405th Logo Update

[Art Andrews]

As with so many other things within this community, we are bringing a fresh approach to the look of the core logo.

Logo History

Now... I won't claim to know the entire history of the community's identity, but this is one of the earliest versions of the logo I could find from around August of 2007.



Which eventually appeared on the website around Oct of 2007.



I am not sure exactly when the current logo was first created (roughly ~2008) but Adam shared some of the very earliest versions of it with me:





This triskelion-styled design with three hexagons and the (Halo) ring eventually gave way to our current logo:




Updated Logo

In approaching the new logo, we hired Ever and Oak to help us. Douglas is a friend (and long time RPFer) and understands these type of communities, where a typical design company probably wouldn't truly get the nature of what we do. In talking with him I told him that I did not want a NEW logo as much as I wanted a new take on the existing logo as so many within the community identify with it. I asked him to keep the core elements of the logo:

• The ring - representing Earth.
• The three stars - representing the core values of our community: honor, armor and unity
• The three hexagons - represent you, the building blocks of our community, who hold our values at your core
• The eagle - which has long represented a fighting force, most notably in history, the Roman Legion, but more currently, the US Marine Corps
• The wreath - from the UN and UEG insignia, a symbol of the peace the UNSC are striving toward

I also asked that Douglas give us a design that didn't exactly mimic any specific Halo design, but had a feel that would fit into the Halo universe. I also asked him to limit the color palette to two, subdued colors (in addition to black and white) and make the logo something that we could easily break down into more simple forms for various uses. For anyone who knows anything about design, it is much harder to recreate something than to create something from scratch and my list of needs was no small task.

With that being said, Douglas brought back to me a stunning update to our logo that addressed EVERY concern I had and did so in a fantastic way!

I hate to start on a bad note, but before you scroll further (stop scrolling... stop!), PLEASE DO NOT USE THE NEW LOGO FOR ANY IMAGERY AT THIS TIME! Over the next few days, we will be setting up new logo usage guidelines and providing high-resolution artwork for approved usage. Again, please do not use this logo in part or whole at this point!

Here is our new full logo for the 405th Division:



Here is a horizontal variation:



And very importantly, the logo can be broken down into smaller components... such as ranks:



... or it could also be used to represent the progression that so many of us make from small and simply things to complex and difficult things:



And here is just an example of me playing around in Photoshop...


No matter how you look at it, this is a strong update to the community's identity, paying homage to what has come before, while giving us something more versatile and usable for what is ahead!

Here is a chance to see the evolution of the community identity, side by side:



I know I said it before, but I want to remind you again - DON'T SKIP THIS!
While I am confident you are excited about the new logo, PLEASE DO NOT USE IT FOR ANY IMAGERY AT THIS TIME! Over the next few days, we will be setting up new logo usage guidelines and providing high-resolution artwork for approved usage. Again, please do not use this logo in part or whole at this point!

So, where do we go from here? As we continue to update the site and social media venues, we will be adding in the new logo (as well as offering swag with the new logo). We will also be setting new guidelines so you too can use the logo in support of your community!

 

[Zaff]

And why a club? To make stuff like this possible:

Not to nitpick, but that same feat can be accomplished simply by posting a thread regarding that convention along with details on where you would like to meet up prior to the convention so that you can all attend together and adding "please suit up" anywhere in the initial post. No club, no formalization, no "official criteria." Just people connecting with each other and meeting up to do something together. Those who can go, go. Those who can't don't feel excluded because they wouldn't have been able to make it anyway. But this way, they don't have the added "rub it in your face," intentional or not, of not being able to be a part of it simply because, on paper, they weren't "enough" to be considered. Unity + inclusion = community. No formal or official jibber-jabber required.

 

[Cadet]

I mean it was just earlier today that someone brought up I believe it was the 501st and their initial requirement of basically a film-ready full suit to even be considered for membership. That's not unity, that's not community, that's not inclusive. That's being elitist and in my own personal opinion, being a stuck-up snob whom I want absolutely no association with.

I have been involved with my local 501[SUP]st[/SUP] Garrison for over ten years. I have met the best friend in my entire life through my local Garrison. So, I’m sorry, but I can’t let the continuous bashing of the 501[SUP]st[/SUP] here go unresponded to. In fact, the continued and heavy “anti-501[SUP]st[/SUP]” bashing, name calling, and poor treatment of the 405[SUP]th[/SUP] towards the 501[SUP]st[/SUP] is why I almost stopped being associated with the 405[SUP]th [/SUP]entirely during RTX 2012. Is not bashing an entire other group of people being a little “Snobbish?”

