hi… I guess?

…hi everyone! I’m back! Well… kinda. The last time I was blogging was in 2008, that’s almost two decades ago! Time flies, huh? A lot has changed since then, both in my life and in the world of video games, but one thing that hasn’t changed is my love for Sonic the Hedgehog and Halo. I know some people in the Sonic fandom (those outside of the Ocean Palace community) have been wondering why I quit blogging and YouTube in the first place. Well, there were a few reasons, but the main one was that there were some personal things I had to deal with. I don’t want to go into details since it’s private and it’s in the…

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Halo was never “too slow,” but it’s not meant to be fast-paced either

With the constant changes 343 Industries have been making to Halo over the last decade — changes that fans never asked for, nor were embraced by them — there have arisen numerous arguments between those who prefer the original Halo games by Bungie and those who prefer the Halo games by 343. One argument that's frequently put forth by 343 fans and which has gained prevalence in recent years, is that classic Halo is too slow and boring. This isn't how most of them express their opinion, though. It's almost always said with disdain and worded in a particular way to mock and insult the original games and the people who enjoy them. The reality, however, is that the…

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  • November 21, 2023
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I finally got a copy of the Xbox 360 “Marble Blast Ultra” dashboard theme

I've always liked the wallpapers that were featured in the official Xbox 360 Marble Blast Ultra dashboard theme. I've been trying to obtain a copy of the theme for game preservation but it's been difficult due to its rarity. I downloaded the theme on my Xbox 360 when it was first released but sadly it was on a gamertag that I forgot the password to over a decade ago. A friend of mine recently signed into one of his old gamertags from the 2000s and found that the theme was in his download history, so he redownloaded the theme, transferred it to PC, and sent me a copy. I'm so happy and grateful that I finally have the theme!…

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Marble Blast Ultra now supports standard 3D file formats

Ever since I started playing Marble Blast Ultra, one of my biggest wishes was to be able to play on maps from other games. That's now been made possible. Marble Blast Ultra uses a file format called .dif for its level geometry, which is a proprietary format used by the Torque Shader Engine (TSE), the game engine that powers Marble Blast Ultra. The .dif file format is more limited and less compatible than standard 3D file formats, and requires a special tool called Constructor to create and edit it. I was telling some friends a few months ago about my wish to be able to import maps from other games into MBU and how much fun it would be,…

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Gears of War 2’s menu is one of my favorites

Gears of War 2 has one of the best and most expressive menus in video game history. It flawlessly encapsulates the themes of the game, conveying terror, horror, bloodshed, death, and humanity's struggle — immersing the player into its universe before the gameplay even starts. The worn-out, gritty UI elements, aged and eroded text, strong use of reds and blacks for its association with death and destruction, buildings engulfed in flames, the grainy look over the entire menu, and music that evokes elegiac and traumatic tones all work together to create an atmosphere of a dystopian world plagued with loss and despair, with fear that's practically airborne. The twitching bloodied skull always present in the background is reflective of…

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343 Industries has ruined Halo’s multikill medals

In the original Halo games by Bungie, Halo's multikills always had a 4-second window between each kill. In Halo 4, 343 Industries upped it to 4.5 seconds, and then once again to 5 seconds in Halo 5. They kept it at 5 seconds for Halo Infinite, but increased the window by .25 seconds with every kill, with a hard cap of 7 seconds at the top, making it easier than before to earn multikill medals. This change means that after a player earns a Killpocalypse (killing 9 players in quick succession), they're now given a total of 7 seconds to get a Killionaire, which is the highest earnable multikill medal (10 kills in quick succession). This is enough time…

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Sprint has ruined Halo’s sticky grenade play

Sprint has hurt a core feature of Halo's gameplay; sticky grenades. It's why there's been a decrease in strategic sticks and stick montages after H3, players are spending too much time in guns down sprinting from point A to B unlike original Halo which was all about engagement. Originally, players would always look around the map when traversing, ready to make full use of their arsenal at any moment, but with the introduction of sprint the primary focus of the player has shifted from engagement to sprinting from point A to B and then looking to engage. Most players always sprint when not in battle because they see speed as a superpower. Being able to freely look around whilst…

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Hailey Eira

A place for me to post my thoughts, ideas, and anything that interests me.

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