Spectral Jester

Sorry for the delay enforced absence, yep this is definetly offline credits being removed when you go online. With an offline account you can sit in forge world for a week and then exit as an inheritor

There are two games vying for your attention on the Xbox Live Arcade this week, and both are family-focused Kinect affairs, which means there's nothing for you this week if you're neither a child, parent or Kinect owner. Still, there's a bunch of new add-ons and demos to check out. If you haven't had a go on them yet, there's demos of Syndicate and UFC Undisputed 3 to sample, and there's a whole host of add-ons for various titles, including the first batch of customisation and music DLC for Soul Calibur V. You'll also find a free grappler for WWE '12 and some other bits and bobs, like the Dead Island Ryder White story add-on. And finally, if you haven't snapped up Bastion yet, we'll urge you once again to do so. It's marvellous for 1200 Microsoft Points, and so an absolute steal for a mere 600. Buy it! Check out what's on offer on the Xbox Live Marketplace this week: Xbox Live Arcade •Happy Action Theater - 1-Feb - 800 MSP •Rhythm Party - 1-Feb - 800 MSP Game Add-Ons •Iron Brigade Rise of the Martian Bear - 400 MSP •UFC Personal Trainer Cain Velasquez Workout Pack - 800 MSP •Dance Central 2 - "Forget You" - Cee Lo Green - 240 MSP •WWE '12 Brodus Clay - Free •Soul Calibur V Catalog 1 - Free •Soul Calibur V Music Catalog - Free •Soul Calibur V Music Pack x 2 - 240 MSP each •Soul Calbiur V Female Customisation Equipment -160 MSP •Dead Island Ryder White - 800 MSP Deal of the Week •Bastion - 31-Jan–6-Feb - 600 MSP (50% off) Games on Demand •Cabela’s Outdoor Adventures - 31-Jan •Section 8 - 31-Jan •First Templar - 31-Jan Demos •Syndicate •UFC Undisputed 3 •The First Templar •Kinectimals Now With Bears Demo Avatar Marketplace •Deluxe Collection - 31-Jan •The Darkness II Update - 31-Jan

Halo fans and VIP members rejoice… and check your Forza 4 inbox! The latest community VIP car will be rolling in to your inbox soon, featuring everyone’s favorite Spartan in a sweet Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Edition livery. A special shout-out to Forza community member KCTigerFan, who contributed to the painting and design of this car. Enjoy it! This post has been promoted to an article

i love the pyramid picture

getting an xbox

Donut that was brilliant, i was actually gutted when the video finished. I WANT MORE

Awesome post, and those shout outs are spot on. And thank you for those words, they really do mean a lot. Look forward to your 2000th post

As for any confusion. Firstly play Halo CEA and find ALL TERMINALS When the achievement pops up for all terminals found, save and quit Load up Halo Waypoint Then follow all the steps in the original post The first screen shows coloured dots press the corresponding coloured buttons on your Xbox controller following it left to right. Don't worry about the symbols I've attached all the pictures for you The cR is added I think on a Wednesday, but it does take a few days.

The terminals are from Halo CEA there is no achievement for unlocking the terminals in waypoint You just get the achievements in Halo CEA As for the 10 spots and you only input 5, maybe preparation for Halo 4?

I like this idea, would make it a bit different the announcer IS HALO

Xbox Live generated a record $144 million In revenue in 2011, according to a new report issued by the Research & Analysis division of analyst firm Forecasting & Analyzing Digital Entertainment, LLC (a.k.a. FADE). Sales of titles on XBLA grew by 18%, with Ubisoft's From Dust as the single highest-grossing title on the service in 2011. From Dust sold 308,000 thousand units with a total sales gross of $4.6 million. The most-downloaded paid title on XBLA in 2011 was Microsoft's Full House Poker, which sold 375,000 copies and generated $3.6 million in revenue. FADE attributes the success of these high-grossing XBLA titles to Microsoft's “Summer of Arcade” promotion, with seven of the service's ten top-grossing XBLA games seeing launch as Summer of Arcade titles. Some surprising entries in the top ten including Castle Crashers, in its fourth year of sales on Xbox Live, still selling 335,000 copies to gross $4.6 million in revenue. FADE puts Castle Crashes at #2 on the top grossing list, behind From Dust, though the profit margins for a four-year-old game are probably much fatter than those of a new release. Overall, FADE considers Castle Crashers the single highest-selling and highest-grossing title released in the history of digital download games, moving over 2 million copies across XBLA and PSN. Emerging new hits include Fruit Ninja Kinect, which moved 323,000 copies in 2011 with a major spike in downloads over the holidays (likely due to the download code tie-in with The Gunstringer). Downloadable RPGs also have a strong representation on the top-selling list, with the XBLA versions of Torchlight, Bastion, and Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale filling out the #7, #9, and #10 positions on the list (respectively). You can check out FADE's complete top ten list of top-selling XBLA titles by number of units sold in 2011 below. Estimated Top Selling Titles, by Units Sold (Annual, 2011) 1. Full House Poker (Microsoft Game Studios) - 375,000 Units / $3.6 Million USD 2. Castle Crashers (The Behemoth) - 335,000 Units / $4.6 Million USD 3. Fruit Ninja Kinect (Halfbrick Studios) - 324,000 Units / $3.2 Million USD 4. From Dust (Ubisoft) - 308,000 Units / $4.6 Million USD 5. Trials HD (RedLynx, LTD) - 286,000 Units / $4.0 Million USD 6. Magic: The Gathering (Stainless Games) - 278,000 Units / $2.7 Million USD 7. Torchlight (Runic Games) - 272,000 Units / $4.0 Million USD 8. Toy Soldiers: Cold War (Signal Studios) - 241,000 Units / $3.6 Million USD 9. Bastion (Supergiant Games) - 241,000 Units / $3.6 Million USD 10. Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale (Bedlam Games) - 210,000 Units / $2.8 Million USD SOURCE: From Dust Highest Grossing Game of 2011, as Xbox Live Arcade Market Sees Growth in 2011 [Press release]