The vast majority of people I have met and know in the 501[SUP]st[/SUP] are fantastic and wonderful people. The costumes may cost a lot, but for those people, that is their drive and passion. That is the big thing that they want. They want that movie quality costume. The amount of “Snobs” and “elitists” I have met in the 501st is no more than the amount of “snobs” and “elitists” I have met in the 405[SUP]th[/SUP]. And just because there is an “Entry gate” to joining, doesn’t mean we aren’t a community. I have seen the people in my Garrison pull together and help out other members who lost jobs, homes, loved ones. A community is what the people in a group make of it.

I think a lot of people here have misconceptions about the 501[SUP]st[/SUP]. When the 501[SUP]st[/SUP] was started in 2007 it was just a costuming club. Just that. The level of skill and costume required to join was not what it is today. But, as the 501[SUP]st[/SUP] grew and developed and got more recognition from Lucas Film, the standards changed. As LFL used the 501[SUP]st[/SUP] more and more for official appearances, the desire of the members to have better and better costumes grew. The members wanted better costumes and higher standards for the costumes because of our continued and close relationship with LFL.

Now, 343 does not appear to want to or require those extremely strict standards. As Dani has said, they “love the cardboard costumes,” so we don’t have to worry about “movie quality” ever being a concern here.

Another big thing is that the 501[SUP]st[/SUP] regional Garrisons have their own Forums and websites. And every Garrison acts differently. Some Garrison have closed up Forums that “non-Members” can’t see, and some, like my home Garrison have the event section and the costume construction section open to the general public. Anyone can register an account and see what events we are doing and see the costume build threads and tutorials, and ask questions about costumes and get answers. In my own Garrisons boards in the costuming section, it is not just all Star Wars either. We have had Judge Dredd builds, various comic book character builds, Planet of the Apes builds. All kinds of stuff. But, that does vary from Garrison to Garrison. Yes, some Garrisons have it all closed off and the entire Forum is a “Member’s Only” board.

However, as has been pointed out, everything is going to be handled and housed here on the main 405[SUP]th[/SUP] site. Regional Regiments will get sub-forums here, but they will still be open to everyone, and the vast majority of people will still be posting in the current Build areas.

You ask why having any level of “membership” is a good thing. When you are dealing with large corporate entities like 343 or even any large organization, it is best to have a stream lined level of communication.

Let’s say for example, even though it will never happen, that 343 is doing a big event at a gaming convention in Ohio, somewhere outside the Pacific Regiment’s area. Now, 343 knows the Pacific regiment well, but, outside that area, they don’t know people that well. If you have a consistent organizational structure in place, all they will have to do is either get the name of the contact person for the Regiment including Ohio from Dani or look it up here on the 405[SUP]th[/SUP] website, and email that person. Otherwise, you might see 343 having a post on their website saying they’re doing a Convention in Ohio and you suddenly get a bunch of people emailing them on their own, which creates confusion for the members and for the people organizing the event.

Trust me, after over 10 years with the 501[SUP]st[/SUP], I can honestly tell you that the better organized and more professional you appear, the more events you can do, the cooler events you can do, the larger events you can do.

Take RTX for example. Zaff, you said, why can’t these same things be accomplished by just someone posting a thread and saying, “Hey, come out.” For RTX a thread was started that pretty much did just that. Then it wasn’t updated for months, and a single post was made the week of RTX saying “We’re going to do stuff, but we don’t known exactly where or when.” Then you get to RTX and suddenly there is a 405[SUP]th[/SUP] booth, and there are people there at the 405[SUP]th[/SUP] booth who have Exhibitor passes and got in for Free, but, they never posted in the thread on the Forum, some don’t have Forum accounts, some have Forum accounts but haven’t used them in years. There were photo shoots and panel appearances and center stage appearances that people didn’t know about, because they were never told and they never posted anywhere publically. Apparently a lot of the planning for RTX was done in a Group on Facebook.

Had the 405[SUP]th[/SUP] been more organized, this could have been avoided. Had a set system of guidelines been in place regarding event organization this could have been avoided.
That is what organization gets you.

But, to address your concern, let’s say that everyone who registers an account on the 405[SUP]th[/SUP] boards is a “Member.” That’s all it takes to be a members. Maybe we keep the 30 days, 30 posts to go from recruit to “Member.” And that is fine with me. If we do that, it keeps the spirit of this place as it is now.

Then we can have a separate section of the website, a page, that can be the roster of “Deployed Members.” These will be the members who have completed a Halo costume of any kind and quality. It will just be a page with pictures of all the completed costumes. As I said before, a sort of formalized “Hall of Honor.” Maybe they get the little badge by their name on the Forum.

Then you can have another section of the website for some title given to people who the community feels have gone above and beyond and created an amazing suit. A formalized “Elite Showcase.” A different badge by their name.

Then we can have a separate page on the website that is the “Fancy Military Sounding Support Staff” and this can be a list of the Modelers, Unfolders, and maybe those that make props but not costumes. You get a different badge next to your name on the Forum.

