Just dust and echoes…

I’ve been writing this post in my head for a while, and have decided the time has come to do it.

First up the announcement – I will no longer be posting the daily challenges online.

If you are still eager to find out what’s been set for a particular day go to http://halo.xbox.com/en-us/Career/Challenges (you might have an error returned here, if so it usually means you’re not logged in so go to http://halo.xbox.com and sign in, then drop down your gamertag at the top and select challenges). If you want any previous tips on how to achieve a challenge, you can use the search bar at the top of this site to look up the challenge name and view an old post where it was set.

Why am I stopping after all this time? Simply because I have less time to spare for it than I did during 2011, and since there are no longer any new challenges or difficult things to do the need for discussion on challenges has vastly diminished. We’ve seen it all before, hence why you can use old posts to look up the tips on completing a challenge. Back in October 2010 I created the site to have a central discussion space about the challenges, away from the forums where it was incredibly difficult to conduct those conversations, and I can definitely say it’s done that.

In 18 months there have been 881 posts, 18110 comments and over 1.8 million hits. Pretty good I say. 🙂

(And no I don’t know 1 and 8 occur so often in those stats, crazy random happenstance I guess!)

I’m not the sort of gamer to stick with a game for a particularly long time once I’ve played my fill, as my XBL history shows I always look for a new experience. But I have played Halo: Reach probably more than any other game, ever. That includes Snake (at which I am the family champion). What has always made me proudest in running ReachDailyChallenges has been receiving comments from people who said they also would have stopped playing the game a lot earlier had it not been for the challenges and the discussion here about ways of beating them and doing things in-game. To me that’s a great thing to hear.

Posting everyday has been a wonderful experience for me, and everyone who has come to RDC to talk about whatever we’ve talked about has taught me something about running an independent online environment. This seems as good a time as any to doff my cap to HaloReachDaily and HattedHaloFox, both sites that started around the same time I did and who posted some awesome stuff, helping with the very discussion I created RDC for. There have also been imitators and people using my content as their own, which were compliments more than insult. Being the site used in the Reach Service Record app was a pretty cool moment and has again helped motivate me to keep going with the posts.

For the past 6 months I’ve used the site as something of a personal blog, putting comments about what I am up to and games I’m playing at the start of each post. I know this wasn’t to everyone’s taste, however it has helped motivate me to find topics to write on, to think about how I write, and has helped me continue this past the 1 year mark I thought RDC would last.

For me now I will continue with the occasional posts on my personal blog, Seven Months Later, writing the odd article for Pixel Perfect, and playing games like they’re going out of style! I hope everyone in Reach continues to enjoy the game, and I shall see you all in Halo 4 at the end of 2012.

Good luck to you, Spartan

17th April – Halo Reach Daily Challenges & Commentary

Update – And it’s confirmed, Halo 4 comes out November 6th 2012.

Interesting how the consensus is for the ranking to maybe be improved in Halo 4, but not to lose the progress from Reach. In my gut I feel that there will be nothing carried over, so whatever progress you had in previous Halo games won’t count for anything, but my heart wants there to be something, even if it’s akin to the ME character transfer where depending on how you previously performed it gives you some boost of credits and rank but not all the way through the new game’s progression system.

There has been promised an announcement today about Halo 4, rumours circulate that it’s the release date of November 6th, which would tie into previous Halo release periods and sets up nicely for dominating the holiday season 2012.

Today’s challenges are below, and are not the best for completing the latest weekly challenge:

  1. Shootin’ and Lootin’ – Kill 400 enemies in any game mode in Reach – 4000 cR
  2. Just Holdout – Kill 1000 enemies on Holdout in Firefight Matchmaking – 3000 cR
  3. Huck It, Luck It – Complete a Campaign mission on Heroic with Cloud, Tough Luck, and Catch on – 2000 cR
  4. Who’s the Big Winner? – Win 15 games in multiplayer Matchmaking – 3000 cR

Commentary follows after the break…

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16th April – Halo Reach Daily Challenges & Commentary

With the recent reveals about Halo 4 I’ve been thinking what I really want to know about the game. And pretty much all I’m looking to find out is a release date, any collector/limited edition details, and a price. Anything on the story and the development of the game could well do more to turn me off. Do you guys have anything you’re looking forward to seeing about it?

Today’s challenges are:

  1. Covenant-cide – Kill 120 enemies in Firefight Matchmaking – 3200 cR
  2. Flat Tire – Kill 5 enemy vehicles in Firefight Matchmaking – 2000 cR
  3. J.H. Death Machine – Kill 70 enemies in Firefight Matchmaking with the Grenade Launcher – 1250 cR
  4. The Magic Number – Complete 7 games in multiplayer Matchmaking – 3000 cR

Commentary follows after the break…

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Halo Reach Weekly Challenge & Commentary – w/c 16th April

This week’s challenge is below, click Read More to view the commentary:

Your Daily Dose – Complete all of the Daily Challenges for a given day – 20,343 cR

Commentary follows after the break…

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15th April – Halo Reach Daily Challenges & Commentary

500 miles later and I’m back home. One question – why is it always raining on the stretch around Birmingham?

