360voice Dev Blog

Sponsored by Block Party

Hey Everyone... 360voice is going to be sponsored by Block Party, celebrating the release of four games this month:

• March 3: Toy Soldiers – 1200 points
• March 10: Scrap Metal – 1200 points
• March 17: Perfect Dark – 800 points
• March 24: Game Room – Free to download.  Individual games will cost 240 to 400 points

What this means are some ads will run for block party... a skin is up (that might get some adjustments) and there will also be some other advertisements appearing throughout the site. Just wanted to let everyone know what is going on.

Top 20 Blogs for February 2010

Here there are. Those who we would all like to be like. The most popular kids on the 360voice block!

* means comments are enabled

1. the dren *
2. PSonic *
3. Stallion83 *
4. t4nd4r 360V *
5. GhostlyMaiden *
6. Dog of Thunder *
7. Major Nelson
8. Chrome30 *
9. Fshguy *
10. ESS3NC3 0F 3V1L *
11. sekes
12. onnovdw
13. GiantBombing *
14. tigereye75
15. fernim
16. natsukashii *
17. Mightymango *
18. ponypo2001 *
19. SaintTheOutcast *
20. SPEEDY G60

A lot of important people on that list... people that make this world go around. Thanks everyone!

Free gamerpic codes for Modern Warfare 2

Hi everyone, wanted to post this for the 360voice community. I love it when members are doing things for other members, and this is an example of that.

Posted on behalf of ESS3NC3 0F 3V1L

Did you miss the Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 midnight release?  Did you go but missed out on the gamerpic code from your store?  Did you miss my first group of pictures?  Well here is your second chance. I have 70 Codes and you can have one for free. All you have to do is send me one message over xbox live. These codes can be used all over the world.  I am doing this as another way to give back to you!  The 360voice community!  All codes will be issued on a first come first serve basis.  If you have received a code from me before for the MW2 Pic Packs a duplicate will not do anything for you.  Also please note that if you send me more than one message I will delete it.  All I need is one message.
 
I want to thank Trapper for allowing me the space to post this so that way many people will be able to take advantage of this opportunity!

So there you go! Send a live message to ESS3NC3 0F 3V1L by clicking HERE.

Badge Update - Q1 2010

Below is a big ol' post about tomorrow's Badge update. Special thanks goes out to Dog of Thunder who compiled the list and did the entire write up.  He also helped as I frantically sorted though all these titles and their crazy names.  Thanks as well to Fshguy for all his usual encouragement on getting badges in order.

Dog of Thunder put together a thread for feedback/information, so check that out when you are done. It is so awesome it got linked 3 times.

Finally before the update info, a quick state of badges update.  Tomorrow (Thursday Feb 4th) only genres and collections will run.  I need to benchmark  these on the site.  We are speed testing and looking for issues this weekend, so we will slowly be turning badges back on to test.  I will try to get updates posted in the forum.  Link will be here when I have it.

And that's all! On with the show....

It's that time of the year again. Time for the 2010 Q1 Genre Badge Update!

Now while the community once again placed the majority of these titles, you'll notice some of 2010's biggest and best releases have already found homes. This is our way of making up for the badges being up and down during the month of January. As usual, if you feel anything is missing, head on over to the Badge forum and voice your opinion.

Step 1: The Additions

Action/Adventure

• Banjo-Kazooie
• Bango-Tooie
• Brutal Legend
• Darksiders*
• WET

Family

• LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Cash-in Continues
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes

Fighting

• DrabonBall Z: Raging Blast
• Tekken 6

FPS

• Army of Two Two* (Dog refuses to use that "other" title)
• Halo: ODST
• Modern Warfare 2

Hack and Slash

• Bayonetta
• Dishwasher: Dead Samurai

Music/Rhythm

• Band Hero
• DJ Hero
• Guitar Hero: Van Halen
• LEGO Rock Band

Oddball

• 'Splosion Man
• Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts

Puzzle

• Bust a Move

Race

• Forza 3
• Need for Speed: Shift

Retro

• Bubble Bobble
• Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection

RPG

• Borderlands
• Dragon Age: Origins
• Magna Carta 2
• Mass Effect 2*

Sandbox

• Assassin's Creed 2
• Saboteur
• Wheelman

Shmup

• Assault Heroes 2
• Raiden IV (renamed/fixed on site)

