Bungie enhances Halo 2 for Windows Vista

[sladesurfer]

:D http://www.techpowerup.com/index.php?18149


According to one of the people on the Halo 2 for Vista developing team, Vista is really coming along nicely. They still have some bugs, but they are being worked out very quickly, and graphical enhancements are making many of the people on the developer team call it "Halo 2.5". There have been a lot of artistic enhancements making all the characters look nice at the developers preferred resolution of 1920x1200. At that resolution, the developers can get Halo 2 for Vista running at 60 frames per second at maximum settings.

http://img49.imageshack.us/img49/1997/h2vivorytowerplasmablastss7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img49.imageshack.us/img49/9089/h2vivorytowerrampat1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img49.imageshack.us/img49/466/h2vivorytowersniperswordea2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img420.imageshack.us/img420/685/h2vlockoutsmgneedlerdv9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[[XC] Lead Head]

Still only looks slightly better then Halo 1...

[perkam]

Polygon count is still horrible. The weapon in the last pic looks like it uses pink jollyranchers for bullets (and yes i've played halo 1/2 so I know what it is).

Perkam

[kemo]

The game looks great
Is vista is a must to have this game ?
________
BMW Concept X6 ActiveHybrid history (http://www.bmw-tech.org/wiki/BMW_Concept_X6_ActiveHybrid)

[Kunaak]

The game looks great
Is vista is a must to have this game ?

yes.

on a side note, it looks good to me, I know I'll definatly be playing it :D

[Rovtar]

i don't care if graphic and all stuff will be the same i just wanna play halo...IT'S GREAT

[stayfrosty]

Looks much much much better than the xbox version. Big improvement I was getting worried for a while.

[DTU_XaVier]

Well, at least one thing they'll have to fix, is remove the "Press X to pick up" thingie, and replace it with something else... :D

Best Regards :toast:

[Syn.]

i just want this game so i can continue the story and get ready for halo 3. :D

[Entity_Razer]

bah cut back on the bloom effects and lighting halo's already and use bump mapping or environmental mapping already you numbnutts :s

Half of the environement/models could looks a LOT better by simply applying bump mapping technique's to them.

As i said, less fancy bloom effect crap that takes the shazam outta your GPU and more overall beauty is what i'm after. no point in over the top bloom effects bogging down the GPU while you still can't see your oponent for shj!t when your blinded by the blooms :s

Now decent weapons with bumps/indents where needed, same for player models... now that'd be nice. And the environement ofc


Still looks decent though. would get a 7 on the graphics meter on my part

[kemo]

yes.

on a side note, it looks good to me, I know I'll definatly be playing it :D
is it good for you to invest 200$ in an operating system that gona take at least a year to mature for me I wont get vista before the end of 2007 although halo 2 looks great
________
vapir no2 (http://no2vaporizers.com)

[Arkangyl]

Comparing those screenies to Halo2 on the 360 in HD the Vista version does look a lot better.

Still, Bungie needs to do more with the enviornment. Doom 3, FEAR and HL2 (the short list among many) had highly detailed settings whereas Halo seems to have fairly plain corridors and objects in general. Especially compared to the care put into the character models. Just a few bump-maps on the walls, hell, play through Doom 3, when the light's actually on ID did an excellent job with the Mars space station, every part of the environment is packed with detail.

[Radeon117X]

Lookin' good Bungie! Nice job! Since i hope to God i can get a new Vista build in February or March, i hope i can get Crysis and this. It'll be a great combo for such a new system (see sig for details :D)


Well, at least one thing they'll have to fix, is remove the "Press X to pick up" thingie, and replace it with something else... :D

Best Regards :toast:

Maybe the guy who was beta testing it was using an Xbox 360 wired controller plugged into his computer to play? :rolleyes:

[[XC] hipno650]

looks good to me. way bettertahn halo2 for the xbox! i will get it once i get vista now if they would only make halo wars for the pc!

