The RPWS logo is now clearer and sharper, with more detail than the old incarnation. It’s still the same basic design though, nothing radical going on here

Also there is a bit more height in the banner, showing off a lot more of the really great quality in-game screenshots we have as our banners. If you have a good shot that you think would work well, feel free to post about it in the forums

Regarding the next season, Autumn ‘08, we plan on announcing a start date within the next few weeks. As most of you are probably back in school/college/work or will be by the time the season starts, we’ve pushed back the weekly start time to 5pm Eastern (2pm Pacific, 10pm West Europe). This should suit may more people who would otherwise have to stay away for fear of oversleeping the next morning, or getting yelled at by parents/girl(boy)-friends/significant others.

Stick around, have a chat in the forums! We’re not gone, we’re just preparing

As this is just an idea, there is nothing concrete in the planning, design, rules etc. of how this would work. But, I’m hoping that there could be a round-robin tournament on maybe Saturdays, over several weeks to determine who is the ultimate Gladiator champion

Here’s where you guys come in - well other than being Contenders and/or Gladiators. If you have any ideas or thoughts on events, “sets” and obviously the Eliminator, post them here or somewhere in our forums. Most of the credit will be given

Current Event Ideas

Assault (also known as Danger Zone)

Raised platform for Gladiator, armed with Brute Shot with finite ammo (24 shots). Contender has 5 weapon stations to attempt to blow up the fusion coil situated behind the Gladiator: Spike Grenade, Fuel Rod Gun, Brute Shot, dual SMGs, 3 Firebombs. Blowing up fusion coil: 10 points. Taken out by Gladiator: 1 point for each weapon station used. 60 second time limit.

Gauntlet

Contender must attempt to run through the Gauntlet of 5 Gladiators, who are armed with Gravity Hammers to push the Contender back. 30 second time limit, 2 points for each Gladiator passed.

Hit and Run

Contender must run along a narrow bridge from one end to the other, scoring 2 points for each crossing. 4 Gladiators armed with infinite ammo Rocket Launchers attempt to “knock the Contender” off. 60 second time limit.

Pyramid

Contenders must climb a pyramid. Gladiators armed with Swords attempt to knock the Contender off and back to the start. 10 points for reaching top, 5 points for reaching so far up. 60 second time limit.

Powerball

Contenders must pick up bombs and attempt to “score” them in the scoring pods. Gladiators armed with Shotguns attempt to takedown the Contenders. 1 point for outside zone, 2 for middle zone. 60 seconds.

Pursuit

Grav Lift jumps(?), narrow balance beam(?)

Eliminator

Mongoose Mancannon(?), Pyramid climb, “Travelator” (inclined platform with Grav Lifts pushing you downwards)

However, this cannot be done over Xbox Live. The group Lower the Guns was created to highlight this fact and to gain support for the cause, and to try and get weapon lowering over Xbox Live enabled.

On September 25th, all Lower the Guns members, and participating Clans and websites will be abstaining from Halo 3 for the day in an attempt to get the point across. And as of today, the Rumble Pit World Series will also not be playing on September 25th. We encourage all players, participants and others to not play Halo 3 on that day.

Instead, play Halo 3 the weekend after - hopefully some of us will be settled into college enough to be able to have a special 1-year Halo 3 anniversary tournament thingy!

PS: The fancy permalinks are now working properly on the forums!
PPS: Oops, forgot the link to the LtG group!

As for us at the RPWS, we’re taking all the informaton in the video with a pinch of salt. The end result probably won’t be exactly what we want, or what we’re looking for, or what we think it is. However, in the unlikely scenario that it IS what we think it is, then there is a very strong outlook for the future of the RPWS.

The two things from the video that the community is speculating about that we are specifically looking at are the newer “map editor”, and the AI possibility.

Map Editor

The new editor is probably the biggest thing that can benefit the RPWS. With the opportunity to make true custom maps, the number of “venues” for the series can be drastically improved. Players can give feedback as to what they would like in a map, and brand new arenas, suitable for all gametypes, can be crafted to meet the needs of the series.

We do hope that there will be a new editor, or if not, at least an improvement on the current Forge. While there are some great custom maps out there (for example MLG’s Onslaught and Amplified), not all of them are suitable for our needs, and wide variety of gametypes. Still, there is the possibility out there.

AI

Having AI available, whether it be in Forge or in custom game settings, would enable us to create a new breed of custom gametypes. Whereas up until now, there has been a limited set of gametypes that can be played, having AI additions would enable new possibilites.