Sports

• NCAA Basketball 09
• NCAA Basketball 10
• NBA 2k10
• NBA 2k10 Draft Combine

Strategy

• Spectral Force 3
• Zoids Assualt

Survival/Horror

• Left 4 Dead 2
• Saw

Top Gun

• Heroes Over Europe

Wrestling

• Smackdown vs. Raw 2010

Step 2: Removals

As time goes on, some genres stick out from the rest either through sheer numbers (Sports/FPS) or through the lack of people that have the badge (Strategy). As of January 28th, exactly three times as many people held the Top Gun badges then the Strategy badges. To bring Sports back in line, the decision was made to remove all of the 2006-2008 annual franchise games. This dropped the numbers required for Sports to fit right in with the other genres.

To Be Removed From Sports - 29 total titles

• College Hoops 2k6
• College Hoops 2k7
• College Hoops 2k8
• FIFA 06 ROTWC
• FIFA 07
• FIFA 08
• Madden NFL 06
• Madden NFL 07
• Madden NFL 08
• MLB 2k6
• MLB 2k7
• MLB 2k8
• NBA 2k6
• NBA 2k7
• NBA 2k8
• NBA Live 06
• NBA Live 07
• NBA Live 08
• NCAA Football 07
• NCAA Football 08
• NCAA March Madness 07
• NCAA March Madness 08
• NHL 2k6
• NHL 2k7
• NHL 2k8
• NHL 07
• NHL 08
• Tiger Woods 07
• Tiger Woods 08

Strategy - The genre has greatly expanded since the badges were first created. Turn based and RTS titles are now fairly common and come out on a regular basis, as do Tower Defense titles (South Park, Defense Grid, Crystal Defenders). This has left Strategy with some very odd looking titles that did not match the rest. We also compared number of gamers that have played the titles, and pulled both Stormrise and Supreme Commander. Each title has low play #'s, low metacritic scores, and very high TA ratios. By removing these, we have hopefully made the Strategy genre a bit easier.

Strategy Removals

• Battlestations: Midway
• Outpost Kaloki X
• Star Trek: Legacy
• Stormrise
• Supreme Commander

Music Removals

• Boom Boom Rocket
• "All Rockband Track Packs"

Collection Changes

• Cars: Mater-National is removed from Movie games.
• Hellboy: Science of Evil is removed from Movie games.
• Cameron's Avatar is placed into Movie games.
• Alaskan Storm: Deadliest Catch is placed into The Great Outdoors
• Cabela's Big Buck Hunter 2010 is placed into The Great Outdoors.

Most Popular Blogs for January 2010

Here it is... the first list of the top twenty people for the year twenty ten!

1. the dren *
2. Stallion83 *
3. admiringworm *
4. PSonic *
5. Major Nelson
6. GhostlyMaiden *
7. SPEEDY G60
8. unsafesh0tgun
9. Fshguy *
10. Chrome30 *
11. sekes
12. ESS3NC3 0F 3V1L *
13. Dog of Thunder *
14. VaultDweller01
15. CRU x360a *
16. t4nd4r *
17. SPIDERMANMTL *
18. ZOIG
19. ponypo2001 *
20. tigereye75

Your names are all so cute. Like little rabbits.

Badge Update

Just an update on badges, they should be back up Tuesday February 2nd, unless something unexpected happens.  The remainder of this week, we will be doing a bit of maintenance to clean up a few jobs, and maybe speed some of the process up a bit.  To get things up quicker, not all badges will update everyday.  There will be some badges that update daily, others may alternate days.  When I get done testing the speeds I will work on a list to post on the 2nd.

Thanks again for your patience, this is taking way longer then expect.  We are approaching some of the limits of the database and processing time, but a bit of clean up and maintenance should help get things running smoother.

Jobs Delayed, Streakes Saved, Site Maintenance

UPDATE Jan-08-2010 Morning - Ran a partial badge run last night, and tested speed of others.  Only a few badges were updated last night.  On Tuesday I will get another batch run which should be about half the badges updating daily, starting Wednesday.  See what I can add from there, until we can schedule major maintenance.

Jobs are delayed today, and we could have had a slightly delay data capture today.  So Just in case every gets a free day on their streaks.