[DTU_XaVier]

Maybe the guy who was beta testing it was using an Xbox 360 wired controller plugged into his computer to play? :rolleyes:
IMHO that wouldn't make sense, as that would remove the one thing that makes shooters more enjoyable (again, IMHO) on a PC instead of a console :)

Best Regards :toast:

[delas52]

IMHO that wouldn't make sense, as that would remove the one thing that makes shooters more enjoyable (again, IMHO) on a PC instead of a console :)

Best Regards :toast:

It's going to have 360 pad support, and I'm sure that's what he was using in the screen.

[Starscream]

looks way to shinny for my taste so yeah cut back on the bloom.

they update grafix wich will likely give them a reason to ask full price for it.
only nice things MS could do is either offer it for 20 euro or less, put it for free with some versions of Vista or add alot of stuff.

[Kobalt]

what the hell is with needing vista to play? Do they honestly think anyone's gonna buy this?

What about bypassing this requirement?

[Special_K]

character models look decent enough, but maps look like something from the 90's =/

[theteamaqua]

the sad thing is that this is pretty much what halo 3 beta looks like ....

[Starscream]

the sad thing is that this is pretty much what halo 3 beta looks like ....

wont matter enough people wills till buy it cause its Halo

stil makes me laugh tho that they make it vista only.

[kemo]

what the hell is with needing vista to play? Do they honestly think anyone's gonna buy this?

What about bypassing this requirement?

and how about a bump for 7 months old thread

[DBoon]

Too bad its still halo 2, which sucks in comparison to halo:CE. The beta for 3 is already better than halo 2 ever was for me.

[Jimmer411]

bah cut back on the bloom effects and lighting halo's already and use bump mapping or environmental mapping already you numbnutts :s

Half of the environement/models could looks a LOT better by simply applying bump mapping technique's to them.

As i said, less fancy bloom effect crap that takes the shazam outta your GPU and more overall beauty is what i'm after. no point in over the top bloom effects bogging down the GPU while you still can't see your oponent for shj!t when your blinded by the blooms :s

Now decent weapons with bumps/indents where needed, same for player models... now that'd be nice. And the environement ofc


Still looks decent though. would get a 7 on the graphics meter on my part

I remember reading that Halo 2 models used LOWER polycount models and made up for it using highly detailed bump mapping.

http://www.gamingworldx.com/xbox/Halo2.shtml


The single biggest effect that Bungie is utilizing for Halo 2 is called bump mapping. Again, every current console can do it, but bump mapping is something of an Xbox strength. Bungie is using bump maps all throughout Halo 2, and the level of detail is simply breathtaking.

Bump mapping is a visual process where a map of 3-D objects overlay the texture itself, giving it all the detail it could possibly need. Three times the polygons would be needed to accomplish what bump mapping does, and this is all possible without the Xbox taking a performance hit. Not one drop in the framerate. Bump mapping has been the one integral tool used by Bungie for Halo 2, and the result is beautiful. In comparison, only the environments and buildings were bump mapped in Halo 1.

Lets not forget the self shadowing and other effects. Sure by todays standards, halo 2 certainly isnt that spectacular, but you have to remember this game runs on Pentium 3 733 and Geforce 3 equivilant hardware, certainly not a C2D 3.6ghz 8800GTX monster. Were talking a console that is what, 5 years old? Im impressed.


In the realm of console FPS, halo is untouchable. Controls and Coop played a big factor in the enjoyment. Not to mention I liked the idea of not having to worry so much about my health nonstop, combine that with a usefull checkpoint system that doesnt frusterate you when you die and you have a good game.

Sure, console FPS arent as intense as PC, and the control isnt nearly at the same level. Its no CS 1.6, or BF2 or UT2K4, but its a hell of alot better than Timesplitters and UT on PS2, as well as the bond games on Gamecube. Since Goldeneye (Perfect dark to an extent) on N64 there hasent been a single FPS on console that came close to halo. Still, Ive put WAY more hours into CS 1.6 and BF2 than I ever will into halo 1 and 2, but when I have 3 friends over thats a whole different story :)

[xenolith]

what the hell is with needing vista to play? Do they honestly think anyone's gonna buy this?