And the local regiments have their sub forums for their local events. The only changes will be the addition of sub forums for local groups and three new pages to the website. A “Deployed” members page, a “Some title we agree on for High Quality costume with community agreed on guidelines” costume page, and then the support staff page.

 

[Dagger06]

Cadet hits it on the head again.

His explanation of why organization is spot on. Half of the work I do in the Pacific regiment is trying to organize our members, and that's something anyone can do. Many volunteers have actually picked up the slack on this front.

The other half however is handshaking. It's getting to know the 343 staff, talk to them, find out what they need and want. I spend nearly all of my comic con at the Microsoft booth, and sometimes attend cons solely just to say hi to the 343 staff. I have to force myself to be active on twitter because that's what they primarily use, and whenever they have a request I have to gauge how feasible it is to meet that request. Why? Because 343i is busy. They are never going to dedicate staff to posting in our forums. They don't have time to track everyone down, so they look to fan community organizers to pick up the slack. Having a good central POC helps out greatly with that, and having an organized way to track what suits members have helps out the POC.

And yes, we need to not bash the 501st. Honestly, the old 405th staff, and I'll sadly admit myself into this group, has some part to blame in this. We joked far too often about it and in the past it has gone too far.

The 501st is a great organization filled with amazing people doing amazing things at great expense to themselves, all to being some magic to people's lives. To refer to them as snobby and elitist is a huge assumption, especially when you keep in mind we count many 501st members among our ranks. ( I myself wouldn't mind to one day have a nice set of scout trooper armor)

The 501st is not what we want to become. Not because they aren't great or don't have things to teach us, but ultimately because our goals and parent companies differ. But just because we say we don't want to be the 501st doesn't mean we don't love and appreciate what they do. We can say we want to walk our own path without bad mouthing those that choose to approach their costuming differently.

 

[Dagger06]

Also, FYI all those times The 405th have appeared on Halo Waypoint?

Pretty much every single time has been myself or Adam contacting Halo directly and saying "hey, we have these pictures for you if you're interested" regularly enough that they would email us to ask if we had anything for them.

Those long periods without photos? Periods where neither of us had the time or inclination to send them photos.

343i is more than happy to share our members, but we have to meet them halfway. It is a lot easier to do that when we have a level of organization. If they have an event, they can send off one email to make it happen, and we take it from there.

Perfect example: right now we have an event in Pennsylvania that needs people but isn't getting them. It's be a lot easier if there were an established group that we knew could send people.

And lastly, costuming is it's own reward. One of the rules I am adamant about, especially since I've gotten complaints about it before, is if you're costuming in hopes of a spot in line or free swag, you're in the wrong place. It is pretty much the only reason I've "revoked membership". Do we get cool stuff and opportunities? Yeah. But we never ever ask for them and of we don't get them, we don't complain. Because we are still having fun as a community.

 

[Dagger06]

Let's just look at this thread:

in theory they should have been able to get someone. We have a veritable army just a few hours away from Bellevue in the form of hood's hellions. But no one on the forums thought to contact then. Why? Because the Pacific and Hellions didn't use the forums, because the forums aren't equipped to cater to our requirements.

Art wants to change that. And I want to see him succeed. The forums are our origins. And if we could have organizational tools in place, such as subforum a, a clear system for designating official subgroups, and a central way to coordinate, we could move everyone back.

This person is unlikely to ask us for help again, to be honest. They were pointed to the 405th and instead of getting a "we can make this happen" they got a lot of random responses.

If there was a clear person to contact this could have been avoided. I have the contact info for our Oregon battalion as well as a lot of scattered folks in WA, many who would have jumped at this opportunity.

You can talk about how in theory random forum posts can organize everything, but I have 5 years of organizing the 405th in addition to 7 years military experience showing that in practice you need one person to take charge and take responsibility.

 

[Ashuraa]

But in that same strain, is not the completion of a full suit and/or the attendance of a convention at which you meet with other members also it's own reward? Why then should that reward be worth membership to any localised group but the "behind the scenes" workers are relegated to a consolation compilation with no regional affiliation? I would imagine we aren't going to have the Pacific Costuming group and the Pacific Modeling group and the Pacific Unfolding group and the Pacific Tutorial group (and we all get the point of where I'm going here). So we have the regional groups that are essentially reserved for those who can do the promotional bit, but those who don't have a suit are just stuffed into a catch-all that feels like little more than an after-thought and aren't really a part of the local groups and the community within the community therein.

Zaff,
Being you are using my example of placing the support into their own regiment, I am sorry that you misunderstood my reasoning for it.

For the basis of the various regiments, they would be there mainly for organization, and to facilitate our members in giving clearer lines of communication, and clearer lines of who is in the lines of communications. This way if say a member has an issue, they know who to go to first, instead of just putting a general "I need help with X," where x is say another member who is harassing them, or they found some information that someone is recasting. Management would need to check into these issues. Should they be posted out there willy nilly? No. Having clearer lines of communication, more visibility, will keep us all safer.