In other news today and tomorrow doing a little bit of maintenance on the site.  There is more stuff that needs done then can be knocked out this weekend, but want to get a few things running a bit better.  Badges are still off today.  However for tomorrow, I hope to get partial badges running.  So basically I will get select badges updating again, and start working on the rest.  More news tomorrow.

Thanks for everyone patience!

NBA Live 07 1000 People Online - Take 2

Posted on behalf of Mightymango

People have been asking about this for over two years now. And the time has finally come! EA has announced the server for NBA Live 07 will be turned off on Feb 2nd 2010.

We have chosen Sunday January 31st 2010 for the last shot at the 1,000 people online achievement.

The times will be:

7PM: Central Europe (GMT +1)
6PM: UK (GMT)
1PM: US Eastern (GMT -5)
Noon: US Central (GMT -6)
11AM : US Mountain (GMT -7)
10AM : US Western (GMT -8)

For more information check out the forum thread.

December 2009 Most Popular Blogs

Here it is... the last month of 2009... and those that had the most popular blogs.

* means comments are enabled! Go leave congrats!

1. the dren *
2. Stallion83 *
3. PSonic *
4. t4nd4r *
5. Major Nelson
6. unsafesh0tgun
7. Fshguy *
8. CRU x360a *
9. griffey95 *
10. admiringworm *
11. SPEEDY G60
12. ESS3NC3 0F 3V1L *
13. SPIDERMANMTL *
14. ZOIG
15. sekes
16. Chrome30 *
17. Seng IV *
18. Dog of Thunder *
19. IgnorantQuarrel *
20. tigereye75

Look at that beautiful list.

Happy New Year! Here comes 2010!

Hi Everyone! It has been some time since I have reached out with an update of just what the heck is going on around here these days... I know it isn't 2010... but it is just around the corner, and I wanted to bring everyone up to speed.

Currently 360voice is still owned by GamerDNA which is now owned by Crispy Gamer. Fatty Chubs, myself or Squidpunch no longer work with any of those entities... In fact Steve and I now work at a new startup in Boston called MeYou Health! Is your head spinning yet?

So what does this mean for 360voice? It means that for now... Steve, David and myself will continue to answer support... keep the site running... try and not break anything until we can figure out next steps. Just today I had to recode the way the stats on the blog process because when people were deleting their blogs and reactivating them it was creating corrupt data. Steve is hard at work this week figuring out why the badges are so slow that it is dragging down the rest of the site.

All that said, because we don't officially work for the people that own 360voice anymore, we work on the site at the pleasure of Crispy Gamer. If they decide that they don't want us to work on the site, than we will stop and someone else will take over. Because it is the holidays, everyone is starting new jobs, and all the pieces of the company acquisition are falling into place, who knows what the long term outcome will be... just know that like always Steve and I continue to do lots of work each day to make sure that things at least run... we aren't always able to jump in and fix things right away... and we can't always respond to support immediately... but we have been using a guy for some support contracting... Lagnajit Roy... to do all the gamertag changes and other easy tasks so that we can be sure they get done! If you have submitted a support ticket you might have bumped into him. He is a good guy, but doesn't know everything about Xbox so take it easy on him! ;)

Steve and I have been working on 360voice for almost 4 years now... we have no plans to let it evaporate. I don't want to make any promises... if there is one thing 2009 taught me, it is that life can turn on a dime... but we would love to give the site a redesign with a new look and ideas for PAX Boston in March. But like I said... who knows at this point. 2010 is a big blank slate.

So Happy New Year everyone. Thanks for continuing to use and support the site.

Site Maintenance - Badges Turned off.

Things are running a bit slow on the servers during the holidays, badges are going to be turned off for the next few days while we investigate.

There are no planned updates, and no planned outages at this point.  We will investigate possible fixes to the situation, and update when we have work planned or everything is back to normal.

So hope everyone celebrating a holiday had a good time and got the gifts they wanted. I managed to get a little Xbox in everywhere I went, even without Xbox Live. Lips and Peggle were the favorites.   What did everyone play?

Top 20 Most Popular Blogs for November 2009

Here is that list of lists... the cream of the crop that rose to the top during the month of November 2009.

