Tag / hbohio

by DayandKnightly

HBOhio – Character Shots

It’s been a while since I posted more pics from HBOhio last April, but the recent Thanksgiving holiday has me feeling … well … thankful!

So with that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the cast and characters that composed this play of awesome:

Dual wield NERF
The helmet of Padriag
Ibeechu victorious!
Revenant – don’t try it
Jackie O
Ibeechu (1) aka Melinda
The intense-sideways-glance of Padraig
The laugh of Padraig
The surprise of Padraig
Kermit for the win …
Molten Slowa
Seriously – don’t try it
Postmortem post game
Whistle of Six
The joy of HBO knows no age limit
The eyes of Padraig
Bones and the bitter taste of bitterness
In a word, “Unhh”
Blue in red
Kermit keeps it real
Rev’s neighbor – I forget his name, but I will never forget his ability to take me out with dual-Needlers …
The zen of Whistle
Play on playa
Admit it – you could always use a little more Slowa
Postmortem at present
Trogdor!
Bluerunner in blue
Working it out

Thanks again to those who took the photos and made them available.

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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

Rev’s AR Prop. Respect.

When Currer and I traveled down to HBOhio our host – Revenant1988 – was working on a fully functional (minus the M118 FMJ-AP rounds) UNSC Assault Rifle.

We were able to get a look at the work in progress and heard tales of how sweet it was going to turn out …

Rev Assault Rifle build

Click on the photo above to see more pics (and video) in the original HBO thread

Ladies and gentlemen, those were more than just tales – it’s done!

Click on the picture above to see the rest of the photos and video of the Assault Rifle in action, or see it featured on Waypoint.

Congrats to Rev for the feature and getting it done!

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by DayandKnightly

HBOhio – Jurassic

While most of the LAN was spent blowing each other away throughout the Halo saga, we did take time out Friday night to watch a classic – Jurassic Park 3D.

The theater nearly exploded from having so much awesome in one space, but thankfully it held 😉

A scuffle nearly broke out when no Blamite was availiable
Watching the credits … in 3D!
Having scared them away, we had the theater to ourselved
Inclement weather
While his friends laughed BlueRunner held the prototype carrying device for Halo 5 proudly

(Looking for context? Check out the full write-up here!)

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by DayandKnightly

HBOhio – Revenant’s Creations

Revenant welcomed the HBO Community into his homes, but he was prepared to defend himself should things get ugly …

Check out how the man is bringing the weaponry to the real world!

Performs exceptionally well in a variety of environments
The M6D Personal Defense Weapon System, and friend
Use two hands, kids
Assault Rifle and Covenant Carbine in alpha stage
Is he laughing at you? Point is, you won’t be around long enough to find out

The MA5 series, collectively known as the MA5 Individual Combat Weapon System, is a series of air-cooled, gas-operated assault rifles produced by Misriah Armory. Part of the larger MA Series, the MA5 is the workhorse of the UNSC Defense Force and has been in service for more than fifty years

– Description of the  MA5 series, via Halopedia

(Looking for context? Check out the full write-up here!)

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by DayandKnightly

HBOhio – small group shots

A rumba of rattlesnakes. A congress of salamanders. A gaze of raccoons.

I’m not sure what you call a group of HBOers, but here are my favorite group shots of HBOhio – enjoy!

For Bones, using a controller is a sign of weakness
Eupeptic personage
In the garage … we feel safe … no one cares about our ways
Nuncupative yarn
BlueRunner has no idea I will be his most inept teammate. Ever.
Ladies’ corner!
What Postmortem doesn’t know is that Pixel Fox just deleted his post off of FUD

 Once again, it is our job to finish what the flyboys started.

Shock and awe
They called him “sheephead”, but no one knew why
The Return
Man with a plan
The longest embrace record for an HBO was broken at HBOhio, coming in at 3 hours, 8 minutes and 2.3 seconds
Together, we will vanquish crime throughout the city!
Count and Countess of HBOhio. You will bow down!

We are leaving this ship, platoon, and engaging the Covenant on solid ground.