Another issue someone might have that they need to know who to get in hold of someone is the real life get togethers. Having someone clearly in the front position so that we know where , when, what, and what to bring is important beyond measure. If someone posts a ,"Hey let us go to X," with out a clearer plan of who is in charge, you get a wild response of "I might be there," "Sure, I will be there," "This looks interesting," yet not get anything more in terms from the posts then that. Then day of event, you planned on Y number of participants, bought food, drink, tickets, then only 1/4Y show up, or 4times the number of Y show up. One you are out of alot of money from your own pocket. The other, you have to say, "I'm sorry, we didn't plan on this many people showing up." Either way, you have seriously harmed feelings on both sides of the table, you have people feeling left out, and you have in essence chaos.

Does being in a specific regiment mean that you cannot associate with members of another regiment. The unequivocal answer to that is a resounding No. This means that if you are in the Pacific regiment, then you move across the country, for a vacation/permanently to the NorthEast regiment's area, currently you have noone that you would know how to get ahold of to be able to make those plans of getting together just to hang out. But, with a more organized, and with each regiment that opens, you would know who to, and how to get intouch with to have a get together.

Perhaps having the "Support" in their own regiment would not be such a great thing in some ways, but great in others.
But thinking about things a good bit more, I have another proposal for Support.
Keep you in the regional regiment, and utilizing the accolades that where brought up, you will gain a badge for what and how you contribute. Solid rules/ bars of what has been accomplished will have to be in place, just like for the ones who make their armor. It is only fair. Anyone who does not have a listing as armor finished, aka line troop?, would be considered support. There is nothing wrong with being listed as support. There would be no difference in your rank. Both are full members of the regiment. Point blank, all are members. Support are just as important. Did you know at most Cons, and even charity events someone in full armor still needs "Helpers and/or Handler". This is so that they can maneuver around crowded, noisy, dangerous areas safely. IF you do not have a completed outfit, are WIP or such, being Support is no joking, or lesser place. Are you helping with the background work? Are you say running a table, in nothing more then tee? All of these are support. Are you the one making the files? Do you run classes on how to make things, or make tutorials? These are all support. Knowing who would/is/ is willing to be support in multiple ways makes it easier to know exactly how many line forces would be able to be out there as well. Otherwise if not enough support personnel show up, some of the line troops have to step outta armor to assist all.

 

[WandererTJ]

I am currently going back through this thread which seems to be vastly derailed onto the discussion of ranks instead of the logo, but oh well...
I will be responding to posts as I read through.

So I go from being a 2-year infantryman to being "busted" down to tier 0 simply because while I do want to build a full suit (several, actually) I haven't actually made any progress in doing so...

Just something to keep in mind when considering how the ranking system will be laid out. I know I'm not the only one who has been around here for quite some time while not yet having found the time to do a full suit build, and the thought of (No offense, Art) a "newbie" taking over the group and making "seasoned" members feel like n00bs again with a system that is based entirely on one's ability to not only build a suit, but do it well.... This kind of has the same feeling as WanderTJ's suggestion that higher ranks be dependant on how many conventions one has attended. In other words, feeling like we have to' "buy in" to have any credibility while completely ignoring fundamental yet crucial contributions like modeling, unfolding, or simply being there to give advice, tips, and direction to people with questions. I mean I've pepped four helmets, only one in cardstock, and it hasn't progressed beyond that stage yet as I'm still considering what to do with it (to keep it as is, or modify/customize it). But I've also unfolded several models, subscribed to a handful of the "Help" threads to offer suggestions, tips, and the relevant experience I have, as well as often dropping by the random question threads to help direct people to the information they are looking for. So as far as being a costume builder, yea, I'm still a "rookie," but as far as being a member of the overall community, even though I know that ultimately it's just a "tag" and serves no real purpose, "Tier 0" feels like a slap in the face.

I never said going to conventions was a damned requirement, it was an option. Stop getting so tied up on that one aspect because it clearly feels like you never read the whole part about where you only had to complete 5 of the 6 options to reach that rank.

I didn't even need to include conventions, it was just an idea, and I could have easily included something else. I really think that you should make the effort to offer a creative solution other than conventions that could be included as one of the possible options for reaching the ranks. Give me some constructive options instead of continually pooping on that one line of text.

Should I just repost the whole list and take out those lines about the convention so that you'll actually consider the idea of having options instead of getting so upset about one little meaningless detail?


I agree that getting knocked down to Tier 0 feels like a slap in the face.
It is for that reason that I have tried to come up with a system that makes things more fair for everyone by giving everyone a variety of options to complete in order to rank up.
Does the system need to be refined? Yeah, it does. But at least I took the time to throw out a scratch list of an idea.