* means comments are enabled

1. the dren *
2. Stallion83 *
3. PSonic *
4. Major Nelson
5. Fshguy *
6. admiringworm *
7. SPEEDY G60
8. t4nd4r *
9. SparkyMP *
10. ESS3NC3 0F 3V1L *
11. ZOIG
12. SPIDERMANMTL *
13. lupadi *
14. fourzerotwo
15. onnovdw
16. CRU x360a *
17. sekes
18. Minty x360a
19. Boerke *
20. tigereye75

Look at all of you. So popular. So beautiful. So Loved. Enjoy this moment.

Buy/Sell/Rent forum is live!

You have been asking for it. An issue with the code (that was throwing 500 errors) is what made this such an issue. I spent some time tonight, tracked it down, fixed it (for now) and I think we are all set.

Feel free to buy.rent.trade with each other... but remember, that you do so at your own risk.

Read the rules first!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

It is that time of the year (here in America) where we look around and give thanks for everything that we have. I just wanted to give a special thanks to the dedicated community of 360voice for all of your support over the years. Time has come and gone... some things have changed, many things have stayed the same. The future today is just as uncertain as it was a year ago... but we continue forward secure in the fact that we are surrounded by a great community of passionate Xbox gamers.

So thank you to you all for your continued support, continued passion, and continued patience with myself (ChangeAgent), Steve (Fatty Chubs), and David (Squidpunch).

Cheers everyone. Enjoy your celebrations.

Member of the moment: Chrome30

Posted on behalf of t4nd4r

"CHARLIES IN THE TREES!", "AIRSTRIKE INBOUND, DANGER CLOSE!", "RELOADING", these are just some of the things I could hear in the background as I sat down with Ralph Martin (Chrome30 as the interwebs know him) and asked some questions. Currently serving in the US Army overseas, he still finds time to play videogames.  Without further ado, let's get some answers from one of America's finest, HOOAH!

Where are you from, and where are you currently stationed?
Originally I am from California,but my Uncle Sam has me beating my feet in the desert at the moment (Kuwait).

You are currently in the military, what is your rank and how did you get there?
I am in the US Army and I can't discuss my rank or title =p if you knew I would have to kill you!!

What made you decide to be in the military? Are you glad you joined?
I joined the military because I believed it was my duty to serve.  I planned on only doing 3 years, but I love my job and I have been in for 9 years now.

Are you in constant danger of attack? Have you ever been sent to the front lines of battle? What's a day like in the military?
I am currently in minimal danger of attack.  My first trip to Iraq I was on the front lines in Fallujah and Mosul.  I saw my share of battle and I have horrible memories of it.  The military day to day is different all over. In my job I wear civilian clothes daily and do not do the day to day "military stuff" I tip my hat to the boys and girls doing hard battle in Afghanistan and Iraq.  They are the true warriors.

What kind of equipment do you use everyday? What type of weapons are you certified to use?
My daily use here in Kuwait sadly is my computer, fork, knife, and spoon.  I do carry my weapons when I go on mission.  I am certified on the M4, M16, M9 and several foreign weapons. I also have one mean Judo chop!!

Have you ever been a part of a "classified" mission? What was it like?
Funny thing about that question is my whole job is classified, lol so yes I have been...but I can't tell you what they are.  They are a huge adrenaline rush and it makes it feel like what you are doing is making a difference.

What is the highest ranking person you have ever came into contact with?
I have briefed a 2 star general on operational items and he was a very cool guy.

Have you ever had to use your weapon in the line of duty? What was your reaction after if you have?
Unfortunately, I have and it was on a couple occasions.  Afterwards I felt a little on edge, scared, and sick to my stomach.  I knew it was them or me though and I have to keep moving forward.

How much longer do you have in the military before you are done?  Is there a set schedule for when you get to come home, and how long is that usually?
I have at least 6 more years in the military, so that is probably a couple more deployments.  There is a set schedule for my return home and the length of time I am at home just depends on the unit I go to after I leave Kuwait.  We'll see =)

Out of all the military videogames you have played, has there ever been any that hit home? Is it logical to throw a grenade back if it lands near you, do you pick up enemies weapons if you are out of ammo, that kind of stuff?
MW2 on the first level after your training (where you are in the vehicle) the part with the ambush got my heart pounding a little faster and it made me feel tense.  It was very realistic.  Some people throw their bodies down on grenades and do what they think is right at the given situation.  There have been several people pick up live grenades and get rid of them, not the frequency it happens in COD, but some heroes do it in order to protect their own.  If you are out of rounds an enemy weapon gets the job done just like your own =)

