purchase a 6 piece, eat 4 and throw the other ones out because you got money like that interest rates.

Secondly, our member bar (floating chat bar at bottom) has had some recent maintenance and you may not be having it function properly at the moment. To correct the bar if needed, and update it to it's current state on your browser, clear your cache and your cache only in the "Tools" tab of your browser. Or, simply hold fn+f5 to refresh the page cache and create a new stored image of the site. Ta-da.

Lastly, remember to take advantage of the upgraded referral system. Sending out an "Invitation" via UCP to a friend who registers, banks you Points here and much respect from myself and our members who are fans of new material. Which in our case, is everyone in here. So far it has been successful with about 20 referrals in about a month, a good portion of which have posted a map or joined us at a FCCGN. Have them type in your username here when they register, you will chisel your name on their profiles forever!

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Mummified

Wrapping up this update, take a moment and reflect on the first paragraph. I told you I have nothing but good news! Well, I suppose not so good if you were hoping to win the contest. Well brush it off like a professional because we have another in the works with all new prizes to accommodate. Together we have successfully completed another update, thanks for your cooperation in this endeavor. Until we meet again, which will probably be pretty soon in the chatbox...

Viva La Cafe.

Forge Cafe Weekly Update: May 31st 2013

Another week has passed and the site has grown in several new departments. We have seen the addition of some stunning new medal designs and shortly there will be some new ones to earn, which we will all now have to devote our time to earning. We’ve also had the close of the Master Builder Contest, thanks to all of you who entered! The winners will be announced within the next week. - With the fall of one, another may rise but more on that later. Oracle will soon be getting an upgrade allowing him/her to interact in the forums with everyone, which should lead to some interesting results. This week also housed the first recording of the Forge Cafe Podcast and on top of all this we reached our 1000th topic - seriously guys, go outside a little more. But now, down to details.

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Destiny, E3 and the future of the 360.

As I’m sure many of you know Bungie is where this humble site originated back in 2009; founded around Forge for Forgers. So it’s of no surprise that we’re really excited for Destiny especially now that Bungie have released their first official Destiny trailer. Destiny will be a game focused on a social element. You will be set in a real time world with other players, each player will have an 'end goal' effected by the others around you, who may help or hinder your progress. It's not just a social game, its set to have a competitive edge as well. Much of this is vague, but vague is all we have been given. The trailer features an extract from Rudyard Kipling's poem:

The Law of the Jungle
“Now this is the law of the jungle, as old and as true as the sky,
And the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die.

As the creeper that girdles the tree trunk, the law runneth forward and back;
For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack…”

The trailer was uploaded last week and it gives us a quick insight of what’s to come. Speed bikes, drop ships and minigun wielding giants. So until E3 during Bungies press conference on June the 10th, we’re just going to have to keep speculating as to what else Bungie is hiding. E3 also looks to unveil many more games, we’re hoping for more information on Halo 5 and if we’re lucky Halo 2 Anniversary but nothing official has been released. During the Xbox One reveal Microsoft said it would speak more about the future of the 360 at E3 as they have a “huge” announcement regarding it. Phil Spencer stated that Microsoft intends to support the console for years to come, with plans to sell 100 million new consoles over the next five years. It’s uncertain as to what they have in store, but as the Xbox One will not have backwards compatibility Microsoft will have something big up their sleeves.

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Stats and Figures

Chatbox messages: 111,837
Number of posts: 8369
Posts per day: 30.11
Number of topics: 1006
Topics per day: 3.62

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Matchmaking Update Confirmed

The final details on the title update have been confirmed and were released on Thursday. Some tweeks are as expected, others less so you can get more detailed information on the tuning here. Such as the choice to increase base movement speed by 10%, this however will not affect all playlists team snipers and griffball will be exempt due to the fact weapon tuning does not affect these gametypes. Actionsack will see some unique updates specific for each gametype which should make for a more entertaining experience. There will also be some playlist updates. Slayer Pro in Big Team Infinity slayer will gain an assault rifle loadout and the Majestic DLC playlist will make a temporary return. As will the other DLC playlists, who will be making their return in the near future.

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Cafe Cast

After Saturdays nights FCCGN we started work on something, something new and exciting – The first Forge Cafe Podcast. Jonzey took the lead in starting the podcast and looks to host them for the rest of his days. FC Quicksilver followed right behind Jonzey, and I, myself followed a little further behind. Forge Cafe podcasts are an idea that has been around for quite a while and now they are being implemented. To make things a little more official X51000 was tasked with creating an intro for the podcasts, which he executed excellently. The first podcast has been a great learning experience and there are many features that look to be added to them, such as interviews with the maker of the latest map spotlight and a few members who attended the FCGCN.

Without further ado here is the first of many Forge Cafe Podcasts.

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Cafe Captions Week 3

Another week of captions. Another winner. Unusual Hiccup claims this weeks prize - The outcast map 'premium' theme with his caption of "are you lost m'am? Because Havens a long way from here". A new image has been chosen for this weeks contest. So get your heads in gear.

Submit your captions here!



Would you like to submit a screenshot to be used in one of our weekly Cafe Captions? Doing so is easy and takes only a few moments. Click here and send in your screenshot's information. We will take a look, and post it up if you've got something workable. This link will be available from now on in every Weekly update, as well as being linked in some of our Staff's signatures.

Don't forget to sign up to the next FCGCN on our newly relocated calendar and put that thing to use! A good luck to all those who entered the Master Builder contest. It's been great seeing all of the new members settling into our community, we hope you enjoy your stay. Until next week.

Cheers.

Zandril

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If you would like to submit one of your friends, or a member who you think is worthy of the member spotlight, send Unusual Hiccup a private message containing their username. Or, jump over to the member's profile, and "nominate" the medal! It's simple and will notify the Administration as soon as you fill out the information.

Until next time!

New Medals Added

After months of patiently waiting and several members' contributions, our new line-up of Forge Cafe medals are available to obtain. We are still in the early process of transitioning from our old styles to our new, but we have got the ball rolling and a percentage of the population have already received their new profile bling.

This project owes it's completion to several members who have put forth an immense amount of collective effort to designing and creating our new medals. The new design is from the mind of Darkened Night, one of my respected friends who has done work over multiple websites, and now has his stake at the Cafe. He is the first guy that I go to when confronted with the need for images, as his work always exceeds expectations. Unfortunately, life rears it's head around the corner when least expected, and the project had to be passed on to another to be completed.

AssaultCommand got his hands dirty with a few of these bad boys, some of which have not been revealed as of yet. He picked up the torch that Night had passed, and sprinkled his own fuel onto the flame. Creating a rendition of the original border, and adding his own artistic touch to an already admirable design, his experience in graphic design paid off.

Lastly, Sup3rNo7a brought us home, taking the reigns as our new Forge Cafe Graphics Designer. Before I get into his contribution, I want to point out that this member is fresh to our forums. After reading the Administration's request for some help with images, he had no hesitation responding with a helping hand that ultimately earned him his own rank and a place in our hearts. I personally look forward to the massive project list that I have so graciously dumped into his lap, and will be adding new medals as he produces. Proving once again, that dedication to this community earns you respect from our Staff and members.



To view the full list, click here!

Thank you for all of your work gentlemen. You deserve a round of applause from our audience, and everyone looks forward to future projects that will improve the look and feel of this Forge community. Cheers.