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[Account Attempt #4]

From the BWU:


My guess? A 24 hour community playdate in the Double Team playlist, with rotating teams of 2 Bungie employees

144 Games * 2 Players = 288 Steaktaculars for the Halo fans

288 steaks * 8 oz. = 2,304 oz. (of steak owed to fans)
84 lbs (per cow) * 16 oz. (per pound) = 1,344 oz. (of steak per cow)

2,304 / 1,344 = 1.71 cows needed.

Just a guess.

Well done. I'll subscribe to this theory based on those maths.


SUPER JACKPOTS
I'm still ranked quite low compared to most here so I'm glad to have the chance at extra credits. Also, I'll gladly take whatever incentives they think will boost the population of Defiant playlist for this weekend:
DEFIANT MAP PACK 899 Players

The bitch of large credit payouts is that for high ranked players, you need a considerable amount of cR. Although by paying in large sums you help the lower players rank up too fast. I like watching the slider move up the bar as much as the next guy but all of this is moot given the fact that rank has no real value in the matchmaking system (aside from unlocking my security helmet). So what does it matter if they give us anything or not? Daily challenges are fun in their own right and I'd do them regardless of the payout. A jackpot? Sure I'll take it too, I might even be pissed if I don't get one. But hitting the next rank is a fake carrot and getting there was fun maybe for the first few months of Reach (for me).

tl;dr I want security helmet so gimme teh jackpots

 

[ncsuDuncan]

I don't like how ranking up in Reach increases the number of credits you get for Game Completion. I wish the number of cR after each game remained constant, while the required number to rank up increases.

That would fix bonuses like these super jackpots, making them pay out the same for all players relative to the number they normally get post-game.

It would also make it easier for players to brag - no more "Dude, I got 4000 credits that game!" "Okay, but what rank are you?"

 

[Tunavi]

it wasn't that easy to use, but you could get a kill without the grenade being right on top of them. I just feel like it's almost not worth picking up most of the time.

Not trying to be rude, but it sounds like you just aren't good with the weapon. I have a 5.6 KD ratio with the grenade launcher. In the beta direct hits were instant kills, and now they bounce off the player. It was like a rocket launcher in the beta.

Great games Ken. That 1 flag game was intense, and we wrecked as a team of 4 players against 6 on headhunter

 

[Hey You]

Urk, you guys just hired a new community content writer, and now the Friday updates are going away?

You got some 'splainin' to do!

Also, I liked the Frankie shout out you threw in there. :^p

Yeah,that doesn't make much sense.

 

[Havok]

Does disgust count as 'a higher level of passion'? Because Drop Shield is still in Objective while he's trolling the Optimatch forum so people can tell him that AR starts suck and adding more space funny money to a playlist with broken starting weapons. Ridiculous. It would take probably 15 minutes for me to go into each of the game settings that we as the userbase have and fix it in every one of the 16 gametypes in the playlist (which aren't even specific to maps, leading to 30 second return times on Hemorrhage and all sorts of crap like that), but apparently it can't be fixed nearly nine months after launch.

Passion, detail. Enough?

 

[thezerofire]

Not trying to be rude, but it sounds like you just aren't good with the weapon. I have a 5.6 KD ratio with the grenade launcher. In the beta direct hits were instant kills, and now they bounce off the player. It was like a rocket launcher in the beta.

Great games Ken. That 1 flag game was intense, and we wrecked as a team of 4 players against 6 on headhunter

I'm not bad with it, I can always get a couple kills with it when I pick it up, but it just isn't as satisfying to use. Direct hitting wasn't that easy but it was fun, and it certainly isn't like the handheld nuke-launcher that the rocket launcher has become.

 

[Lake Minnetonka]

Does disgust count as 'a higher level of passion'? Because Drop Shield is still in Objective while he's trolling the Optimatch forum so people can tell him that AR starts suck and adding more space funny money to a playlist with broken starting weapons. Ridiculous. It would take probably 15 minutes for me to go into each of the game settings that we as the userbase have and fix it in every one of the 16 gametypes in the playlist (which aren't even specific to maps, leading to 30 second return times on Hemorrhage and all sorts of crap like that), but apparently it can't be fixed nearly nine months after launch.

Passion, detail. Enough?

Dude, chill out. Urk was obviously being sarcastic.