Do you go through a lot of ready-to-eat-meals while you are over there, or do you get to go out to restaurants? Any McD's or Burger Kings in Kuwait?
Kuwait is VERY much into the western culture.  They have everything over here i.e.  Krispy Kreme, BK, Chilis, Applebee's, Starbucks, Mc'D etc etc  the extremists here hate the fact that all these places are built here, but they still have glaze on their lips every once and awhile =)

What's the weather like in Kuwait?
Currently it is nice and chill out...it is about 95 degrees.  That is nice compared to the summer as it was about 130-145 it was brutal =/

Wife/kids/dog/cat/rabbit?
I have a gorgeous wife named Stacy who is everything to me.  She is a wonderful woman for putting up with my job and I love her for it. No kids...yet.  Love dogs, but neither one of us have time to take care of pets.

How are you able to check your e-mail and browse forums? Why are you not able to be connected to Xbox Live?
The net here is wifi and is not strong enough to connect to live.  The first month I was here I was like a recovering drug addict...I needed my Live fix and couldn't get it...had to go cold turkey lol.  I also have my government computer, but that net is pretty much restricted.  So, no live for me until I get leave in December.

Before you left for service, your gamerscore was 126,578.  How much larger has that become since being offline?
I wish I could say it has increased dramatically...alas, it is only at 129, 750 at the moment.  Sad...but true.  Damn terrorists keeping my GS down!!

Your largest weekly achievement and gamerscore gain is massive, 240 and 7,979 respectively.  Were you involved in a challenge at the time? Did you end up winning?
I was involved in the first ever mega challenge =) it was amazing and I came in third on that one...CroakerTarekegypt.  One day I will win one of those darn things!!  Always the brides maid....never the bride so to speak =p

Your highest daily gamerscore gain was in March of 2008 for a total of 3,260.  What games did you play? Were you trying to win a challenge?
Oh geez, what did I play??  Ummm, probably some 2k6 titles and Surfs up possibly.  It was definitely some easy sports games...for sure.  Watch for me to destory that daily gain when I am on leave in December!! Tons of games to catch up on lol.

Do you ever play your Xbox360 with more people in service? Such as co-op in Modern Warfare 2 or rocking the set in Rock Band?
I wish I had others to play games with here, but alas I only rock the single player on all versions of my games =/ unless I play with one controller in each hand...and boy is that difficult sometimes hehe.

How did you come up with your Gamertag?
My gamertag came from my plane ride home from Iraq.  In the military you get on military aircrafts to fly home, my flight was named Chrome30. In honor of this wonderful flight getting me back home safely from a hellish year in Iraq I picked it as my gamertag and will forever be known as Chrome30.

What brought you to 360Voice?
I was browing the net one day and put in a google search.  I started to read up on the sight and thought it was an amazing idea!! I just had to join. Then I started talking to some of the people and it was pretty much a done deal from there.

What is your favorite part of 360Voice?
I would easily say the people.  They are the KEY part of 360V.  Without the great people the site would just be stats.  The people make it amazing!!

Is there anything you would like to see changed about 360Voice?
I love 360v so much that I tell everyone in Kuwait about it...as for changes...I would probably change some of the point qualifications on badges i.e. HTTK badge...you all know what I am talking about!!

If you had the opportunity, is there anyone you would like to meet from 360Voice?
I couldn't just pick one...there are so many people on the site that I would love the chance to meet.  I have had a lot of great support from everyone and I get along with a lot of folks from the site.  If you are putting the clamps on me though I would pick Trapper and talk to him about the approach to the site etc.

You recently created a Chrome30 challenge, what gave you the idea for the challenge, and all the crazy bonus scenarios?
I have done quite a few challenges during my time at the site.  I love to give back to a great community and enjoy doing the events/challenges.  The bonus scenarios were discussed between Futiles and myself and thought it would be a wonderful way to kind of shake things up and give others a fun way to score.  It worked for some and caused fits for others lol.

How long have you been gaming?
I have been gaming hardcore since Zelda came out in the gold cartridge.  I didn't grow up with a lot of money etc, so when my Dad got us a nintendo we were hooked and it just went on from there.  I remember splitting time with my brother and sister...we had 30 minutes each and that just didn't cut it lol I always went over my time limit and got in trouble with pops...ahhh well =p

What was the first game you ever played?
See above, lol Zelda..although I do faintly remember playing Pit fall and all the "old school" games. So, I guess it was pit fall and frogger etc.

