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Subject: Halo 2 Vista FAQ
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Halo 2 Vista FAQ
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I. Introduction
II. Bungie's Frequently Asked Questions
III. Agamemnon's Frequently Asked Questions
IV. Goodies
V. Credits


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I. Introduction
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NOTICE: Please read the FAQ before posting your questions.

Welcome to the Halo 2 Vista FAQ. Here most of your most common questions can be answered in just one thread, thus helping the main board keep clean with questions that aren't answered here. Nonetheless, even if they aren't, don't be afraid to post in here and ask your question; it's still the FAQ and I might include it the next time I have to update this thread.

This time around I'm including a lot more of info, mainly because I'm drawing it from all the updates they've been handing out like candy. This FAQ not only includes most of Bungie's FAQs about H2V but some of my personal ones that I find important as well. There is also a section for websites that are dealing/will deal with Halo 2 Vista once it comes out for the PC; you definitely will want to bookmark those.

Anyways, enjoy this slew of information.

-Agamemnon

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II. Bungie's Frequently Asked Questions
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Since Bungie has decided to open up the site, I felt that it was necessary to start a completely new FAQ. So, for the first part, I will draw the FAQ from Bungie's own FAQ for H2V; straight from the horse's mouth.

Q: What systems is Halo 2 for Windows Vista available for?
A: For the Vista operating system, though if Alky Project pulls through, it will be available on XP by mid or late August. The Alky Project will offer a free version that will support Halo 2 Vista play on XP (including online play through Windows LIVE as well).

*Note that the answer above was changed by me after personal research.

Q: Will Halo 2 Vista players be able to play against Halo 2 Xbox players?
A: No, Halo 2 Vista players will only be able to [play] against Vista owners.

Q: Does Halo 2 Vista support the Xbox 360 Controller?
A: Yes, the Xbox 360 controller will be fully supported by Halo 2 Vista.

Q: What are the minimum system requirements for Halo 2 Vista?
A:

OS: Windows Vista
Processor: 2 Ghz Pentium 4 class processor (or x64)
RAM: 1 GB
Hard Drive: 7 GB
Video Card: DX9 graphics card: WDDM driver, PS 2.0/32BPP, At least nVidia 6000 or ATI x700 or above
Online Multi-player: Internet connection for Games for Windows – LIVE
Drive: DVD-ROM drive

Q: Does Halo 2 Vista support user-created content?
A: Yes, there will be a comprehensive package released to facilitate the generation of user-created content for Halo 2 Vista.

Q: Can I play my favorite Halo levels, like Blood Gulch, in Halo 2 Vista?
A: Not exactly. Bungie does not like to reuse old content, so we built four levels in homage to older Halo favorites. These are Coagulation (an aged, excavated version of Blood Gulch), Beaver Creek (a modified version of Battle Creek ), Warlock (a version of Wizard which has since been overrun by tropical growth) and Elongation (which answers the frequently asked question - what if Longest were a shipping room on a space station?). All should prove both familiar and surprising to fans of older maps. Another image map is Foundation, loosely based on an old Marathon map.

Agamemnon's quip:
There are already some mappers designed our old Halo 1 favorites.

Q: Will there be multiplayer bots?
A: No. If you want to practice, you can do it against real people. You can however explore any multiplayer level you wish simply by starting an "empty" LAN match.

Q: How does dual wielding work on Halo 2 Vista?
A: Virtually the same way it does on the Xbox. To dual wield, you simply approach a second weapon that is lying on the ground. You'll see the standard "press E to swap weapons" message appear in your HUD. However, if it's a one handed weapon, you will also see "Press and hold '' to dual wield". If you do that, you will pick up the gun in your left hand. Left click first the left weapon, right click fires the weapon in your right hand. You can't melee attack or throw grenades while dual wielding. You can stop dual wielding at any time by pressing melee attack (discards extra weapon and punches simultaneously) or by tapping 'T' to toss your secondary weapon. Of course, the keyboard layout is fully customizable and you can change any of the settings to your heart's content, or just use the controller.

Q: Do you plan to enable anti-aliasing? Other visual features?
A: Halo 2 for Windows Vista makes use of several DirectX 9 features such as edge anti-aliasing, anisotropic texture filtering, enhanced resolution shadow buffering, additional dynamic shadows, improved normal map filtering, parallax mapping, and per pixel specular mapping.