What you need to realize is that incompetence is not only tolerated at Bungie; it's actually celebrated.

I'm not bad with it, I can always get a couple kills with it when I pick it up, but it just isn't as satisfying to use. Direct hitting wasn't that easy but it was fun, and it certainly isn't like the handheld nuke-launcher that the rocket launcher has become.

How would making it easier to use make it more satisfying?

 

[GhaleonEB]

RE: Jeremiah's post.

There is way to accomplish the same thing he did without trolling the people he's in theory holding conversation with and gathering feedback from. That would have been to say, in response to the question, "I have something in mind, but it's not set in stone so I'd like to hear what you guys would like to see before I specify."

Bam, he'd get feedback, and it wouldn't be in a way that pissed people off. What he did was dramatically increase the noise:signal ratio by giving a response he knew would be akin to kicking a hornet nest.

Given that he's also made posts about how he doesn't want to increase the time he spends on the forums, it's odd that he would decide to rachet up the noise factor in this way. That just creates more junk for him to read through. The only reason to create a lot of thrash to like that is if he got some enjoyment out of stirring the Optimatch crowd into an angry tizzy.

I can understand the impulse, as I've stated my low opinion of that crowd before. But for the playlist manager who is supposedly gathering feedback from the community from that forum, it was a really, really shitty thing to do, and demonstrated a contempt for the people there. Which strikes me as wildly inappropriate attitude for the playlist manager to have.

 

[ncsuDuncan]

Yeah,that doesn't make much sense.

If you haven’t noticed, week over week we’ve been slowly, but surely conditioning your mind to subsist on fewer and fewer nourishing updates. My bad. It’s for your own good, though. During the last decade, we’ve all put on a thick, silky layer of fat by sucking back a steady diet of rich and creamy content straight from the Bungie.net teat. But as we rapidly approach our upcoming transition away from supporting Halo – which we will describe in explicit detail very, very soon – we want you to be prepared for what could be a fairly radical paradigm shift.

Some of my colleagues have proposed that I utilize the tried and true “Band-Aid” method, ripping you away from our lovingly hairy embrace in one swift and terrible motion. I worry that this Friday custom has become too permanent a part of your weekly regiment, and I definitely don’t want to leave an angry red bald spot on your heart. I simply couldn’t live with myself.

So, there’s just a little bit of light reading this week – a few, tasty morsels to keep you from starvation. But just remember, it’s all for the best. It’s all for you. And it’ll all make way more sense soon.

The way I interpret it: Bungie is eventually handing over Halo completely to 343i. When Bungie no longer controls the playlists, stats, file shares, etc. there won't be much meat left for the BWU until the details on the new game can be shared.

I'm guessing there's going to be a period where Urk can't talk about the new stuff, but also has to leave the old stuff to 343i. Maybe updates every other Friday? Simply moving the BWU to another day? Completely changing/removing the BWU format? Time will tell. All we know is:

it’ll all make way more sense soon.

 

[thezerofire]

How would making it easier to use make it more satisfying?

hitting someone directly with it isn't that easy, it just adds a different way to use it

 

[GhaleonEB]

I'm guessing 343i is going to do a Friday weekly Halo update, and the format for Bungie updates will change accordingly. Just my guess.

 

[Lake Minnetonka]

hitting someone directly with it isn't that easy, it just adds a different way to use it

You can still do that, you just have to detonate it manually once it's hit them or just before it does. It requires you to anticipate the trajectory of the nade and you can't do it at point blank distance anymore; all of which make success with the weapon more satisfying. The nade launcher and plasma launcher went from game-breaking weapons to legitimate additions to the sandbox in the final product.

 

[The Librarian]

Bungie leaving Halo sooner than I think. No!

 

[Hey You]

I'm guessing 343i is going to do a Friday weekly Halo update, and the format for Bungie updates will change accordingly. Just my guess.

Yeah. I guess the stretch between now and when Bungie's going to be talking about their new thing is a big one.

 

[thezerofire]

You can still do that, you just have to detonate it manually once it's hit them or just before it does. It requires you to anticipate the trajectory of the nade and you can't do it at point blank distance anymore; all of which make success with the weapon more satisfying. The nade launcher and plasma launcher went from game-breaking weapons to legitimate additions to the sandbox in the final product.