The internet might have banded together to put the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA) in its rightful place – on the shelf (for now) – but as we quite rightly pointed out last week, the battle has only just begun. This time it’s Europe’s turn with the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), which has been deceptively lobbied behind-closed-doors by the same bodies in the US that pushed SOPA & PIPA so aggressively. Just because you’re not European though doesn’t mean this shouldn’t concern you, oh no. According to ACTA, just about every “developed” nation – including the United States, Japan and Australia, amongst many more outside Europe – is about to feel the brunt of this deceptive and potentially global economy ruining and internet freedom destroying piece of legislation. It’s time to get our legal on… Again. So, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement… What the hell does this have to do with the internet? Absolutely everything in fact, and although it’s not as clear cut in name as SOPA & PIPA were, it’s essentially Europe’s version of those two proposed bills. Actually, it’s a much more severe piece of legislation with far wider-reaching implications that the music and film industries will use as a means to enforce their totalitarian stance on piracy. If there’s ever a wrong way to go about things, this is it. It’s like driving a tank over a crowd of innocent people just in the hope of squishing a few pirates on the other side. So how does ACTA differ from SOPA and PIPA then? Well, that depends on where you start, but the implications are just as severe. The main crux of ACTA is that it puts a legal and monetary obligation on Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to police every piece of information that travels through their service, effectively turning them into a pseudo internet police, of sorts. These ISPs will essentially monitor your activity online, gather evidence and such, and then “co-operate” with copyright holders to protect their IPs. None of this right to a fair trial malarkey or due process. Your future is basically in the hands of ISPs and copyright holders, none of which are part of the democratic process and will no doubt quell freedom of speech in the process. ISPs, who are commercial companies, not elected bodies, would effectively become judge, jury and executioner online. It’s essentially a bullying tool for two prongs of the entertainment industry – music and films – who’ve refused to move with the times and adapt. It’ll not only severely damage privacy issues by allowing ISPs to gather private data on their users – without the need of a judge – but it’ll also impose criminal sanctions on individuals who are found to be “aiding and abetting” copyright infringement. With loose terminology like that, websites like ourselves, Google, Wikipedia, Facebook and YouTube could become a target, meaning that freedom of speech and innovation would almost certainly be impaired as a result. How criminal sanctions have been drafted into a “trade agreement” is almost certainly cause for concern too. Copyright holders would almost certainly hold all the cards and they won’t be afraid to use them even for minor infractions and frivolous cases. Outside the restrictions it’d place on the internet too, the Agreement even rather ridiculously ventures further into cracking down on generic drugs and imposing stricter sanctions on food patents. The controversy surrounding ACTA is much more abhorrent than that of SOPA & PIPA. ACTA is a piece of legislation that’s been deceptively drafted behind-closed-doors, shrouded in mystery and constantly shielded from the public forum. It’s been that underhanded that French MEP and “rapporteur” – basically, the overseer – of the Agreement, Kader Arif, stood down this week in protest over how it’s been handled, calling it a “masquerade.” “I want to denounce in the strongest possible manner the entire process that led to the signature of this agreement,” said Arif, citing the following as reasons for his decision to step down: “no inclusion of civil society organisations, a lack of transparency from the start of the negotiations, repeated postponing of the signature of the text without an explanation being ever given, exclusion of the EU Parliament's demands that were expressed on several occasions in our assembly.” “As rapporteur of this text,” he continued, “I have faced never-before-seen manoeuvres from the right wing of this Parliament to impose a rushed calendar before public opinion could be alerted, thus depriving the Parliament of its right to expression and of the tools at its disposal to convey citizens' legitimate demands.” In closing, Arif said, “This agreement might have major consequences on citizens' lives, and still, everything is being done to prevent the European Parliament from having its say in this matter. That is why today, as I release this report for which I was in charge, I want to send a strong signal and alert the public opinion about this unacceptable situation. I will not take part in this masquerade.” The fact that 10,000 people took to the streets of Poland to protest ACTA this week, while a delegation of lawmakers in the country’s Parliament donned V For Vendetta masks to show their disdain for it, yet it was still signed, shows that something must be awry. What’s the worse thing about ACTA though? Well, not only does ACTA grant the creation of an “ACTA committee,” but it then grants them the power to consider amendments to the Agreement. That, my learned friends, is an awful lot of power to grant a committee made up of non-elected individuals. If Europe wanted to wipe their arse with democracy and ruin the foundations of every Western government in the world, then ratifying ACTA is as close to doing that as they can possibly get. It’d give lawmakers and non-elected officials a dangerous backdoor into manipulating legislation without the necessary checks and balances required, let alone obtain input from the public who allow them to wield these powers. ACTA is the first step to becoming a police-state. ACTA is the first step on the road to becoming a dictatorship. ACTA is a big '**** you' to democracy. ACTA is not only going to ruin the internet, it’s going to set a dangerous precedent that could undermine the last 30 plus years of democratic progress. Again, I’d like to reiterate that piracy and protecting the rights of copyright holders has nothing to do with our concerns with this latest piece of legislation. This however is about corporate control, censorship and secrecy. If the big corporations can bully and bribe the supposed democracies of this world, what hope do we have of living in a society where freedom of speech is paramount? Stopping piracy and protecting copyright holders rights is about balance, and if SOPA & PIPA was like killing a fly with a grenade, ACTA is like killing a single-cell organism with a nuclear bomb. Funded and lobbied by the archaic film and music industries – of which the MPAA’s corruption, for instance, has since become apparent since SOPA & PIPA were shelved – ACTA is a piece of legislation that could essentially send the world into the biggest depression its ever experienced; crippling the internet, stifling entrepreneurial growth and setting society back a good 20-odd years. The most ironic and profound thing to come out of all of this is that if the music and entertainment industries spent the time, money and effort they’ve spent on trying to buy themselves power and corrupt every democracy in the world, and actually tried to evolve their industry and move with the times, they and the world would be in a far better position. Instead, we’re all going to suffer for their lack of foresight unless we band together and constantly fight back. As it stands, ACTA has been signed in Europe by varying Member States – those who have not signed it have agreed to in the near future – and by the US, Australia, Canada, Japan, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore and South Korea, but it is yet to be ratified in Europe which is the clincher for the agreement, meaning it’s not too late to make your voice heard. Democracy isn’t dead yet and now’s the time to prove it.