Earlier some one suggested that the tiers be based on completing 3 to 5 items on a list, including years as a member, completing builds, attending cons, unfolding models, helping out in forums, etc. This makes ranking up much more flexible.

THANK YOU!

---

I honestly don't even know how to respond to everything I've been reading through. I want to respond to just about every post that has occurred in the last 4 pages.

As I am reading through these last 4 pages, I find myself growing more and more upset. (At least this is how I've felt after reading page 5, page 6 was a bit more redeeming)

I have found a lot of confusion after reading through these pages, and I feel as though we are not all talking about the same thing, which really doesn't help.

There has been one post that has stuck out to me though...

Maybe it's only me and I'm standing alone in this, but I am growing to really hate the word "Club" being thrown around. Why? Because this is, was, and should always be a COMMUNITY, not a "club." Clubs denote exclusivity, strict requirements, and ultimately, elitism. We are a community. We all contribute in our own way and no one should be made to feel like they are less than what they are just because they haven't put together a full suit. A builder can't build without a model, can't sew without a template, and many of them wouldn't even have gotten their start if someone hadn't pointed them towards the tutorial videos, experiments, and experience of others who paved the way ahead of them.

And no, it wasn't 30 days and 30 posts. It was six months and at least 100 WORTHWHILE posts (no "cheerleading" as you called it) to become an infantryman, and with that came the ability to post outside of the noob forum as well as access to the classifieds section, so it was more than just an "honorary yet meaningless title."

At first the thought of a ranking system did sound kind of cool. Now it's sounding more and more like it's just going to be more trouble than it's worth.

As many have said, this isn't the 501st. This isn't RPF. This isn't any other "costuming club," this is a community. This is the 405th, and while it may have started as primarily a Halo-themed community, it has evolved into much more than that. Or would you tell Zombiegrimm to pack up many, many months of dedicated work cleaning up and unfolding pretty much the entire world of Skyrim and go somewhere else? And tell all those working on Destiny, Gundam, Star Wars, Gears of War, Mass Effect, Robocop, Dead Space, Iron Man, and even Lego builds to ship out while you're at it, right? Sorry but, screw that noise.

I'm sorry to put it like this, but Art, the 405th is a lot bigger than one man and his vision of seeing it turned into a "club" like all the others he's been a part of before. There comes a time when you have to leave well enough alone. "IF it ain't broke, don't fix it."

I REALLY cannot say it any better than this. I'm glad Zaff said this. It sums up how I'm feeling with about 100 fewer expletives.


I don't want to be tossed in with a regiment of everyone who doesn't have a build.
It may not be a negative thing to some, but to me, that's a slap in the face too because I plan on making a build.

I'm really glad that some of you have awesome regiments with high population densities who help eachother out.
I'm in Oklahoma.
We don't have a regiment. We don't have members that live down the street from one another.
All I have is Brad from Impact Props who is in California for the summer and when he is back, I would assume that his interest will be for his own things instead of helping someone who is trying to start out. I'm not trying to knock his name or anything, in fact, I completely understand not caring to have the time to help someone out in-person, especially if you are dealing with your college courses. But it REALLY sucks that I'm stuck here while others have a lot more tools at their disposal since they have fellow forum members near by.

---

I'm going to try to avoid quoting any further posts in my responses here, I will try to detail all my thoughts into a single post.

 

[Art Andrews]

I am currently going back through this thread which seems to be vastly derailed onto the discussion of ranks instead of the logo, but oh well...

"Vastly derailed" is an understatement. We are finding ourselves right on the cusp of trolling... :unsure

 

[WandererTJ]

"Vastly derailed" is an understatement. We are finding ourselves right on the cusp of trolling... :unsure

@Art, I would greatly appreciate it if you were to start a new discussion thread pertaining to:
"The 405th Community: Membership Levels? Clubs? Ranks? Etc..."

and if you were to include a link here so we may be directed to it, would be great.

 

[Art Andrews]

I have found a lot of confusion after reading through these pages, and I feel as though we are not all talking about the same thing, which really doesn't help.

You are seeing confusion because people have gotten WAY ahead of themselves on this. I can't say how many times I have said; we aren't ready for this yet and we don't have anything defined yet, but statements are being thrown out all over, even some in favor of the direction that we want to go that simply aren't nailed down. And then you have Zaff claiming the sky is falling and the end is nigh which isn't helping the situation.

I don't want to be tossed in with a regiment of everyone who doesn't have a build.

You aren't being tossed into anything. No one is going to force you into any Regiment. If you don't want to join anything, you don't have to. You can remain a member, just like you have always been here on the forums. Of the day comes when you decide to build and you WANT to join a Regiment, you will be welcomed with open arms. Until then, you will still be welcomed with open arms here on the site.