MS must think at least some of the 40 million Vista users will. (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=144558)

[Zytek_Fan]

I might pick up Halo 2 PC...there are far better FPS games out for PC.

[eXceeded]

wheres tesselation when you need it? ;)

[DTU_XaVier]

Console-shooters ported directly/semi-directly to PCs tend to be too "easy", simply because the controls on a PC are far better for shooters, and the difficulty of the game is determined by the console's controls...

[DilTech]

wheres tesselation when you need it? ;)

I believe ATi was still calling it tru-form when they started this. :D

[Super strokey]

Im really looking forward to this, played the first one and really liked it and never owned a 360 so this seems like a really good option for me. Hell i even have vista already lol (and yes i do like it, well most of it atleast)

[perry_78]

is it good for you to invest 200$ in an operating system

Haven't you heard of China?

:D


But this thread reminds me, I have to dust off the xbox and finish Halo on legendary. Damn irritating buggers in the library are a little too efficient at killing me, taking away the thrill.

[Kunaak]

I still cant wait for this.
I dont care how much people wanna bash it.
halo is fun as hell to me, so I'll be playing it for sure.

[Okda]

according to M$ 40 million is already using Visat , if 1/10 of them decide to buy halo this means a lot of profit for this game

[eXceeded]

what the hell is with needing vista to play? Do they honestly think anyone's gonna buy this?

What about bypassing this requirement?

It's a requirement for online multiplayer, what is with the "OMG Vista suxxorz!" comments from people. Almost as if you want us to go back to XP :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :ROTF: :ROTF: :ROTF: :ROTF: :ROTF: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :ROTF:

[Kobalt]

It's a requirement for online multiplayer, what is with the "OMG Vista suxxorz!" comments from people. Almost as if you want us to go back to XP :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :ROTF: :ROTF: :ROTF: :ROTF: :ROTF: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :ROTF:

Because I don't want to spend 200$ to "upgrade" my OS just so I can play a game.

[eXceeded]

Because I don't want to spend 200$ to "upgrade" my OS just so I can play a game.

i guess I understand what you mean but if it was a piece of hardware that you needed to play it you wouldn't mind? It's not like Vista is only for Halo 2 or something... and 200$ is very (very) cheap considering the amount of use an average PC on these forums gets used.

[afireinside]

Because I don't want to spend 200$ to "upgrade" my OS just so I can play a game.

You pay for your OS? :lol:

Will halo 2 PC be cross playable with the console version on live? I want to pwn all the nubs I know who think they're awesome at halo.

[Kobalt]

i guess I understand what you mean but if it was a piece of hardware that you needed to play it you wouldn't mind? It's not like Vista is only for Halo 2 or something... and 200$ is very (very) cheap considering the amount of use an average PC on these forums gets used.

Well the difference is a piece of hardware is tangible and it offers more performance. I've used Vista, and no it is not faster.



You pay for your OS? :lol:

Will halo 2 PC be cross playable with the console version on live? I want to pwn all the nubs I know who think they're awesome at halo.

No, but for purposes of this thread...

And I'm with you on the wanting to own console noobs who think theyre good. I can't wait.

[Turok]

They better not put auto-aim, because I would definitely not consider this game at all :shakes: For now, it's to be decided... :shrug:

[Richie P]

The Halo seriers has to be one of the most overhyped series of games EVER.