Kinglymusician The ban hammer effects the whole console. If its first offence it will be 24 hours. Unfortunately the ban hammer can't distinguish between a bad / beginner and a player that is just standing there. After the ban is lifted I can only recommend either playing custom games to practise or let the beginner play score attack, they are on there own, and it will hastily improve there aim, as mentioned above don't under estimate the power of score attack and firefight to help improve there aim and technique.

Holy moly I thought I was seeing things when I seen the member name, welcome back to the fold friend, is this a flying visit? Or are you sticking around a bit?

LMFAO...... so glad its been confirmed now

see thats what i dont get how you do all that, so from a complete forge virgin, that looks amazing

thats quite interesting as i just dont get forge at all, might have to have a bash at it and see what i can do. it just seems really complicated to me.

okay my vote, Nicest Member : Choot Em Funniest Member : Absolute Dog Toughest Mod : now this is a hard one, as I cant vote for myself, so my vote will go to Bob

people only got a code to download halo reach, when there xbox wouldnt play halo reach, i forget which version of the xbox it was, it is something to do with the new stryle of disc halo reach uses, dam..... wheres twinreaper when you need him all you got for participating in the beta was an avatar hoodie that said halo reach beta tester

Added a couple of awards myself for the community Firstly Guru - For being the best in your field, whether thats gaming advice, news reporting, anything really Forum Defender - Awarded for Defending the forum from the perils of the world Halo Award - Awarded at random by myself, for anything really Choot em Award - Awarded for forum excellence Newsgroup Award - Speaks for itself for being part of the newsgroup Moderator Award - Speaks for itself for being part of the moderating team Beating a Mod Award - Beating a Moderator / Newsgroup / Staff member at any of the Halo games

grey

Motion Comics – Coming Soon to Zune Video Marketplace Whether you find yourself stuck in bed for days on end or you love the art of combining elements of print comic books and animation, you’ll be excited to hear that four of our original motion comic series are coming to Zune Video Marketplace on January 28. That’s this Saturday, for those of you that don’t keep a calendar on you at all times. If you’re intrigued by the convenience this could potentially offer you and your favorite technological devices, here are the relevant details. Prices, in Microsoft Points • Midnight in the Heart of Midlothian – 4 episodes, 280 points for a season pass, 80 points per individual episode • The Return – 4 episodes, 280 points for a season pass, 80 points per individual episode • Headhunters – 3 episodes, 200 points for a season pass, 80 points per individual episode • The Mona Lisa – 11 episodes, 700 points for a season pass, 80 points per individual episode You can access the Zune Video Marketplace through all the ways you can reach Zune, which includes your Xbox 360, phone, and personal computer. You’ll be able to find them under the GamerTV network or by searching for the name or for “Halo.” It’s worth noting these are HD episodes, so the quality is, at the risk of speaking in too-technical terms, super awesome.