I'm really glad that some of you have awesome regiments with high population densities who help eachother out.
I'm in Oklahoma.
We don't have a regiment. We don't have members that live down the street from one another.
All I have is Brad from Impact Props who is in California for the summer and when he is back, I would assume that his interest will be for his own things instead of helping someone who is trying to start out. I'm not trying to knock his name or anything, in fact, I completely understand not caring to have the time to help someone out in-person, especially if you are dealing with your college courses. But it REALLY sucks that I'm stuck here while others have a lot more tools at their disposal since they have fellow forum members near by.

I totally understand. For the better part of the week, I am stuck here in the middle of nowhere, AZ. I guarantee there isn't a member within 100 miles of me. No one to give me suggestions. No one to help me build. First off, that is part of the greatness of a site like this. It gives people like you and I access to others who can help us and who we can bounce things off of. Moving in the direction we are moving isn't going to change that at all. What is may do however is eventually include OK in an official Regiment and if you CHOOSE to join that Regiment, you will be able to get more 1 on 1 help with people who are relatively close to you. We can't populate an area with members, but by creating Regiments that cover areas of low population, we are at least hoping to provide help that you may or may not get here on the site because once you are in a Regiment, the leaders of that group will feel a greater responsibility for you.

 

[WandererTJ]

@Art, thanks for the response, it is definitely calming.

We can't populate an area with members

Are you sure you can't force Pacific Regiment members to move to Oklahoma? :lol


I am PM'ing you in regards to another topic related to things that have been discussed within the thread.

 

[Art Andrews]

You heard him, Trooper0621. Time to pack up your people and move East!!!

@Art, thanks for the response, it is definitely calming.

Are you sure you can't force Pacific Regiment members to move to Oklahoma? :lol


I am PM'ing you in regards to another topic related to things that have been discussed within the thread.

 

[Fireryne]

Art Andrews, good thing im not "official" beside i have a little baby that may not like that. Yall will have to deal with her wrath.

 

[WandererTJ]

Already in the works. :thumbsup

In regards to T-Shirts and logos and whatnot...

You should definitely check this out: http://warriorsunited.spreadshirt.com/spartan-2-program-A13973860
I've been considering on getting one myself.


Personally, I really want something I can wear that would look like what you would actually see Spartans wear when they aren't suited up.
I know that in Halo 4, Team Majestic is shown in blue outfits that don't quite look like the undersuits of the spartans, though it could be part of the undersuit, I'm not sure.

But do I want a latex or underarmor top? No, not really, I would greatly prefer something that is comfortable.

---

While some of this response is directed towards Trooper, please know that some of it is also meant as a response to everyone.

I know who in my regiment is working on costumes and who has completed them and how many they can field on short notice. When machinima emails me asking for suits for an E3 party I can give them a response extremely rapidly precisely because I keep tabs on this.

[Tone = Frustrated]
When opportunities like this arise, I really think that you need to share this with the rest of the Community, not just your regiment.
I think that it is important to not exclude and instead give others that are not in your regiment to come in and join in on the fun.

I mean seriously...
Official 343i live-action Halo video in the works? Sign me up, I'm booking a flight for yesterday.

I'm not saying that it could in fact happen, but making the opportunity available to everyone in the Community, not just your "Club" should be a pretty high priority.

Trooper, in your requirements at the very top, it specifies that someone must have a completed costume.
I guess those that are interested and could use some help from members because they don't own a heat gun have the means to buy one (as an example) are left on the fence, SOL.
Need some help building armor from the Pacific Regiment? Good Luck. It seems like you need to already be done with it before you can join, and at that point, why bother asking for help? So I either need to receive zero aid in building a set of armor, or possibly just give up on the build because I couldn't receive any aid.

Seems smart. (Sarcasm)

[Tone = Calm]
I gotta be honest for a second, and I mean absolutely no offense by it, but Trooper, when I read your responses on this topic, it really seems like you are responding from outside the 405th. It seems to me that the Pacific Regiment Club split off to do their own thing a long while back, unassociated with the 405th Community. So to me, your opinions are coming from someone who is more involved with a Club rather than a Community.
While I understand why it is good to operate on an official capacity, it seems to me that your perspective has lost some of the ideals of being part of a Community.
I get that you try to involve your members without completed builds (although your Regiments Rules seem to be inconsistent with this), but the way you talk about it just seems off. Yes, some people are very content with what they do and have zero intentions of working on a build because that doesn't interest them. There work probably does belong more within the Community rather than within a club; but its hard for me to say, because I'm not one of those individuals. Instead, I'm someone that wants to make a build but I literally have zero of the supplies or tools to do so.

