Reach Xbox LIVE playlists have been updated!

Our first Halo: Reach post-launch playlist update has been successfully deployed to Xbox LIVE. This update addresses a variety of issues in addition to tweaking some of the existing core gametypes and playlists.

Please note that this is just the first of many updates. Our team continues to work on improving the Reach online experience and we’re always listening to your feedback and reviewing the voting and game data we get from our servers. Reach will just keep getting better! As always, we welcome your feedback in our Optimatch forum here on Bungie.net.

Also note that we have another small update happening later this month (either 10/12 or 10/19 pending final test pass) that will enable campaign matchmaking. And for everyone out there who doesn’t love Infection as much as the rest of the players, don’t fret, we have plans to move Infection into its own “Living Dead” playlist later this month.

Lastly, in addition to everything listed below, today’s update also makes some tweaks to the betrayal system. Hopefully players will feel it’s a bit more ‘fair’ now and it shoudl behave closer to what you’re used to in Halo 3.

Here’s the full changelist of everything included in today’s update:

PLAYLISTS

Rumble Pit
* Added Crazy King
* Added Juggernaut
* Removed Oddball on Asylum

Team Slayer
* Removed SWAT
* Removed Classic
* Weights adjusted based on voting data

Team SWAT (New!)
* Based on existing Team Slayer SWAT offering
* Removed Hemorrhage
* Replaced Zealot with Arena Zealot map variant

Team Objective
* Added Crazy King
* Added several gametypes on Powerhouse (CTF, Assault, Stockpile, Crazy King, 3 Plots)
* Removed heavy vehicles from all 4v4 Team Objective gametypes

Multi Team
* Added Rocket Race

Big Team Battle
* Added Crazy King
* Removed SWAT
* Removed Snipers from Boneyard
* Weights adjusted based on voting data

Doubles Arena
* Removed Slayer Pro for Season 2
* Removed Boardwalk
* Replaced Zealot with Arena Zealot map variant

Team Arena
* Removed Slayer Pro for Season 2
* Replaced Zealot with Arena Zealot map variant

MAPS

Arena Zealot (New!)
* Added a softkill zone to the space area
* Modified initial spawns so enemies cannot see each other

Zealot
* Objects can no longer be dropped into the boot_base

Asylum
* Removed multiple duplicate Headhunter score zones

Boneyard
* Changed the base object for territories from a hill marker to a flag stand
* Objects can no longer come to rest on the out of bounds cliff behind the scaffolding where the Invasion core is captured
* Players can no longer sit in the out of bounds area under the ship scaffolding

Pinnacle
* Health Packs should not respawn after 15 seconds

Hemorrhage
* Landmine removed from Red team’s west cliff
* Respawn time for all Mongoose vehicles is now 45 seconds
* Scorpions replaced with Wraiths (4 minute respawn)

Paradiso
* Respawn timer for Concussion Rifle at Red base is now 30 seconds to match Concussion Rifle at Blue base

Reflection
* Changed the base object for territories from a hill marker to a flag stand

Boardwalk
* Changed the base object for territories from a hill marker to a flag stand

Powerhouse
* Respawn timer for all Needler weapons is now 45 seconds

GAMETYPES

Global Changes
* Slayer DMR now has motion tracker enabled
* Evade has replaced Hologram for all gametypes in which players can hold objects (CTF, Assault, Stockpile, Oddball)
* Evade has replaced Dropshield for gametypes which create concentrated gameplay in specific areas (Crazy King, Territories, Oddball)
* All Classic gametypes should now include Sprint as default equipment

King of the Hill
* Teams are now always able to correctly score points
* Players standing in the hill no longer receive extra points upon returning from a host migration

Rocket Race
* Players now attached to vehicles after being on foot for 10 seconds
* Flipped vehicles will be detected to prevent players from attaching to a non-upright vehicle
* Added functionality for tracking and reporting rotations
* Fountain of Mongeese should no longer be possible (don’t ask)
* Players are no longer able to jack another teams Mongoose
* Players are no longer forced into a specific role of driver or gunner
* All players start with a Rocket Launcher
* Players move at 50% speed, do significantly reduced damage and are marked with a nav icon
* Players on foot are now able to score points in Rocket Race

Juggernaut
* The Juggernaut no longer sees other players as allies upon returning from a host migration
* New clients after a host migration will no longer lose their Juggernaut status

Territories
* All teams now have separate capture timers for each territory
* Locked territories will no longer prevent players from using equipment
* The flag in the territory is now attached if the territory is a flag stand object
* Added a HUD_Widget to display contested status to players inside a territory
* The progress bar for a territory will now show as full when that territory is being contested (capture progress is saved and will appear again once the territory is no longer contested)
* Random flag clothes will no longer disappear after a round transition

Oddball
* Bombs in Hot Potato now properly report carry time
* Multiple hot potato bombs will no longer spawn in the same location
* The carry time reported stat will now always be correct after a host migration has occurred
* Players carrying the oddball during a host migration will no longer receive extra points

Stockpile
* All stockpile flags are now attached to their spawn location if it is a flag stand

Invasion
* The game score is now set per frame tick based off of the current phase
* A failsafe game end timer has been added to catch any possible bad cases of Invasion games not ending properly

Invasion: Boneyard
* The core will now reset whenever it is thrown through a shield door into a spawning location in Phase 3

Invasion (Assault) and Assault
* Added sudden death to Invasion (Assault) and Assault gametypes

Race
* Players who die before the first checkpoint will no longer spawn in a random location on the map

source: http://www.bungie.net/News/Blog.aspx?mode=news#cid29067

Halo: Reach launch festivities

First off you should prepare for a week long program of Halo downloads, LIVE competitions and special offers running 7-21 September. Among the exciting opportunities for all Halo fans is that Halo Legends will be 50% the usual price to Download to Own from 7-21 September. This stunning collection of seven animated movies gives the perfect background to the Halo universe as we prepare for Halo: Reach. You can own Halo Legends in Standard or High Definition. Buy it now from Xbox LIVE Marketplace and you can watch it later again and again. The party continues with the following dates for your diary:

7 September – Day 7: “Halo: Reach Premium Theme”
8 September – Day 6: “Campaign Preview”
9 September – Day 5: “50% off Avatar Warthog Prop Offer”
10 September – Day 4: “Firefight Preview”
11 September – Day 3: “Deliver Hope – Director’s Cut”
12 September – Day 2: “Multiplayer Preview”
13 September – Day 1: “Halo: Reach Collection Update (Avatar)”

Sign in to Xbox LIVE on these days to view the fresh new content including the awe inspiring full length edit of Deliver Hope this Saturday.

Next, after securing your place on Noble Team with a copy of the game, it’s officially Halo: Reach “Invasion Week” on Xbox LIVE. Six days of online activities not to be missed by any Halo fan. Between 14-19 September you can look forward to…

A free Halo: Reach Invasion Theme for your Xbox 360 dashboard, just connect to Xbox LIVE and download it while you can!

Chance to play against Bungie themselves! The guys that made Halo: Reach will be playing against you, the fans, at set times during the week.

We’re also throwing open all the benefits of Xbox LIVE Gold membership to our Silver subscribers for the weekend of 17-20 September.

Halofest – win a life sized halo statue!!

http://www.gamestop.com/gs/landing/halofest/ check it out and enter to win a halo statue!! all you need to do is pre-order the game halo reach preorder and you get a code to enter in a contest for the statue. and if you pre ordered the game before gamestop started running this contest just go to your local gamestop like I did and show them your preorder receipt and they will give you a code so you can enter the contest