Rumours about the graphical capabilities of Microsoft's next-generation console refuse to go away today, as the internet is once again ablaze with speculation about what the innards of the machine might be, with news on what GPU and CPU the console could utilise. In a report on Fudzilla, it's claimed that the next Xbox will be powered by a PowerPC CPU alongside a modified ATI Southern Islands 7000 series GPU. Whoosh! That's the sound of it all going right over our heads. Apparently, the codename for this 32nm chip is 'Oban', and the report states that it's in production as we speak and is initially being built for development kits only. Sounds impressive, even if we're not quite sure what it all means. The report also goes on to say that the chips will be put into production for consumer consoles (ie. the ones you'll be buying) by the end of the year, which hints at a 2013 launch for Microsoft's next Xbox at the very earliest. Meanwhile, IGN reckons that the GPU will be based on a 6000 series, similar to the Radeon HD 6670. Naturally, Microsoft is remaining predictably schtum on the whole 'next-gen Xbox' subject, going with the old 'no comment' approach. Will Microsoft's next-generation console be unveiled this year and launched in 2013? Who knows? For now, it's all still rumours and speculation. Even more next-generation Xbox rumours, following earlier news regarding the GPU and CPU Microsoft's console might use. This latest bout of speculation comes from anonymous sources cited on Kotaku that claim the next Xbox (720, Loop, whatever) will use Blu-rays rather than DVDs and it'll also reportedly have an in-built anti-used games detector doohickey. First off, the introduction of Blu-ray as a disc format seems like a no-brainer as it offers 25-50GB worth of data storage rather than the 9GB offered by a DVD, but the possible inclusion of anti-used game measures that could involve linking games to your Xbox Live account sounds like it could be a massively divisive and controversial feature. This comes from a "reliable source" too, so it could be real. It's not just used games that'd be affected here, but also lending a friend a game could be a thing of the past. There's also reports from another source that the next Xbox could come bundled with a new version of the Kinect sensor, with an on-board processor. This was a feature intended for the original Kinect and would allow the device to detect player's motions much more effectively. A Microsoft rep had this to say to Kotaku regarding today's rumours: "As an innovator we're always thinking about what is next and how we can push the boundaries of technology like we did with Kinect. We believe the key to extending the lifespan of a console is not just about the console hardware, but about the games and entertainment experiences being delivered to consumers. Beyond that we don't comment on rumours or speculation." Ah, yes. That old chestnut...

Call of Duty: Elite Premium members are in for a treat today, as the first batch of downloadable content for Modern Warfare 3, starting with two maps to add to multiplayer, available exclusively to Xbox 360 Elite subscribers. This kickstarts a whole 2012 season of content for Call of Duty: MW3, of which there'll be loads in the coming months. Your two Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 maps are available to download from CoD: Elite now, and are the following: •Elite Drop 1: Piazza Map - This seaside Italian getaway is anything but idyllic, as tight corners and branching pathways pose great risk at every turn. Close-range combat dominates, and the team that best utilizes flanking routes will most often come out on top. Attacks from behind, above and below are an ever-constant threat. Keep up your awareness and don’t get taken by surprise. •Elite Drop 2: Liberation Map - A militarized Central Park stretches across a vast landscape, ripe for long-range sniper and LMG fire. Mounted turrets on either end lend power to anyone brave enough to expose themselves in exchange for deadly firepower. Plan out your movement and always be aware of nearby sightlines to avoid becoming fodder for the enemy. Check out the trailer below for instructions on how to download the new Modern Warfare 3 maps via Call of Duty: Elite, then get stuck into some more multiplayer action. [Via Major Nelson]