*** Maybe we should collect donations to provide starter kits to long time members who have always wanted to make a build but don't have the money to purchase all the supplies and tools. I think that someone should try and stop buy to help them every so often as well.
I don't want us to consider certain members as charity cases or anything, but as a community here that values all of its members, sometimes some of us need that extra push.

Personally, I'm such a damned perfectionist that I've lost 35 pounds and I am still working on my build plan.
I expect perfection from myself.
Its gotten to the point where it is quite daunting and even if I had everything at my fingertips, I'm not sure where I would start.
So really, having someone locally near me might really be all I need to get a jump start on my build, especially if they have tools I need or know of the best places locally to buy them. If a Southwest Regiment required me to have a finished suit to join, it would be a disservice to the Community of the 405th that I believe that any Local "Club" or Regiment would be under the umbrella of. If you don't want to be part of the community, remove "405th" from your Regiment's title/name, be something else if all you want to be is a club, because we are a community here.

I would also really like to see some more tutorials on the forums. Not just for building armor through various methods. It would be nice to see some 3D modeling tutorials, unfolding tutorials, etc. I'm sure that some exist, but I don't want any members to make excuses for themselves in terms of not contributing some of your work to the forums. Sure, 3D-modeling might not be for some people, but I feel like everyone here has the ability to contribute in some way and should.
Some people, like Carpathia, Liltyrant, and GeekGuardianDee (of whom I'm expecting to see some amazing work from) contribute by having very detailed build threads that almost serve as tutorials themselves, and the contribute in that sense, while other build threads are more for just showing off to get cheered on so they can be encouraged to make further progress on their builds.
If someone only wants to unfold things, because they don't have the patience for 3D-Modeling, then let them do so. It lets them contribute and saves the modelers some time.

---

The 405th Infantry Division, a Halo Costuming Community
The 405th is a community, while it might have official organizations associated with it, it is a place of learning, building, and ultimately having fun together.

 

[Art Andrews]

When opportunities like this arise, I really think that you need to share this with the rest of the Community, not just your regiment.
I think that it is important to not exclude and instead give others that are not in your regiment to come in and join in on the fun.

I mean seriously...
Official 343i live-action Halo video in the works? Sign me up, I'm booking a flight for yesterday.

I'm not saying that it could in fact happen, but making the opportunity available to everyone in the Community, not just your "Club" should be a pretty high priority.

I appreciate your enthusiasm, but this is out of line. Members like Trooper have worked very hard to build relationships with the people at 343. While we are all for sharing and all for spreading the love, to expect Trooper to come here and try to coordinate a request from 343 with the entire community is unrealistic. With that being said, as we develop this system, hopefully requests will come to a central location and whoever is closest will get the call.

I gotta be honest for a second, and I mean absolutely no offense by it, but Trooper, when I read your responses on this topic, it really seems like you are responding from outside the 405th. It seems to me that the Pacific Regiment Club split off to do their own thing a long while back, unassociated with the 405th Community. So to me, your opinions are coming from someone who is more involved with a Club rather than a Community.

To a degree you are absolutely right, but where you see this as something bad or wrong, I see it as someone who saw a need, saw that need was not being fulfilled within the existing construct of the community, and took some initiative to make it happen. Pacific HAS in a way split off to do their own thing. Why? Because the 405th didn't provide them the opportunity to do it here! That is what we are hoping to change, but you can't blame people for being proactive or act like they aren't supporting the community when it was in fact just the opposite.

*** Maybe we should collect donations to provide starter kits to long time members who have always wanted to make a build but don't have the money to purchase all the supplies and tools. I think that someone should try and stop buy to help them every so often as well.
I don't want us to consider certain members as charity cases or anything, but as a community here that values all of its members, sometimes some of us need that extra push.

This has nothing but trouble written all over it (no matter how well intended) and will result in nothing but panhandling and people expecting handouts.

 

[AI Blue Fox]

*** Maybe we should collect donations to provide starter kits to long time members who have always wanted to make a build but don't have the money to purchase all the supplies and tools. I think that someone should try and stop buy to help them every so often as well.
I don't want us to consider certain members as charity cases or anything, but as a community here that values all of its members, sometimes some of us need that extra push.

Well, I think maybe making things more available would be nice, but possibly making a section for economically suitable supplies to get would be better than giving them to people. You don't need a fancy dremel, but a nice x-acto knife goes a long way.

 

[Ruze789]

I gotta be honest for a second, and I mean absolutely no offense by it, but Trooper, when I read your responses on this topic, it really seems like you are responding from outside the 405th. It seems to me that the Pacific Regiment Club split off to do their own thing a long while back, unassociated with the 405th Community. So to me, your opinions are coming from someone who is more involved with a Club rather than a Community.
While I understand why it is good to operate on an official capacity, it seems to me that your perspective has lost some of the ideals of being part of a Community.
I get that you try to involve your members without completed builds (although your Regiments Rules seem to be inconsistent with this), but the way you talk about it just seems off. Yes, some people are very content with what they do and have zero intentions of working on a build because that doesn't interest them. There work probably does belong more within the Community rather than within a club; but its hard for me to say, because I'm not one of those individuals. Instead, I'm someone that wants to make a build but I literally have zero of the supplies or tools to do so.