Today’s challenges are:

  1. Blastin’ and Relaxin’ – Kill 180 enemies in any game mode in Reach – 2343 cR
  2. Sweep the Leg – Perform an Assassination in a multiplayer Matchmaking game – 2000 cR
  3. Mythic Evasion – Complete a Campaign mission on Heroic or harder with Tough Luck and Mythic on – 3500 cR
  4. The Little Guys – Kill 135 Grunts in Campaign today on Normal or harder – 1200 cR

Commentary follows after the break…

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14th April – Halo Reach Daily Challenges & Commentary

It’s a weekend up north near sunny Manchester for me, I’ll be updating the challenges late tomorrow once I’m actually home.

Today’s challenges are:

  1. One Spartan Army – Kill 250 enemies in Firefight Matchmaking – 3500 cR
  2. I’m Rubber, You’re Glue – Earn 1 sticky grenade Kills in a multiplayer Matchmaking game – 1000 cR
  3. This is my Rifle… – Earn 40 kills with precision weapons in multiplayer Matchmaking – 2600 cR
  4. Participation Counts – Complete 4 games in multiplayer Matchmaking – 2400 cR

Commentary follows after the break…

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13th April – Halo Reach Daily Challenges & Commentary

I’ve not seen any news on super jackpots or custom challenges this week. Nothing on the bulletin and I’ve had a quick flick through the appropriate forums but can’t see any news. If you’ve heard anything feel free to add it in the comments.

Today’s challenges are:

  1. Shootin’ and Lootin’ – Kill 250 enemies in any game mode in Reach – 3800 cR
  2. Close Talking – Earn 40 kills with close quarters combat in multiplayer Matchmaking – 2600 cR
  3. Better, Closer, Warmer – Earn at least 10 kills in a multiplayer Matchmaking game – 2500 cR
  4. Credits for Completion – Complete 6 games in multiplayer Matchmaking – 1300 cR

Commentary follows after the break…

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12th April – Halo Reach Daily Challenges & Commentary

Watch this video to see the vidoc about the music being created for Halo 4. It’s a good sounding score, and the interesting beats make me eager to see the set pieces they’re put to in the game.

Today’s challenges are:

  1. Light Fare – Kill 100 enemies in any game mode in Reach – 3000 cR
  2. Hyper Lethal Vector – Kill 100 enemies with headshots in Firefight Matchmaking – 3000 cR
  3. Killagruntjaro! – Earn 25 multikills in a Firefight Matchmaking game – 3000 cR
  4. Be Their Huckleberry – Kill 50 enemies in Firefight Matchmaking with the pistol – 1500 cR

Commentary follows after the break…

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11th April – Halo Reach Daily Challenges & Commentary

New phone time for me this week, I’m going to be ordering the new HTC One X. I hadn’t planned to get it until later in the year, but my current phone had a meeting with the tiles on my kitchen floor and doesn’t look so good anymore.

Still, good excuse for a new toy!

Today’s challenges are:

  1. Fire When Ready – Kill 50 enemies in multiplayer Matchmaking – 3000 cR
  2. That Pink Mist – Kill 100 enemies with a Supercombine from the Needler or Needle Rifle in Firefight Matchmaking – 2500 cR
  3. Legendary Friends – Complete any Campaign mission on Legendary in co-op mode – 10000 cR
  4. Freelancing – Earn at least 20 kills in a multiplayer Matchmaking game – 3500 cR

Commentary follows after the break…

 

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10th April – Halo Reach Daily Challenges & Commentary

In the 5 days since I bought a PS3 I’ve played through Journey 6 times. Yesterday I even sat and watched someone else playing through it. At only about 2.5 hours long it’s pretty easy to get through in one sitting, which is in part what makes the story so wonderful. It’s emotive, and engaging, to such a high degree.

What surprised me whilst watching someone was how there are so many small things in video games that we know because we play them, but to anyone new they’re not obvious. It’s interesting because I looked at Journey as something perfect for a non-gamer, which it still is, but there are some definite elements that on the first play through aren’t as obvious.

Either way, if you have a PS3, go buy it. I’ll be shocked if it’s not one of the top games of the year, if not the top one!

Today’s challenges are:

  1. One Spartan Army – Kill 400 enemies in Firefight Matchmaking – 2000 cR
  2. Survivor – Earn 5 Sprees in a Firefight Matchmaking game – 2000 cR
  3. Golden Opportunity – Find and kill the Gold Ranger-class Elite in any Campaign mission on Heroic or harder – 5343 cR
  4. Home Field Advantage – Win 8 games in multiplayer Matchmaking – 4400 cR

Commentary follows after the break…

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