Q: Why will Halo 2 for Windows Vista not support DX10?
A: Halo 2 will certainly support DX10 graphics cards but the game itself is not being re-written to specifcally take advantage of upcoming DX10 features. The more robust your graphics card, the more visual features and fidelity you will be able to enjoy.

Q: I hate/love auto-aim. Will it be enabled in Halo 2 for Windows Vista?
A: Auto aim will be present for users who use controllers, while those who use a keyboard or mouse will not experience auto aim.

*Note that the answer above was changed by me after personal research.

Q: How does Halo 2 for Windows Vista cope with cheating, aimbots, and so on?
A: A Windows Live system will be in place that will ban anyone by their CD key indefinitely by what it deems cheating content.

*Note that the answer above was changed by me after a Hired Gun blog.

Q: Will it be possible for players to create their own campaign or co-op levels for Halo 2?
A: No, the user-created content tools are exclusively for multiplayer maps and game types.

Agamemnon's Quip:
There are already people finding ways around the measures Bungie set up to not let us do such things.

[Edited on 08.12.2007 10:22 PM PDT]

  • 08.08.2007 9:27 AM PDT
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III. Agamemnon's Frequently Asked Questions
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These are some questions I've encountered that Bungie hasn't officially noted. Please note that some of the answers are speculations unless otherwise noted.

Note: Speculated answers will be marked with this symbol: *

Q: Windows Vista? What's that?
A: Windows Vista is the new operating system from Microsoft.

Q: Are there any requirements for Windows Vista?
A: Yes, there are. Currently there are two classifications for whether your system can run Vista when it comes out. I will provide a chart to inform you.

Vista Capable
Processor...................800 MHz
Memory.......................512 MB RAM
GPU.............................DirectX 9
GPU Memory..............32MB RAM
HDD capacity..............20GB
HDD free space..........15GB
HDD type...................Normal
Other Drives..............CD-ROM

Vista Premium Ready
Processor...................1 GHz
Memory.......................1GB RAM
GPU.............................DirectX 9 with Pixel Shader 2.0
GPU Memory...............128 MB RAM
HDD capacity...............40GB
HDD free space...........15GB
HDD type....................Normal
Other Drives...............DVD-ROM

Q: How much will Windows Vista cost?
A: It varies from version and whether you're upgrading or getting it for the first time, but these are the official prices from Microsoft:

Version.................................................full / upgrade
Windows Vista Home Basic..........$199 / $99.95
Windows Vista Home Premium....$239 / $159
Windows Vista Business..............$299 / $199
Windows Vista Ultimate...............$399 / $259

Q: Will there be Co-Op mode on Halo 2 Vista?
A: No

Q: How will online play work if XboxLive is no longer the system that Halo 2 Vista will use?
A: Bungie is implementing a new system called Live Anywhere, which is, a service similar to Xbox Live and will bring matchmaking to H2V players. It is stated that we will be able to do all the things we could do before; system links for local connections, global online play, and dedicated servers. Bungie has stated that there will be no ranking or player stat tracking systems for Halo 2 Vista, nor will it offer clan support.

Upon recent events, we also learned that matchmaking will only be available to those with Gold memberships. Also, it will no longer be possible to run a dedicated server and play on that server at the same time, as it is supposedly restricted. In order to host a regular game, you also must have a Gold membership.

Q: Will we have to pay to play Halo 2 Vista?
A: For a free Silver membership, no, you won't. With a Silver membership, you will be allowed a single gamertag, a common gamerscore and and gamer profile, single player achievements, private chat via text and voice, a common friends list and online presence, and a browsing list. With a Gold membership (which you do have to pay for), you have everything the Silver membership offers, matchmaking, and multiplayer achievements.

Q: When will Halo 2 Vista come out?
A: It's out.

Q: How much will Halo 2 Vista cost?
A: The cost varies. $49.99 - $59.99

Q: Will there be a demo for Halo 2 Vista?
* A: There is no confirmation if there will be or if there won't, but it's safe to assume with such little feedback from either Bungie, Microsoft, or Hired Gun that there won't be a demo.

Q: What will be Halo 2 Vista's ESRB Rating?
A: M for Mature

Q: Will Halo 2 run on any version of Windows Vista?
A: Yes, it will. It is optimized so even the people who are getting a simple upgrade can play the game.

