28 May 2014
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The Halo Bulletin: 5.28.14

by B is for Bravo

05.28.2014 16:15

The Halo Bulletin

The weeks that lead up to E3 always sneak up on you. Just a few weeks ago, the team was looking at the calendar and thinking "Wow! We've still got over a month until E3!" and now, as we band together to put the finishing touches on our E3 presence (as well as book last minute flights, hotels, and hot-air-balloon packages), we realize that in just under nine days, we'll be on our way to Los Angeles to prep for the Xbox Press Conference and the frenzy that will follow. We're excited about our plans at the show, our plans for those of you watching from home, and we can't wait until the show begins. For this week's update, we discuss Halo: Escalation, the new Minecraft Mash-Up pack, and more. Let's get into it!

Halo: Escalation #6

The sixth issue of Halo: Escalation released today! The ongoing series, published by Dark Horse Comics, spins directly out of the events of Halo 4. To check out the first six pages of Halo: Escalation #6, head here and read below for a preview of what's to come.

The saga of Halo Wars enters the modern age as Infinity struggles to liberate the long-lost Spirit of Fire from the deadly Vata 'Gajat. Meanwhile, Petra's search for the identity of Infinity's spy could result in her death. The Halo universe is on the brink of a new galactic war!

Visit the official Dark Horse website to grab Halo: Escalation #6.

Minecraft Halo Mash-up Pack

Last week, we shared a sneak peek at what's coming to Minecraft: Xbox 360 edition, and today, we announced that the Halo Mash-up Pack is now available!

The Mash-up pack, expertly crafted by 4J Studios, includes a Halo-themed texture set, themed menus and user interface, craftable items and 31 music tracks across the Halo franchise. Also available are 40 pixel-perfect character skins depicting beloved Halo characters, and incredible recreations of legendary Halo spaces such as Blood Gulch, The Silent Cartographer, and more. Check out the above links for more details, and check out the below video for an awesome look into what all of this means.

Forge Idol

The team over at Beyond Entertainment have put together a brand new Forge contest. Six 2v2 maps have been nominated, but only one Forger will be named the Forge Idol! To cast your vote on your favorite map of the bunch, head over to their official voting thread. Round one of voting will be open until May 30, and the final two contenders will face off in one final vote that will end on June 2. Once a winner is selected, we're excited to confirm that we'll be bringing the map into the Team Doubles playlist in our next Matchmaking Update!

In addition to the above, the Forge Idol will also have their map featured in Beyond Entertainment's Forge Idol 2v2 tournament powered by Astro Gaming. The tournament will take place on June 28, and matches will consist of 2v2 Team Slayer on Haven, Skyline, and the winning map from the Forge Idol competition. If you're interested in competing, grab a partner and sign up at the link above.

Mammoth Proportions

Late last week, we noticed our friend and famous Forger petetheduck took a stab creating the Halo 4 Mammoth in Forge. Typically known for creating incredible custom game types and maps as well as Rube Goldberg machines, petetheduck describes himself as "definitely not an aesthetic Forger," but after seeing his Mammoth, we're pretty sure he's lying. In his blog, he tells us that he created the below beauty in a single Forge session over the course of about 12 hours, and also gives some insight into how he constructed the transport headquarters. Lastly, if you'd like to run around inside, you can download the map variant here.

petetheduck's Halo 4 Forge Mammoth

Screenshot Spotlight: King of the Hill

Last week, we turned the spotlight on the Shotgun. Take a gander at the following King of the Hill screenshots, and maybe even find inspiration to make your own.

For your chance at being in the next spotlight, take a screenshot that is mostly black and white and then tag it with "blackwhite" and "Halo Waypoint," and maybe, just maybe, yours will be featured in the next Halo Bulletin!