I wouldn't say the plasma launcher is a legitimate weapon either, it's only good versus vehicles and only if the driver doesn't know how to use the vehicle. It's just about as useless as the Focus Rifle now.

 

[bobs...onGaf]

RE: Jeremiah's post.

There is way to accomplish the same thing he did without trolling the people he's in theory holding conversation with and gathering feedback from. That would have been to say, in response to the question, "I have something in mind, but it's not set in stone so I'd like to hear what you guys would like to see before I specify."

Bam, he'd get feedback, and it wouldn't be in a way that pissed people off. What he did was dramatically increase the noise:signal ratio by giving a response he knew would be akin to kicking a hornet nest.

Given that he's also made posts about how he doesn't want to increase the time he spends on the forums, it's odd that he would decide to rachet up the noise factor in this way. That just creates more junk for him to read through. The only reason to create a lot of thrash to like that is if he got some enjoyment out of stirring the Optimatch crowd into an angry tizzy.

I can understand the impulse, as I've stated my low opinion of that crowd before. But for the playlist manager who is supposedly gathering feedback from the community from that forum, it was a really, really shitty thing to do, and demonstrated a contempt for the people there. Which strikes me as wildly inappropriate attitude for the playlist manager to have.

The worst thing is, im sure there are people out there who have given up on trying Objective when they saw that Jeremiah said it was AR based. You cant count on everyone who read its AR starts getting the updated news. Talk about killing a playlist before its even out, especially a playlist which historically doesn't do well.

The signal to noise in the Optimatch forums is staggering, using it as a forum to garner feedback strikes me as a bad idea lol.

 

[Striker]

I wouldn't say the plasma launcher is a legitimate weapon either, it's only good versus vehicles and only if the driver doesn't know how to use the vehicle. It's just about as useless as the Focus Rifle now.

Great for Warthogs and Falcons.

 

[Account Attempt #4]

...we want you to be prepared for what could be a fairly radical paradigm shift.

I think he's referencing the impending re-compile of Bnet. This website and everything it's currently doing is built on foundations that was created around 2001. That's a lot of web function based upgrades that it inherently cannot leverage. The store is an example. Using Amazon buckets for it's transactions is admittedly a necessity, not a choice. No international shipping? I think that this break with Halo and the passing of the baton to 343i (stats, game tracking) and the decommissioning of the Hydra presents logical timing for a complete ground up rebuild/update of Bnet. The BWU is apparently going to be a casualty. I do have faith that something great shall replace it.

 

[Plywood]

Bungie leaving Halo sooner than I think. No!

The King is dead. Long live the King.

 

[Havok]

I wouldn't say the plasma launcher is a legitimate weapon either, it's only good versus vehicles and only if the driver doesn't know how to use the vehicle. It's just about as useless as the Focus Rifle now.

Nah, it's fine, since it's meant for use at longer ranges. It's a good addition to Hemorrhage, and tracking works fine on infantry at distance and vehicles anytime. The beta plasma launcher was undodgeable, this is fair for both sides.

If only it was able to actually track Banshees. But nope, let's give the overpowered air vehicle the ability to remove in-progress lock-ons with the press of a button, rendering the rockets, plasma launcher, and rocket Hog useless on Breakpoint and BTB Spire.

 

[The Librarian]

Hold on. What is the Hydra?

 

[GhaleonEB]

Just to add to Dani's comment - as someone who likes the investment system (though it's quite imperfect), a "chance" for extra credit payouts doesn't motivate me at all. Double credit playlist? I'm in. Bigger slot machine or something? Sure, I'll bite. A nebulous "chance" to reach a jackpot once? Nah. I can get 6,000 cR on a good game of Firefight Limited, and I know what my chances of getting one of those are (not that great, but they happen at least once or twice a day).

I'm a data driven guy, though. Tell me the odds, and I'll made a decision about how to play depending on how I feel about those odds. Tell me there's a "chance", and that's the same as no information at all.

I mean, I went on a multi-month spree without ever quitting and didn't get the fabled mega-jackpot. That was triggered by me giving up and quitting some games.

Edit:

Jeremiah:

We've already seen a lot of super jackpots logged. Your chance of getting a super jackpot in Defiant Map Pack this weekend is several times greater than it is to get the regular top end jackpot of 3000.