Q: What do we know about the custom tools to build our own maps in Halo 2 Vista?
A: Quite a lot. The original tools found for the first port, Guerilla, Sapien, and Tool, will make a reappearance; this time included on the disc. The H2V team has stated that this time around we will be able to customize a lot more than Sapien had to offer, as well as creating new and improved textures and even customiziable shaders.

It is also said that the H2V team are trying to make the tools much more user-friendly; the co-existing tools for Halo 1 were extremely hard to use and were not easily picked up, even after you had an extensive knowledge on how to use it.

The H2V team also boasted a much more stable toolset, as the three had an uncanny habit of corrupting files, shutting down for no reason, and producing errors that no one had ever heard of. This is something what many Halo 1 modders would call a Godsend.

Q: Cool! So we'll be able to model our own maps with the tools given to us?
A: Actually, no, you won't. Bungie will not be including a 3D modelling program once again for you to model your own maps.

Q: What are some boastable new features Halo 2 Vista will include?
A: Up to 1900x1200 screen resolution, dedicated servers, tools to create custom maps, extremely upgraded and fine-tuned graphics, text lobby chat (as well as a mic still), and in-game text chat.

Q: Will there be new weapons or vehicles in Halo 2 Vista?
A: No.

Q: Will there be new maps for Halo 2 Vista?
A: Yes, there will be two new Halo 2 Vista-exclusive maps.

Q: In Halo Custom Edition, we had to download maps manually to actually play them online. Is there a new system that solves this problem?
A: Yes. There will be an online system that will automatically download content that is required to play in the server of your choosing. Needless to say, you won't have to download maps again unless you're hosting them for the very first time.

[Edited on 08.08.2007 9:38 AM PDT]

  • 08.08.2007 9:30 AM PDT
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IV. Goodies
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This section will list some important sites that you might want to bookmark and check on periodically for Halo 2 Vista news as well as some future content for the game.

http://www.halo2vista.net/
Founded by GBX forerunners, this is the definite community hang out spot to find out what the current HCE community is doing and what their plans are for the future of H2V.

http://halo2pc.org/
Halo2pc.org is the first and foremost organized Halo 2 Vista community. Check here regularly for news, theories, ideas, and interesting discussions.

http://h2v.halomaps.org/
This is where the maps, tags, bipeds, textures, and everything else for your H2V modding needs will be uploaded and downloaded from. The site is generally part of halomaps.org, which is the most general place to find your HCE fix for just about everything dealing with it.

http://h2v.halomaps.org/editor/
Have a question about making a map in Halo 2 Vista? Here's the manual.

http://www.halomods.com/
This is the place to come around and learn about modding either Halo 1 or Halo 2, and when time permits, Halo 2 Vista as well. This is where some of the real interesting modding ideas develop and come to reality.

http://www.customedition.org/
Here's another site like halomaps.org except they deal mainly with tags, bitmaps, models, and tools, all of which include custom content for you to download. They also have a help forum if you are ever confused about what to do with the tools.

http://www.halo.bungie.org/
Another prime traffic site with news, interviews, fan fic, art, and loads more. Generally it's everything that you can possibly find about the Halo series.

http://www.bungie.net/
Let's not forget the company that started it all. You'll find news and what not about Halo 2 Vista here, straight from the head honchos themselves.

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V. Credits
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Bungie.net: For the first part of the FAQ and some of the answers I drew from my FAQ
H2PC.org: For where I also drew some of my info from
Wikipedia.org: For info on Windows Vista
TheGhost: For the X06 H2V info
Boo Diddly: For his earlier estimation on system requirements
Stealth: For helping me fix some minor (but major) corrections
Master_Dragon: For pointing out to me that redundant questions need to be added (You wouldn't even believe...)
ChAiRMaNWoW: For Vista-related info
HereticKnight: For the articles from gaming websites in Jan.
Someone: For the article including the system requirements that Gamespot released
TUI Hentz: For the article including the release date
Master Kim: For the H2V ad that included the info of two new maps
Dennis/UXB: H2V editor manual info off of his site

[Edited on 08.20.2007 7:12 PM PDT]

  • 08.08.2007 9:33 AM PDT

Started again eh?

  • 08.08.2007 9:51 AM PDT
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Yeah, I'm also going to add a recommended map download section as well later on.

  • 08.08.2007 9:53 AM PDT

Some common ones are:
Beach Battle
Hired Example
Hang 'Em High Beta
Halo 2 Level (Work)
and Honey Canyon 2
The prices range from $39.99 to $59.99.