Players vs AI in an Infection style game, AI supplementing the players in mercenary style games, or just having additional AI around to kill and be killed by - all these possibilities would be available if AI were enabled. It is very exciting to think that something so small as other opponents on the map that will play the way you want them to can change the game in so many ways.

Both of these things are major improvements to the game that, if true, have probably taken a lot of backend work by the Bungie developers. It needs to be understood that these features may not actually be coming, and that the video was just to tease us into making us think that they were coming. But if they are, then the RPWS has a very bright future ahead. Just as long as people show up

It is likely that the season will not go ahead at all, but instead efforts will be focused on the ‘08 Autumn season, starting October. I should be available for that season, and should have a few others to help out as well. The starting time will also be moved back to 6pm EST, to better accomodate players.

Once again, we apologize for this, but the circumstances make it very hard to hold the season. If people are around, I’m sure that a tournament or two can be held before October.

As such, the game will be delayed and played tomorrow night instead. Right now, there isn’t a set co-ordinator (which will hopefully change by tomorrow!) for the game, but if any of you want to take it on yourselves to host the gameweek, feel free
Just make sure to get the maps and gametype from my file share (Slots 19-21), post the links to the games so we can get the results, and save the films! We’d appreciate the replays so we hopefully can make some sort of highlight reel.

Also, another new note. If you are interested in playing in the gameweek, send a freind request to RPWS Members. That Gamertag is the port of call for all RPWS participants, so if everyone playing is on it, then there are no problems getting in touch with the players on the night

Last season, Zeakk took near maximum points available with 2 wins from 3 and 285 points. However, still missing those elusive Objective game victories, can the clean slate for the season and the new points scoring system allow others to take an early season lead and make up some ground in the All-Time rankings?

Gametypes

Slayer: Slayer BRs - BR start
Objective: KotH Duals - SMG start, dual-wieldable weapons on map
Custom: HeadSWAT - SWAT settings, Instant Kill, Headshot scoring only

Quals

Being the start of a new season, obviously there is no current Top 6 players exempt from qualifying (if it takes place, of course). Since this is the case, the Top 6 rule is based on last season’s overall points.

Party

Once again, the party will be started the same way as before. TheChrisD will start the party and invite players first from the RPWS Members XBL friends list, and then individual invites for anyone else who wants to play. If you’re not on the list on the night and still want to play, send an Xbox Live message to TheChrisD - don’t try to post on the forums, because they won’t be checked all that much.

The possible hosts may change depending on how the search for a full-time co-ordinator goes.

See you all, this Sunday, August 3rd at 8pm EST!

First off, a big thank you to Reflex for adding us, which will help spread the word about us!

Secondly, another big thank you to Reflex for using the forums! Come on people, they’re not there for nothing…

Also, there will be a few “incentives” for Summer Season 2. If the season is played out to completion (i.e. all 8 weeks played in full), then the winner of the season will get a choice of either a 12-month Xbox Live card, or a 4000 MS Points card! Plus, second and third place will get either a 3-month card or a 1600 Point card! It’s player’s choice as to what you want (as long as Amazon still have stocks ), so if you want a chance turn up and play!

And on a side note, the site underwent a few upgrades as well. You’ll see the news articles and forums look a lot more alike now. I’m still not sure how it looks in IE though, so if it looks a little weird - not my fault! Any bug reports are appreciated!

Anyway, hope to see you Sunday week!

Schedule

Summer Season 2 will retain most of the same schedule as Season 1, with a slightly different ordering. The schedule may change during the season if there are any changes in map availability.

• Foundry, Snowbound, Guardian, Cold Storage, The Pit, Epitaph, Construct, Narrows

All gameweeks will start at 8pm EST, and last no longer than one hour (in the event of qualifying)/45 minutes (no qualifying). An absolute minimum of 8 players is needed for a gameweek to be official, and in the event of a gameweek taking place with less than 8 players, half points will be awarded.

Scoring

Scoring for Summer Season 2 will follow the revised scoring system, intended to make the overall scoring gap between the winner and those that finish near the bottom closer.

Non-qualifiers score 25 points for each game they are unable to compete in. If a player drops out in the middle of the gameweek, players who did not qualify will be invited back to participate in the official game, and will score normal points, instead of the 25 points for a DNQ.

Maps

New for the second season, all maps will now have two official RPWS variants - one with equipment, power-ups and turrets, and the other without. This is to allow tweaked weapon spawns, positions and other possible changes as asked for by the community.

Custom Gametypes

Custom gametypes may now also be played on completely customised maps. The community may submit gametypes and associated maps (if any) for possible inclusion into the Custom gametype list.

That’s most of the information for Season 2. If you need any extra info, feel free to ask in reply to this news post, or in the forums.