And what were those odds? I simply don't understand the instance on opaqueness when it comes to credit payouts. One of the reasons Double XP playlists were popular is people knew they'd get double XP for every game. If it was "a chance for double XP", I'd wager they would not have been nearly as popular.

Clarity drives informed decision making.

 

[blamite]

Hold on. What is the Hydra?

Giant video rendering machine.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Anyone want to party up for the weekly?

 

[thezerofire]

Nah, it's fine, since it's meant for use at longer ranges. It's a good addition to Hemorrhage, and tracking works fine on infantry at distance and vehicles anytime. The beta plasma launcher was undodgeable, this is fair for both sides.

If only it was able to actually track Banshees. But nope, let's give the overpowered air vehicle the ability to remove in-progress lock-ons with the press of a button, rendering the rockets, plasma launcher, and rocket Hog useless on Breakpoint and BTB Spire.

for some reason it was included on Swordbase and The Cage though.

 

[Havok]

for some reason it was included on Swordbase and The Cage though.

Which was awful, nobody's arguing that, but it's in a much better state now (Hemorrhage and Boneyard's Invasion variant are the only two maps it's on, as far as I can remember).

 

[Crucio]

7000 Credits, Urk?

That's, what, two or three average games worth? What's the point of a "Jackpot bonus" if the payout is so low?

That amount is meaningless to anyone with a decent rank, it barely makes the rank progress bar move a few pixels on my screen.

Why not simply do double Credit playlists or something more substantial? The possibility of 7,000 extra Credits per day, and 21,000 over the course of the weekend just isn't working for me at all.

I need a million Credits and more between ranks these days and the Credits system just doesn't keep up with the payouts relative to my rank.

My buddy got 10777 in slot machine like 4 games ago! Epic Sauce!

 

[erpg]

So I used up a 2 day pass to see if I should subscribe to Live and I'm enjoying it. A question though - if I buy the DLC packs, do I have to opt into their playlists in matchmaking or can I pick Team Slayer and it may randomly come up?

 

[ncsuDuncan]

So I used up a 2 day pass to see if I should subscribe to Live and I'm enjoying it. A question though - if I buy the DLC packs, do I have to opt into their playlists in matchmaking or can I pick Team Slayer and it may randomly come up?

It can randomly come up in Team Slayer (and almost all of the normal playlists), but opinions vary on how often that happens.

The DLC playlists are the only ones where the new maps are guaranteed to come up.

EDIT: Anyone on Reach now? Want to help me test my new Sword Base fix? I haven't done anything to spawns or weapon placement yet, but I think I added some neat new movement options.

 

[Plywood]

So I used up a 2 day pass to see if I should subscribe to Live and I'm enjoying it. A question though - if I buy the DLC packs, do I have to opt into their playlists in matchmaking or can I pick Team Slayer and it may randomly come up?

It prioritizes matching you up with players who have the same maps as you do, so for how often well mileage varies. Having friends who have the packs help the packs come up more often. If you want to play the the DLC packs themselves you'd go into either Noble or Defiant playlist.

 

[Domino Theory]

Bungie leaving Halo sooner than I think. No!

Considering the state of Reach and its matchmaking updates, how is that a bad thing?

 

[xxjuicesxx]

RE: Jeremiah's post.

There is way to accomplish the same thing he did without trolling the people he's in theory holding conversation with and gathering feedback from. That would have been to say, in response to the question, "I have something in mind, but it's not set in stone so I'd like to hear what you guys would like to see before I specify."
.

I'm still pretty sure he responded to the question "What starting weapons will objective have" as "AR and Pistol" and that WAS HIS DECISION. There was no uncertainty in his answer.

After reading how bad of a choice it was based on almost everyone in that thread besides FyreWulff. He reversed it and yes its easy to say he was "trolling".

Its like a 6 year olds tactic, when he realizes hes said something wrong but doesn't want to admit it.

Really, look at EVERY other playlist. Yesterday I played my first couple games in 3 weeks pretty much...me and choco went into Team Slayer, three slayers showed up we voted none of the above, and 3 more slayers came up. Thats right not one slayer rifles (in any way) came up. I was instantly reminded why I've been on a BLOPS bender. You can PICK which weapon you want. Say that thread went well...theres no way he would have reversed his decision. So whatever.