[Edited on 08.08.2007 10:03 AM PDT]

  • 08.08.2007 10:02 AM PDT
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I was actually thinking about waiting a few months after Falling Leaf Systems came out and more mappers had produced more content.

Posted by: halo2vista
The prices range from $39.99 to $59.99.

The fine print
Applies to U.S. delivery addresses in the 50 states only, including Alaska and Hawaii. Geographic shipping restrictions may apply to particular products; for example, some Tools & Hardware items may not be shipped to Alaska and Hawaii using FREE Super Saver Shipping.
...
We reserve the right to change or discontinue FREE Super Saver Shipping at any time.

They also usually only do this when sales are hurting for the product.

[Edited on 08.08.2007 10:07 AM PDT]

  • 08.08.2007 10:03 AM PDT

Yeah,well, those are some popular ones.

  • 08.08.2007 10:06 AM PDT

Slaying noobs since 2007.

Yay, an new FAQ!!!! It's long overdue. XD

  • 08.08.2007 11:57 AM PDT
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Ninjerators sticky plox?

  • 08.08.2007 12:37 PM PDT
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I PMed Recon. It'll be a matter of time before it is.

  • 08.08.2007 1:24 PM PDT
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Bump.

  • 08.10.2007 8:40 PM PDT

Slaying noobs since 2007.

I'll help!!! BUMP!!!!

  • 08.10.2007 9:00 PM PDT

Posted by: Desert Fox RWTF
I'll help!!! BUMP!!!!

  • 08.11.2007 11:36 AM PDT

Slaying noobs since 2007.

I'll do it again! BUMP!

  • 08.11.2007 4:20 PM PDT
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Let's gang-bang the thread... BUMP!

[Edited on 08.11.2007 6:06 PM PDT]

  • 08.11.2007 6:05 PM PDT

Slaying noobs since 2007.

Posted by: Bungie Jumping
Let's gang-bang the thread... BUMP!
Haha!! Good idea!! BUMP!

  • 08.11.2007 6:10 PM PDT
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Guys, as much as we want this thread to be at the top of the page, let's not get it locked in the process...

  • 08.11.2007 7:29 PM PDT

Posted by: Master Kim
Guys, as much as we want this thread to be at the top of the page, let's not get it locked in the process...

You know? Master Kim is right. If we bump it too any times, Rcon might just lock it. Chill on bumping and just wait for people to respond reasonable comments and things.

  • 08.11.2007 9:21 PM PDT

Slaying noobs since 2007.

Yeah, good idea Kim, and H2V.

  • 08.12.2007 12:01 PM PDT
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Will the maps from Halo 2: Multiplayer map pack be available in Halo 2 Vista or not? and will it be out for XP?

[Edited on 08.12.2007 2:34 PM PDT]

  • 08.12.2007 2:33 PM PDT
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I went to lan party a week ago and I have seen a copy halo 2 vista modded for XP. It works great if you dont care about using live. There is a bittorent file you can get. With your valid purchase of Halo 2 Vista you can extract the files on your Xp system and you can use a special program to modd it. Just like Halo Ce you have to re enter your serial # . I seen halo 2 on xp and vista and the graphics look about same. Almost better on Xp it seems. The only problem is you cant go on live. I dont think the program is supported by Microsoft or bungie not like Halo ce custom. I guess they would not like you to use such a program such that it would hurt their bottom line if their main vista game wont be used on a vista system thus no one would buy Vista. Halo 2 Vista can work on XP, i have seen it!! Wish i knew that sonner and would not have bought my 360. : /
Cheers

  • 08.12.2007 5:08 PM PDT

Here's the guide:
Halo 2 on Windows XP: Campaign=OK LIVE=X
Halo 2 on Windows Vista: Campaign=OK LIVE=OK
Period.

  • 08.12.2007 6:51 PM PDT

Slaying noobs since 2007.

Posted by: TSAR 100MT
I went to lan party a week ago and I have seen a copy halo 2 vista modded for XP.
It's not a mod.

  • 08.12.2007 8:02 PM PDT
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I added the bit about the Alky Project (look at the top of the FAQ to see which operating systems Halo 2 Vista is available to). Set your calandars; the free version will be out by the 15th and it will have support for Halo 2 Vista a week or two later.

  • 08.12.2007 10:23 PM PDT

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