Category / Announcements

by DayandKnightly

/r/Halo’s Book Club – a journey begins

As I mentioned in the last post /r/Halo has been a discovery for me, and one that I’m glad to have had.

One of the reasons for this is the book club they recently started, with The Fall of Reach being first on the list.

It’s always hard to find time to read, and having a schedule like this really helps me to plan ahead and carve out a space so I can keep up.

I’ve received permission from the mod who set this up – Afterbang – to post my answers to the questions he poses from each chapter here on Reactive Bias. That way you can follow along with me and I get to keep all my Halo thoughts in one place. Nice!

Feel free to join us over on /r/Halo or leave me your thoughts in the comments as I post each set of questions and my reactions. I’ve found AB’s questions help me look at the text in new ways, and I’m seeing things I didn’t notice before.

Halo Ann. Ring

The more you look the more there is

Good stuff, and reminds me of one of the strengths of the Halo Universe – the more you look, the more there is.

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by DayandKnightly

The curse of eagerness – sorry for the old news

I wanted to apologize for my post last week about the news originally put on out PasteBin; it turns out this was already old news by the time I got to it, and most likely false news at that.

I couldn’t believe that I would be the first person to talk about this supposed “leak”, so I checked through the first couple pages of the HBO forum and when I didn’t see anything so I thought I’d go ahead and post.

But the reason I didn’t find anything was that this info was originally from earlier in the year, so everyone had already talked about it and moved on 🙂

(Many thanks to Quirel for pointing me in the direction of the original thread on HBO)

So my eagerness at getting some new possible Halo 5 news – not to mention my inability to recognize Stinkles internet meme of sacasm (“Sounds Legit“) – lead me down the dark and dangerous path of assumption and I hope this didn’t raise anyone’s spirits too high for what may or may not be included in the game.

On the positive side, the tweets by Brad Welch (lead designer at 343 Industries) were/are 100% authentic and awesome so take a gander at them if you feel so inclined.

Thanks!

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by DayandKnightly

“We’re not leaving him here” – upcoming posts/thank you!

Sergeant Johnson: “Radio for VTOL, heavy lift gear. We’re not leaving him here.”

He looks down and realize the chip is empty. The Chief reaches up and grabs Johnson’s wrist

Master Chief: “Yeah. You’re not.”

He pushes himself slowly to his feet

“Arrival”, Halo 3 (pulled from Halopedia)

It’s to my shame that I haven’t posted on Reactive Bias in a while, and a thank you to everyone who has been checking out the site since then – even with the lack of content.

And a thank you to all the randoms who continue to come to the site by mistake – your poor search skills are my gain!

Like many things that I enjoying doing (but require work), I’m always thinking about writing but when it comes making it happen I’m easily distracted.

(Specific distraction: I’ve been playing through the Assassin’s Creed series, currently on Brotherhood. I could say a lot about it, but I’ll keep it short – it’s been fantastic.)

But enough of my excuses – I wanted to give you guys a head’s up as to what I’ve been working on and plan to roll out in a more steady fashion.

It’s what you do that defines you (thank you Ms. Dawes), so here’s what I hope to do!

  • HBOhio – the rest of the pics! You’ve seen a few, but I plan to draw out the nostalgia with even more photo goodness.
  • New deck conversations – more additions to the often sarcastic world of Halo ecards.
  • Hey, weren’t you reading the novels? – yep. Last entry was here, and I’ve finished a few since then. Reactions incoming!
  • Hyperion knowledge bombs – I laid out the ground work here, and I’ve been loving the Halo 4 Visual Guide. I’m excited to be able to use these resources to gain a better appreciation and understanding of the universe, and to add a few of my thoughts along the way as well.
  • Articles, smarticles – I have some thoughts on new articles (Why Spartan Ops needs to be more like Tie Fighter, commentary breakdown of Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn, etc.) as well, so those will come as I can get to them.

Again, a big thank you to everyone who’s read (and especially followed!) Reactive Bias.

I’ve been MIA, but you’re not leaving me here …

Did he just compare himself to Master Chief? And he's talking in 3rd person?

Did he just compare himself to Master Chief? And now he’s talking in 3rd person? Yikes.

The fact that people are still with me means a lot.

Thank you!

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by DayandKnightly

Random Slipspace Trajectory

The Halo Universe is a big place, and it’s easy to get lost in all the fiction. Getting lost can be a good thing though; there have been many times I’ve traveled to Halopedia to look up just one thing and end up following rabbit trails for the next half an hour, amazed at the story threads that bind the universe together.

But the downside to an ocean-sized universe are all the details you can miss. When there’s so much to take in, I feel like it’s a victory just to remember most of the key events let alone what the shards of glass represent in the Inner Sanctum of the Hierarchs (glassed worlds by the way and yes, I had to look it up).

In an effort to bring out some of these easily overlooked specifics I’m starting a new category on Reactive Bias entitled “Random Slipspace Trajectory.” In it I’ll go through the strategy and visual guides that I own and randomly select a page to dive into, pulling out (what I find to be) some interesting details that help to enrich the universe.

I’ll go through the guides in this order:

  • Halo: The Essential Visual Guide
  • Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Signature Series Guide
  • Halo 3: The Official Strategy Guide
  • Halo 3 ODST: Prima Official Game Guide
  • Halo Wars: Prima Official Game Guide
  • Halo: Reach Signature Series Guide 
  • Halo 4: The Essential Visual Guide
  • Halo 4: Prima Official Game Guide 

The randomness with which the pages are chosen is provided by random.org.

I’ve had this idea in my mind for a while so I’m excited to get it going. Looking forward to it, and I hope you guys enjoy!

First up will be page 64 from Halo: The Essential Visual Guide …

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by DayandKnightly

Alpha Halo

Take a little time to think of what you are going to say for once said it cannot be unsaid.

– Emma, from the 2009 miniseries of the same name

The entries that follow, dear Reclaimer, are in a battle – a battle with awesomeness.

“Awesomeness,” in this case, is defined as an amazing community of people drawn together by the force of Halo.

The battle I speak of has nothing to do with containment procedures, plasma grenades or Section Three of ONI; this conflict deals with the idea that I could possibly have something to contribute to an already richly furnished multimedia landscape of blogs, opinions and videos that concern the Halo universe.

Do I really think something more needs to be said?

Thankfully Reclaimer, this battle has already been fought and won – or you and I wouldn’t be here.

The answer is yes!

I’ve always been fascinated (and impressed) by fiction that I can get lost in, and Halo has provided that. Whether playing the games, studying the fiction or talking with friends and family about either, I find that time flies by. I find myself thinking “how could I do something related to this for a living?”

When something has the ability to both speed up time and make you want to work on it eight plus hours a day, it’s time to speak up.

So here it is – my stated purpose for these entries:

  1. To chronicle the good times Halo has given me, past and present
  2. To encourage others in the Halo community – you are fantastic and you’re going to hear about it from me!
  3. To publish my thoughts and passion for Halo into something that those with authority can notice and therefore evaluate recruitment
  4. To follow through on my wife’s faith and support for this idea; quote, “you should do this!” 🙂

With these goals, dear Reclaimer, I venture forth with words that cannot be unsaid.

Please join me as your time allows.

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