Firstly, requires Vista? WTF? It's not even DX10!!
Secondly, Halo 2? WTF? Aren't we on Halo 3 now?
Thirdly, Looks good? WTF you guys on? Compare this to Crysis, or Halo 3 (albeit Beta) on the 360 to Gears of War. No contest.
Fourth, finally and perharps the most shocking, annoying and downright appalling thing is that the messages still say "Press A for this, Press B for that" - check teh screenshot - "X"? W...T...F? 2 and a half years later, and they can't even change the button prompts? Oh, and you actually have to press "A" and "B" :shakes:

Why anyone would even consider buying this, I have no idea. :down:

[mukmaster]

I dont get all of this hype for HALO
wait ... XBOX LIVE FESTIAS

[ahmad]

Richie I am sorry but you sound like a noob. Graphics in the screenies are improved over the ones in the xbox. Yes it is dx10. And thirdly, its not even a freaking beta.

[Elfear]

You pay for your OS? :lol:

Will halo 2 PC be cross playable with the console version on live? I want to pwn all the nubs I know who think they're awesome at halo.

According to the developers it will be cross playable. However, in a recent interview with Gamespot the programmers mentioned that they will balance the keyboard and mouse to the gamepad of the console. Here is the direct quote from the Halo 2 team:

"GS: Finally, has multiplayer been balanced so that everyone is on equal footing, regardless of the type of controller that they're using? Or will mouse-and-keyboard players have a distinct advantage versus gamepad players?

DM, MVG, and KW: We did some balancing to make the keyboard-and-mouse experience on par with the controller. Overall, we believe that the controller will prove to be a popular and competitive option for those that prefer it. When our team plays large multiplayer games, controller players regularly school the keyboard/mouse players, and vice versa." Link (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/halo2/news.html?sid=6168750&mode=previews&page=2)

Pretty lame IMO. I hope they didn't cut the ability of the keyboard and mouse too much or I won't be buying it. :down:

[aintz]

as long as theres coop im going to play it. and btw the graphics are much improved. it looks much more smoothe now. but the weapons look like toys

[kemo]

Haven't you heard of China?

:D


But this thread reminds me, I have to dust off the xbox and finish Halo on legendary. Damn irritating buggers in the library are a little too efficient at killing me, taking away the thrill.

:rofl:
even if free still i might not run Vista :rolleyes:

[Petra]

Erm, too little too late, anyone? :rolleyes:

Being a fan of the original Halo (and a long-time Bungie fan), I have to say that I wasn't much impressed with Halo2... and, besides, if they were going to release a PC version, they should have done it a looooooooooooong time ago. This just smacks of M$ milking the series for even more money.

[clayton]

I'll be playing Halo 3 by then :)
________
FREE XXX (http://www.:banana::banana::banana::banana:tube.com/)

[deathman20]

Still looks half way decent. Not up to todays game standards but surely it iwll be fun to play even with older gen cards.

[afireinside]

According to the developers it will be cross playable. However, in a recent interview with Gamespot the programmers mentioned that they will balance the keyboard and mouse to the gamepad of the console. Here is the direct quote from the Halo 2 team:

"GS: Finally, has multiplayer been balanced so that everyone is on equal footing, regardless of the type of controller that they're using? Or will mouse-and-keyboard players have a distinct advantage versus gamepad players?

DM, MVG, and KW: We did some balancing to make the keyboard-and-mouse experience on par with the controller. Overall, we believe that the controller will prove to be a popular and competitive option for those that prefer it. When our team plays large multiplayer games, controller players regularly school the keyboard/mouse players, and vice versa." Link (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/halo2/news.html?sid=6168750&mode=previews&page=2)

Pretty lame IMO. I hope they didn't cut the ability of the keyboard and mouse too much or I won't be buying it. :down:

I wonder what they did? If they crippled the mouse then they're going to get hell as far as bad response goes.

[MaxxxRacer]

looks alot better than halo 2 on xbox360.

And I've played it on a 60 plasma and my 19" LCD.

its just a shame u must have Vista for it to work.

[henrys]

wow, the graphics looks like crap. I can't comment on the gameplay since i never played halo. But if microsoft wants to promote vista with this game, it would be better to release halo 3 to vista instead of this outdated game.