The Activision Halo games will be like Mission Impossible 2. Absolutely insane high octane action that's nothing like the rest of the franchise.

Get ready for a guilty pleasure.

Arbiter removes his helmet, to reveal a Spartan helmet underneath. Master Chief takes off his helmet to reveal he's been Sergeant Johnson the whole time. Slow-mo dual-wielding pistols confirmed. Doves?

Oof, that was a wild ride of a movie that I remember very little about.

Afterwards, we will have a dark ages of truly terrible Halo games, only to be rescued again with three of the greatest FPS games of all time. Then, a boring overstuffed final Halo that sucks and will have redid the finale from the previous one but worse.

The Activision Halo games will be like Mission Impossible 2. Absolutely insane high octane action that's nothing like the rest of the franchise.

Get ready for a guilty pleasure.

Arbiter removes his helmet, to reveal a Spartan helmet underneath. Master Chief takes off his helmet to reveal he's been Sergeant Johnson the whole time. Slow-mo dual-wielding pistols confirmed. Doves?

Oof, that was a wild ride of a movie that I remember very little about.

Get ready for a guilty pleasure.

Get ready for a guilty pleasure.

I might be in Texas late January, but mid-February is far too late for me to piggy-back on the trip. Anyone got any HBO-related activities suggestions in Austin on the last week of January?

Say hi to the webmaster!

will there be any skiing?

If we can get three or four people willing and able, we'll definitely organize a ski/snowboard outing. Team Sanic rides again.

Background

The Bungie and Halo communities have been turned on their heads with the recent news:

• Activision taking over Halo
  
• Destiny being revived
  
• Marathon doing something or whatever

This has resulted in great uncertainty; no one knows what is going to happen with these IPs nor when it will happen. Will Halo become an extraction shooter? Will Destiny invent new, even worse ways to take your time and money? Will Marathon become a game literally anyone cares about?

We know the answer to the last question ("no"), but for the others there is much to be discussed. For this reason--at my direction--TSD is activating The Winter Contingency: a grand summit of the greatest minds, personalities and acolytes in the shared Halo and Bungie communities. And if you are reading this message, you are among their number and your attendance is requested.

Purpose

The purpose of this summit is manifold:

• Produce a charter--the "M6D Magnum Carta"--to be delivered* to Activision**, outlining the summit's recommendations and stipulations for the future of the Halo franchise. This charter will be informed by thorough playtesting of Bungie-era Halo games and furious discussion among our archivists regarding canon and lore, especially on the topic of how best to retcon everything 343 Industries did.
  
• Produce a contract--the "Declaration of the Lights of Man"--binding Bungie from engaging in the abusive practices towards their playerbase which characterized their stewardship of Destiny 2. This will be informed by getting the most-affected and aggrieved persons liquored up and giving them a microphone.
  
• Figure out what "Marathon" is and why it was even made (optional).

Lawyers from Fiasco & Blunder, Attorneys at Law will be on hand to provide guidance during the drafting process and finalize the language. By the end of the summit we will have solved all major problems and concerns related to Bungie and Halo, and developed prescriptions for their care going forward. If our counsel goes unheeded, we will have the consolation of knowing we enjoyed possibly the last bungie.org community event ever.

Logistics

• Date: Friday Feb 12 - Monday Feb 15 (President's Day)
  
• Location: Park City, UT or its environs
  
• Attendees should evaluate flights to/from Salt Lake City Intl Airport. To ease with transportation and logistics, it's encouraged to book your arrival Friday morning or afternoon, and your departure Monday afternoon/evening.
  
• The TSD Hospitality Crew is currently evaluating options for lodging, and will provide options for different levels of attendance (10-15, 16-20, 20+).

Pictured: the cabin, maybe

It is of the utmost importance that you, dear reader and valued community member, lend your support to this endeavor by attending. The future of video games may depend on it.

Please RSVP either by replying to this post, or emailing me at: schoolyd at teamschoolyd dot org. In your RSVP specify your likelihood of attending (you must select one of the following levels):
Level NartFOpc: I will be there come hell or high water (95%)
Level Paddy: I'll do my best (65%)
Level Tex: Maybe but don't count on it (35%) (THIS IS THE WORST AND MOST DIFFICULT LEVEL FOR PLANNING, DO NOT SELECT)
Level tarehart: No. (0%)

Regards,
The TSD Contingency Crew

* emailed
** to Activision's generic customer support email address

will there be any skiing?

The Bungie and Halo communities have been turned on their heads with the recent news:

• Activision taking over Halo
  
• Destiny being revived
  
• Marathon doing something or whatever

This has resulted in great uncertainty; no one knows what is going to happen with these IPs nor when it will happen. Will Halo become an extraction shooter? Will Destiny invent new, even worse ways to take your time and money? Will Marathon become a game literally anyone cares about?

We know the answer to the last question ("no"), but for the others there is much to be discussed. For this reason--at my direction--TSD is activating The Winter Contingency: a grand summit of the greatest minds, personalities and acolytes in the shared Halo and Bungie communities. And if you are reading this message, you are among their number and your attendance is requested.

Purpose

The purpose of this summit is manifold:

• Produce a charter--the "M6D Magnum Carta"--to be delivered* to Activision**, outlining the summit's recommendations and stipulations for the future of the Halo franchise. This charter will be informed by thorough playtesting of Bungie-era Halo games and furious discussion among our archivists regarding canon and lore, especially on the topic of how best to retcon everything 343 Industries did.
  
• Produce a contract--the "Declaration of the Lights of Man"--binding Bungie from engaging in the abusive practices towards their playerbase which characterized their stewardship of Destiny 2. This will be informed by getting the most-affected and aggrieved persons liquored up and giving them a microphone.
  
• Figure out what "Marathon" is and why it was even made (optional).

Lawyers from Fiasco & Blunder, Attorneys at Law will be on hand to provide guidance during the drafting process and finalize the language. By the end of the summit we will have solved all major problems and concerns related to Bungie and Halo, and developed prescriptions for their care going forward. If our counsel goes unheeded, we will have the consolation of knowing we enjoyed possibly the last bungie.org community event ever.

Logistics

• Date: Friday Feb 12 - Monday Feb 15 (President's Day)
  
• Location: Park City, UT or its environs
  
• Attendees should evaluate flights to/from Salt Lake City Intl Airport. To ease with transportation and logistics, it's encouraged to book your arrival Friday morning or afternoon, and your departure Monday afternoon/evening.
  
• The TSD Hospitality Crew is currently evaluating options for lodging, and will provide options for different levels of attendance (10-15, 16-20, 20+).

Pictured: the cabin, maybe

It is of the utmost importance that you, dear reader and valued community member, lend your support to this endeavor by attending. The future of video games may depend on it.

Please RSVP either by replying to this post, or emailing me at: schoolyd at teamschoolyd dot org. In your RSVP specify your likelihood of attending (you must select one of the following levels):
Level NartFOpc: I will be there come hell or high water (95%)
Level Paddy: I'll do my best (65%)
Level Tex: Maybe but don't count on it (35%) (THIS IS THE WORST AND MOST DIFFICULT LEVEL FOR PLANNING, DO NOT SELECT)
Level tarehart: No. (0%)

Regards,
The TSD Contingency Crew

* emailed
** to Activision's generic customer support email address