Death stare
Apparently I’m concluding an interview with Stabbim. He probably just fired me.
Sodality and amity
The unbreakable bonds of love and Halo
Frightening the neighbors
And when the people came, he received them gladly
This game case once belonged to Louis Wu, it will make you more powerful than you can possibly imagine …
Let the good times roll

When we meet the enemy, we will rip their skulls from their spines, and toss ’em away, laughin’! Am I right, Marines?

– Sergeant Major Avery Junior Johnson, from Halo:Combat Evolved

(Looking for context? Check out the full write-up here!)

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by DayandKnightly

HBOhio – the write-up

I’ll start with thank yous, as is only right.

Rev and Jackie, for putting this on and making it incredible.

Everyone at HBOhio, Grim and Louis Wu for making it possible.

CurrerBell, for being okay with me being me … even encouraging it!

…

Our tale begins on a dark and stormy night, with a long kept secret that could tear a family apart …

HBOhio logo

Getting there

Actually our tale doesn’t begin there at all. It begins on a Friday afternoon (5/19/13) as myself, my better half, and our youngest all make the trip down to Columbus for HBOhio.

Considering I already live in the Buckeye State, my three-hour trip was relatively short compared to those who came from the far off lands of North Carolina and Michigan.

I had originally planned on this being a one-man trip, with Currer staying home while I was gallivanting off in our state’s capital. That changed when she expressed an interest in going, and when it was pointed out that the LAN was dangerously close to our wedding anniversary 🙂

So with both sets of parents watching the rest of our crew, the three of us headed down for good times.

They’re all going to laugh at you

After checking in at the hotel (and being told that several break-ins had occurred by guys using crowbars to steal TVs out of the rooms, followed with a “enjoy your stay!”) we drove over to HBOhio’s HQ, Rev’s place.

Driving over I was nervous. It’s been a while since I’ve met a completely new group of people, and a few of the old high school insecurities came back. For example – how do I act cool without desperately trying to act cool? do they know how cool I think they are? is saying “cool” even cool anymore? Questions like that.

Per usual, I was being an idiot – whatever they thought of me the group couldn’t have been nicer and I truly appreciated it. To be among a collection of colleagues who dropped more video game references than I get to hear in a year, love Halo across the board and actually knew who Trogdor is? Nice.

Hang on to you butts

We arrived around 5:00pm, about the middle of the pack with some of the group already there and more to come.

HBOhio - Jurrasic 1

After frightening away the other movie goers with deadly-accurate Raptor impressions, the entire theater was ours

Once assembled, we did what anyone in our position would do – go see a twenty-year-old movie in 3D! What film you ask? Super Mario Bros.? Mrs. Doubtfire? Close but not quite – Jurassic Park, and it’s held up much better than many of the films that came out that year.

Pale Riders

Now comes the MAW run of the weekend – an entire Saturday (4/20/13) of Halo filled with prizes, food and gameplay that reached (dare I say, started at?) a level of epicness that only happens face-to-face.

Revenant brought something to the LAN that all great commanders must – a plan. There’s nothing worse than getting psyched out of your mind for an event and then it devolves into something like this:

“This is awesome!”

“I know!”

“What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know. What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know.”

But this party faux pas was avoided by the man with the clipboard. Rev had it all worked out, from the order of gaming to the prizes to be won by stupendous deeds of daring do (or marks of shame, but more on that later).

Rev's clipboard

The clipboard of destiny!

Much honor to you my friend, for keeping the awesome on track!

I wanted to note that watching the Halo 2 menu loop over and over during setup would made HBOhio a success in my book, no matter what else we did – it’s been a while since I’ve played the game and it brought back great memories.

HBOhio - During the game 5

Blue Man Group

I was fortunate to have (what I thought) the best seat in the house, right next to Bluerunner in the garage with an entire half-sheet of game space all to myself. It could be argued that team “Danger Zone” in the rooms upstairs had the sweeter spot as everyone had their own screen, but the ability to stretch and the lack of heated man-smell gives our garage-group the advantage I think.