...

So really, having someone locally near me might really be all I need to get a jump start on my build, especially if they have tools I need or know of the best places locally to buy them. If a Southwest Regiment required me to have a finished suit to join, it would be a disservice to the Community of the 405th that I believe that any Local "Club" or Regiment would be under the umbrella of. If you don't want to be part of the community, remove "405th" from your Regiment's title/name, be something else if all you want to be is a club, because we are a community here.

I see what Dani and the Pacific Regiment have done as pretty much exactly what this forum has been trying to move towards, and what forum members have been crying about for years. They all stepped up and organized their stuff together, so that when the hugely West-Coast based Halo overlords need some Halo costumers to make some cool appearances, they are ready to very quickly hash it all out. They don't need to stumble around on the forum where some people may or may not log in and check out, trying to figure out who has what costumes and what level of quality. They are organized, and they are ready to show up when they're asked for.

In the past when someone would be looking for appearances, a thread would be made on here, which sometimes would go completely unanswered. I have no clue if appearances were ever even made at most of them. No one was on here keeping track of who had what, so the threads - if answered at all - were full of people kind of half committing to show up, if they could get their costumes done in time.

 

[Dagger06]

I understand when you say events need to be shared with the entire community. I actually am liking how convention, prop parties, and I'm assuming events are coordinated in a separate subforum, making it more accessible and noticeable to all.

On my part, I pledge to post any and all opportunities like this in a public section so members such as WandererTJ can get the opportunity if they so choose. Anything that can feasibly made available to the public will be.

With that said, Art is also correct. We split off precisely because the forums were such a mess we simply couldn't organize anything here. The responses to requests like this were more like the thread we mentioned above, where everyone spams the thread. As I had zero admin/moderator powers here, it was extremely frustrating to try and coordinate things here. Art understands this and we are as eager to fold back into the community as he is to have us. Hopefully the rest of the community feels the same.

There are also other opportunities where I am required to only offer it to certain members. Sadly, we have had situations where people have gone to events and left a less than positive impression in the way they carried themselves. 343i has essentially requested we police our own members behavior, so the limited scope of invitations has partially been to deal with that. with a more formalized set of guidelines for member behavior, it will be easier to open opportunities to more members. Dealing with this however, is far ahead of here.

And if you're concerned we don't include people who do to have finished armor, again, note that while we have strict rules on paper, in practice we were far more lenient and more in line w Art's proposed setup. Again, note Pony's response. He's been with us for years without ever attending a con or having a costume, and be is most definitely a full fledged member.

As a side note, I have a veritable armory at my house so technically no member has ever lacked a completed costume to wear if they want. Just saying

If you have any concerns or questions about how the Pacific was run, I am more than happy to answer them via PM at length so as not to clutter the thread.

 

[Dagger06]

Well, I think maybe making things more available would be nice, but possibly making a section for economically suitable supplies to get would be better than giving them to people. You don't need a fancy dremel, but a nice x-acto knife goes a long way.

I am sure once we are organized we can figure out plenty of great ways to give back to the community. \\(^.^)//

PS to WandererTJ, Brad from ImpactProps is incredibly nice guy. Don't be afraid to contact him. I'm sure he will be more than happy to help in some way. You already have the makings of a great local group. . And I'll mail you some of our shorter members (shipping is expensive) if necessary =P

 

[Dagger06]

I see what Dani and the Pacific Regiment have done as pretty much exactly what this forum has been trying to move towards, and what forum members have been crying about for years. They all stepped up and organized their stuff together, so that when the hugely West-Coast based Halo overlords need some Halo costumers to make some cool appearances, they are ready to very quickly hash it all out. They don't need to stumble around on the forum where some people may or may not log in and check out, trying to figure out who has what costumes and what level of quality. They are organized, and they are ready to show up when they're asked for.

In the past when someone would be looking for appearances, a thread would be made on here, which sometimes would go completely unanswered. I have no clue if appearances were ever even made at most of them. No one was on here keeping track of who had what, so the threads - if answered at all - were full of people kind of half committing to show up, if they could get their costumes done in time.

Honestly, it's a lot easier to keep a list of people who have already said they are willing to fly out of California and pester each of them for a response, as yes, turnaround times are often extremely short, a matter of days.

But did you know the Pacific regiment actually includes a lot of people who don't live in our designated states? We are open to anyone who wants to come out to events out here, regardless of home location. We include several east coaster and they are more than welcome to these opportunities when they arise. And you will be too, in the future when we are able to use these forums for coordination.