What is your reason for playing games?
I play games for the amazing graphics, story and overall depth of what games are nowadays.  The technology is just insane!! And I love the progression of gaming.  I can't wait to see the next gen systems.

What do you enjoy more, single-player or multi-player?
I am a hardcore RPG fan, but some of the best games now days are multi-player.  The human interaction and unexpected actions/reactions make MP games amazing.  I just want a great MMORPG for 360 and that will be enough for me =)

What is your current gaming setup, what is your setup like back at home?
Ahhh my current setup, lol I first got my 8X10 room/jail cell and there was a 19 inch big bulky thing on a dresser trying to pass as a TV.  We all know TV's are not big and bulky anymore...they are slim and flat with lovely color and depth.  Anyway, I got rid of that thing and bought the biggest TV they sell here... So, I have a Sony Bravia 32 inch here and I use Turtle beach X4 headphones for amazing sound quality.  Back home the setup is going to change to the new Samsung LED 52inch TV and bose surround sound...I will hookup my new MW2 system as well =) All and all it is good enough for Kuwait.

Do you like to eat a snack or drink while playing games?
Yes, my wife can attest to this.  I will sleep in the wee hours of the morning and when she wakes up she will see Full Throttle cans on the TV stand I use and possibly some wrappers from pop tarts that I had previously devoured while Owning young arrogant children in COD/Halo (when that was cool to play hehe)

Do you own any other consoles?
I, of course, have my trusty PS3 blu ray player.  The only good game I played on that was Heavenly Sword.  I do have to be honest and say I am looking forward to God of War in the coming months.

When did you join Xbox Live, and why did you decide to?
I joined xbox live when I returned from Iraq in 2006.  I just bought my 360 and that seemed like something I just had to do.  I picked up Splinter Cell and played that online and thought it was absolutely amazing!!

What are your current top 10 favorite games ever, out of any console?
Top 10?? Whew, hard question.  1. Final Fantasy III as the storyline was epic and characters deep.  2. Resident Evil  3.  Dead Rising  4.  FF 7 5.  Zelda Ocarina of time  6.  Tecmo Superbowl (classic)  7. Chrono Trigger 8. Bioshock  9. Mass Effect  and 10. would be Dragon Age as of right now.

What are 5 achievements that you are most proud of?
Proud of Completing COD: WaW on Vet (damn nades!!)  Mile high club...MK vs DC Kombo challenges (finsihed 3) Anyone else? Skate 2 achievement and probably the last achievement for beating MW2 cause it just feels so good at the end of the game when you...=p you know!!

If you could change one thing about Xbox Live, what would it be?
Make it free of course!! I am sure everyone would love me for that, right??

Are there any games you are looking forward to realeasing in the near future?
The latest installment of Final Fantasy, Mass Effect 2, Assassins Creed 2 and God of War for the PS3.

What are some new releases you've been able to grab while overseas?
I have stayed up on the popular games due to Gamefly and my wife being so awesome.  I have grabbed prototype, Overlord II, Batman, MW2, Ghostbusters, and Dragon Age: origins to name a few.  Now if I can just find some time to play them =(

Would you like to give any shout-outs?
I would love to give shout outs to the following people:  Stacy, you are my love and the reason I do all this crazy "stuff" I do, you are my world and everything I cherish.  I would also like to give special thanks to Futiles, Spider, DoT, PSonic, Sparky, and everyone who keep in touch with me while I am overseas.  Emails and communication goes a long way out here where we don't get a lot of it.  Thanks to everyone at 360v for making it the best site around.  I appreciate you all and I am honored to be MoTM.  Oh, and t4nd4r I thank you as well...thought I forgot ya huh?? =p

Thanks Martin for filling us in on what it's like being in the military, and what games you like to play.  I think I can speak for everyone when I say THANK YOU for doing what you do to keep us protected and safe back in the states.  Without you being hard at work every day, we would not be able to feel safe going outside our homes.  You really are "Being All You Can Be". I hope we all get a chance to play some games online together when you return from service.