 

[The Librarian]

Considering the state of Reach and its matchmaking updates, how is that a bad thing?

Come on, now. I wasn't talking about playlist management. I've been going to Bnet almost every Friday to see the Weekly Update (only once can I recall it was delayed until a Saturday) since early 2006. Not to mention it's been the same amount of time for me to go up n Bnet to look up my Halo stats. I said it before, and I'll say it again, it's gonna be a sad day when I can't go on to Bnet to look up mah Halo stats.

 

[Tunavi]

LOL just ran into Louis Wu in matchmaking. Hes on the other team right now. hahaha

 

[Hitmonchan107]

LOL just ran into Louis Wu in matchmaking. Hes on the other team right now. hahaha

Do what must be done. Show no mercy.

In other news, does anyone need a new freelance Halo news writer?

Spoiler

lol j/k

 

[Kuroyume]

When Bungie hands off Reach to 343 does that mean 343 will take control of the playlists?

 

[MrBig]

When Bungie hands off Reach to 343 does that mean 343 will take control of the playlists?

I'm pretty sure Bungie is completely disconnecting themselves with maintenance of Halo.

 

[Recarpo]

When Bungie hands off Reach to 343 does that mean 343 will take control of the playlists?

I imagine bungie is handing everything over to 343 including the playlists.

Edit: Just like MrBig said...needed to read one more post down.

 

[Account Attempt #4]

I said it before, and I'll say it again, it's gonna be a sad day when I can't go on to Bnet to look up mah Halo stats.

I'm afraid the times they are a changing, ol' chap. I feel it coming more than ever after the tone of the last few WUs. Hmm, what'll become of Urk's prose? Will Voc be the voice to fill the void? Will playlists get fixed in a timely fashion? Believe.

 

[Tunavi]

Do what must be done. Show no mercy.

In other news, does anyone need a new freelance Halo news writer?

Spoiler

lol j/k

I was whining in the lobby about how I would quit if snipers was picked (seriously it has its own playlist lol), then Louis was like "Whoa, Tunavi???" hahaha

 

[Crucio]

Wow we just won a really great game of Team Slayer, 38-33. The game was going badly for us at first, we were down almost by 10, then we got our team into focus and managed to keep our side of the map.
Our opponents were very conservative, playing a one sided game, only using the small tower side and shotgun spawn area of Pinnacle. We were perched in the big tower the whole time to counter their strategy.
We managed to pull some kills from them slowly but surely. Pretty cool for the last game of the night. Fun.

 

[Louis Wu]

I was whining in the lobby about how I would quit if snipers was picked (seriously it has its own playlist lol), then Louis was like "Whoa, Tunavi???" hahaha

We had much more fun with you on our team than against us.

 

[Gospel]

My buddy got 10777 in slot machine like 4 games ago! Epic Sauce!

Something like this happened to me a couple of days ago 3 times in a row. The last two times they weren't as high but they were still quad digits. What a good day that was.
I welcome a double credits weekend type deal (or at least an occasional x1.5-ish multiplier if you play on say, the third weekend of the month etc)

 

[Blueblur1]

I want to see 343 take over Reach already. And I want to see what they're working on. I'm just about done with the franchise but there's still a sliver of interest in Halo left in me.

 

[RdN]

It's going to be super lame not having BWU anymore. I really don't understand why it has to o away.

 

[feel]

Bungie leaving Halo sooner than I think. No!

I remember a time when this would sound like a really bad thing. As a huge fan of Halo I'm very grateful for the past decade, we owe everything to them, but I can't wait for them to just let it go now and move on to things they feel passion for and leave this to other folks that will treat it with the respect and responsibility it deserves.

 

[Blueblur1]

It's going to be super lame not having BWU anymore. I really don't understand why it has to o away.

It's simple: This next project is going to be super secret and it was takes time of their schedules to put meaningful content together for a couple hundred people who will bother to visit their site. I wouldn't be surprised if some kind of update returns in the future when their next project is a month away from launch.

 

[Plywood]

http://www.bungie.net/stats/reach/gamestats.aspx?gameid=592189347&player=Xenolock

lolololloolol

 

[Tashi]

I always knew you were a cheater.

 

[Ramirez]

am I the only one who misses the power of the grenade launcher from the Reach Beta?

Retail nade launcher is a man's weapon, beta one was noob trash.