HBOhio - During the game 2

Most pose after, others during

(While the garage wins on comfort, Danger Zone emerged victorious on the win/lose ratio. Next time Gadget … )

HBOhio - During the game 4

The back …

So with projectors humming and heads held high we played through a plethora of Halo 2 and Halo 3 maps and modes. Containment, Bomb, Territories, Avalanche, Capture the Flag, Sand Trap, Lava Lake – the list goes on.

HBOhio - During the game 3

… and the front

Without a montage there’s no way to convey the good times so I’m not even going to try, but it was fantastic to have that Halo: Combat Evolved LAN feeling where the guy that just took you out (or vice versa) was right next to you.

Stories with a side of BBQ

After the morning carnage it was time to fuel up at City Barbeque for lunch. There was a lot of local color on the walls, with the barbeque sauce labeled “Blazing Rectums” as the standout. (Kids, I wouldn’t Google that one if I were you.)

HBOhio - BBQ 1

Burning orifices aside, the food was fantastic. In addition to stuffing our faces Rev had us go around the table and give a brief history of how everyone got there, history with Halo, etc. It was great to hear everyone’s story and be reminded that while many of us enjoy the franchise for different reasons, at the end of the day that translates into getting together with friends and having a blast.

Schwag Bag

Something important was just left out of the preceding paragraph; yes, our love of Halo translates into having a blast with friends – but at HBOhio it also translates into getting awesome stuff!

Shortly after lunch Revenant handed out the goodie bags and talk about a freakin’ amazing bonus – not only do we get to hang out and play Halo all day, but we get schwag?!? I feel bad for the holidays left in the year – they just became the wannabe highlights of 2013.

HBOhio - Prizes 2

Schwag included:

  • 6 Halo decals – not for the face!
  • 3 Xbox 360 codes provided by BS Angel (a Halo 4 Campaign background, Watcher avatar prop and Halo 4 picture pack) – you can haz!
  • HBO button – pin sharpened to a diamond’s edge!
  • ONI Patch – they don’t officially exist!
  • Blamite –just like Mom used to make!
  • Mystery Megablok Halo figure – tiny and mysterious!
  • German candy – Danke!
  • Personalized Legendary Patch – read those words again, and weep you don’t have one!

Clearly a lot of thought and effort went into this treasure chest of goodness – a HUGE thank you to all who made it possible!

But these items weren’t the only thing we could take home – there were prizes to be won throughout the LAN. The pictures below don’t do the amount of stuff there was justice (or the feeling I had of wanting to grab everything and make a run for it), but I can tell you there was a great haul to be had with bits and pieces sent from all over.

HBOhio Prizes 1

Warning: staring at the magical table of schwag may cause temporary blindness

I was fortunate to “win” the first prize – a set of CQC Kontrol Freaks (the mark of shame I mentioned earlier). I came in last place in a Halo 2 game of Swords ‘n’ Shotguns.

But the joke’s on you my friends – I was already using a pair when I tanked the match! Your effort to improve my game is futile! (maniacal laughter)

Covies won’t know what hit’em

Right … where was I? Maniacal laughter. No, after that. Yes! We rounded out Saturday (4/20/13) with some more unusual Halo 3 game types (Rocket Race, Dragon Slayer, etc.) and what for me was the highlight of the trip gameplay wise – an ODST Firefight throw down!

Three teams of four competed for pride, glory, and a set of MegaBlok ODST drop pods. I go into a more detail in this post, but this mini-tournament sums up all the best parts of what a LAN can be – intense team-based action where having the players in the same room really makes a difference.

Our team (SIX min WHISTLE, Kermit7, BlueRunner and myself) came in second place and the Covenant will think twice before attacking Crater again. Hoo-rah!

Walking Away

And that’s the high note HBOhio ended on for me – after wolfing down some excellent pizza and taking one last grab from the M&Ms bowl (which they kept filling from a feedbag somewhere – seriously, how can you keep it full with over fifteen people grabbing from it all day? It was nothing short of a miracle) Currer and I headed out.

HBOhio - Leaving group shots 1

Defiant to the end

I feel like this write-up didn’t capture half of the awesome that went on (not to mention Sunday and Monday), but I hope it conveys what an incredible time I had and how grateful I am to Rev and Jackie for hosting.

Until the next one!

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