November Badge Update

The latest badge update went live this week. Special thanks to Dog of Thunder who put this together with the help of the community, its also his birthday on Sunday so we have a gift for everyone. High School Musical right? Ya'know, Fshguy and MightyMango really pushed for that one....

Below is the list of games added to genres.

Action/Adventure
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Shadow Complex

Family
Ice Age 3

FPS
Battlefield 1943
Call of Jaurez: Bound in Blood
F.E.A.R 2
Wolfenstein

Hack'n'Slash
Dynasty Warriors 6: Empires
Ninja Blade

Music
Disney Sing It!: High School Musical 3
Guitar Hero 5
Rock Band: AC/DC Live!
Rock Band: Classic Rock
Rock Band: Country Pack
Rock Band: Song Pack 2
The Beatles: Rock Band

Oddball
Overlord 2

Puzzle
Braid
Puzzle Arcade

Race
Dirt 2

Retro
Space Invaders Extreme

Sandbox
Spidey: Web of Shadows

Sports
Madden 10
NCAA Football 10

Strategy
The Outfit
Warhammer: Battle March
Worms 2: ARMAGEDDON

Top Gun
IL-2 Birds of Prey

Also something new, we also handed out community badges to the folks in Chrome30's October Challenge Event. Normally these are only for sanctioned 360voice events, however the 3VCE's and community really pushed for recognition on this, so we made a special case. 

So thanks everyone for rocking the community action, Modern Warfare 2 is out next week so maybe I will catch some of you online!

Top 20 Most Popular blogs for October 2009

Hi Everyone,

I may be a bit off the grid lately, but it is a new month, and with it, a new list of people with the most popular blogs at 360voice.

* means comments are enabled. Go leave one!

1. the dren *
2. Stallion83 *
3. PSonic *
4. Major Nelson
5. Fshguy *
6. SparkyMP *
7. lupadi *
8. tigereye75
9. onnovdw
10. t4nd4r *
11. fernim
12. ZOIG
13. Boerke *
14. ESS3NC3 0F 3V1L *
15. SPIDERMANMTL *
16. SPEEDY G60
17. sekes
18. Dog of Thunder *
19. Mightymango *
20. FragEmAndSmile *

Congrats to everyone on the list. Lots of long-time familiar names, as well as a few new people. Also special thanks to squidpunch for tweaking the list to exclude spam accounts.

Most popular blogs for September 2009

Here we are... fall is upon us... October has arrived. Here are the most popular blogs for September 2009:

1. the dren *
2. PSonic *
3. Stallion83 *
4. Fshguy *
5. SparkyMP *
6. Major Nelson
7. Dog of Thunder *
8. FragEmAndSmile *
9. I The K Train I
10. tigereye75
11. fernim
12. lupadi *
13. Boerke *
14. ESS3NC3 0F 3V1L *
15. ZOIG
16. ZeroDesolation *
17. t4nd4r *
18. Mightymango *

Sorry there are only 18. I haven't fixed the filtering yet. It is removing the spammers but not adding in the new members for positions 19 and 20. I will get that next time.

Congrats to everyone in the top list.

Planned Outage: Sept 17th 8pm ET

Hi everyone. Our hosting company has informed us that we have to install a new security kernel on our linux servers... so we will have a small (hopefully!) outage while that happens. We will bring the site down around 8pm ET and bring it back up when things are all set.

In other news, things should be running pretty smooth. Badges should all be cleaned up and working. The days played leaderboards per game are back on the game pages... everything is chugging along... although watch.. tonight the imports will fail or something! It always seems as soon as we acknowledge everything running smooth it stops doing such. :)

Also you might have noticed the HUGE GEARS OF WAR 2 skin. Gotta pay da billz! ;)

UPDATE 2:57pm ET

SURPRISE! Looks like the hosting company decided that 8pm actually meant 8am, so we had a small outage this morning while both our database servers went down... and were rebooted. Everything is back up and running... but the jobs are behind....

I mean seriously, didn't I just say in the above paragraph that as soon as we acknowledge the smoothness, suddenly things break? :)

No Badges Today

Badges will not run as schedule today, so there will be no updates until tomorrow evening.  We will be using the time to run some outstanding maintenance, back-end testing, and a bit of data clean up.  You shouldn't notice any slow down, or downtime, but there is a small chance your badges could disappear briefly.  We promise to give them back though.