Halo 1 & 2 for PC
This topic has moved here: Subject: First Official Halo2Vista MAW Gathering
  • Subject: First Official Halo2Vista MAW Gathering
Subject: First Official Halo2Vista MAW Gathering

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Who: You (if you have Halo 2 Vista)
What: H2V MAW Gathering
When: Thursday Dec. 13th @ 7pm EST (GMT-5)
Where: MAW H2V Server (thats the title of the server in the LIVE list)
Why: Because its much more fun to play against people you know and laugh about the exploits, then to play random noobs who you can't talk smack to afterwards.

In the tradition of the Halo PC MAW Gatherings, I will be hosting a Halo 2 Vista MAW Gathering on Thursday night. Hopefully it will be a time for members of these forums, the MAW clan and others to get together and do battle in Halo 2. Afterwards we can come in here and talk smack about our exploits. This first Gathering will be a test oif several things. First, to see if the dedicated server I loaded Halo2 on is up to the task. It was a box I scabbed together from spare parts from my company and its closer to the minimum specs then the recommended ones. Second, to see if my cable connection has enough upload bandwidth to run a full game off of. If not I will have to move the server to a friend of mine who has FIOS after I figure out how to get a remote access session configured. Third, to see if there is enough Halo2 players out there to support a gathering like this. And last to test the mapcycle/playlist I came up with and fine tune the details so we can weed out the crappy settings and come up with fun games.

Speaking of the mapcycle here is what I have come up with. I went with mostly the built in varients to keep it simple for the first run through. Some of these will probably suck but thats why we are doing it to test what works and what doesn't.

Snipers on Relic - I like this map a lot and have always had a good time playing snipers on it
Crazy King on Midship - A compact multi-level map with a moving hill ans an abundance of plasma weaponry...could be a recipe for disaster.
Team Slayer on Lockout - you can't get any more classic then this.
Rockets on Acsencion - wanted to put in one rocket game and Ascension is usually fun esp with the grav lift launching you up over top of unsuspecting victims.
Swords on Turf - I'm not a big fan of the Noob Knife but I know some of you are so I decided to put it on a map with a good amount of blind corners
3 plot Territories on Terminal - I've hardly played any territories and don't truly understand it but this will be my oppurtunity.
Fiesta on Gemini - This is Oddball with random starting weapons. Its like the lottery but with guns.
Single Bomb on Zanzibar - definately won't be Assault on Danger Canyon but hopefully will be entertaining. Not convinced Zanzibar is the best map for this but we will see.
Team Slayer on Foundation - Wanted to use Foundation and figured this was a safe bet. Thinking this may be SMG start so everyone will be dual spraying which will suck and get adjusted in the next Gathering
Slayer on Sanctuary - another classic "slayer" map so I went with slayer. May get the feared "spray and pray" effect like above
Team Slayer on Terminal - needed to get a slayer game on this map so here it is.

The last three I took a shot at making a custom varients.
Warthog Wars on District This is my personal favorite gametype. It is a howl to play. 50 kill team slayer Magnums only on a map full of Gauss Warthogs. Obviously if your not in a warthog your a deadman. The in game voice chat makes it so the driver and gunner can communicate easily so the driver can alert the gunner to possible threat and targets. (Incoming! 12 o' clock! or Target on the ledge!)

NSShot on Elongation - This was a gametype I excelled at in HaloPC... No-shield shotguns on Longest. Well see how the Halo2 version plays with all the moving obsticles on the conveyor belts.

HaloCTF on Coagulation - CTF on Blood Gulch was the greatest gametype ever... and CTF on Coagulation was the worst gametype ever. How they went from a 10 to a 1 is mind boggling. However while researching the game settings available I was able to discover how and possibly correct it.

1.) SMG/magnum start vs. Pistol/AR In Halo PC, you started off with the best weapon in the game and something you could defend yourself at close range with. In Halo 2, you start with the two most ineffective weapons in the game. I set this gametype to start with BR and SMG. The Battle rifle is the best all-around weapon in the game and the SMG can sorta defend you at close range.

2.)Warthog/Ghost vs. Warthog/RocketHog - I always thought the ghost was a little overpowered in HaloPC because of it abilty to strafe. It was hard to nade and could keep its armered front and weapons pointed at the target. In most cases in could strafe faster then the hog turret could turn. In Halo 2 don't even think about trying to engage a ghost with a slow ass hog turret. The warthog in HaloPC was balanced in that ground targets had a chance with well placed nades and accurate shooting. I did away with the ghost and went with the gauss hog and regular warthog.

3.) Banshee vs. No banshee A banshee in Blood Gulch was hell on ground troops and gunnerless hogs. In Halo 2 they removed the Fuel rod cannon but gave it the abilty to loop and strafe. That abilty in the hands of a capable pilot makes it nearly unhittable, it can even dodge a rocket with lock on. Its still over-powered and makes the game unbalanced so its out in my gametype.

4.) Good weapons nearby vs. good luck finding a good weapon near you In HaloPC you usually spawned within reach of nades, a fast spawning pistol, and a slow spawning sniper. A quick jump down got you the up close and personal shotgun. In Halo 2 you walk a mile to get to the roof of the base for the decsent weapons or settle for the plasma trash in the bottom of the base. Ther was nothing I could do to correct this because the screwed up the spawn points but I think I might be able to make the weapons respawn twice as fast.

5.) Flag carrier could drive and man a hog turret vs. he has to be driven and can only ride in the passenger seat. In HaloPc, you could make a solo flag grab with a hog or drive yourself if you driver meet his maker. In Halo 2, it is set by default to not allow the flag carrier to drive or operate a turret making it extremely difficult to escape with the flag. I found the options to change that default so that the flag carrier can drive himself or man a turret to defend a getaway.

6). Flag carrier moved normally vs. Flag carrier moves at half-speed In HaloPC you could move normally if you had the flag so it didn't take forever to walk the flag back to base if you were forced to and had good cover. In Halo 2, you move like your wading through a swamp and the defending team usually gets several oppuntunities to catch you even if you have good cover. I found the setting to set the speed to normal when you are carrying the flag.

Things I could not fix were the spawn points so you still are far away from functional weapons but the BR start should aleviate this problem. Destructable vehicles may still limit your getaway options but the normal walking speed should make walking the flag back a much more obtainable option.

Hopefully these settings get us closer to games like we had on good ol Blood Gulch.


I hope to see you guys there and I hope my server is up to the task. Please give feedback on what you think/thought of the gametypes so I can fine tune it for future Gatherings.

Long live the MAW!


[Edited on 12.11.2007 6:37 PM PST]

  • 12.11.2007 6:22 PM PDT

Sure you dont want to use my server? More variant, more gametypes, more unique. I'll try to get it on Thursday. If not, see you in the MAW Server
SPECS:
Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2.13GHz
2GB Crucial Ballistix DDR2-6400 (667MHz)
160GB 7200RPM Hard Drive set on Performance Mode
Speed Test Results:
(I live near Oakland, California)
Using server from San Francsico, CA: 36ms ping Download: 2556kbps Upload: 349kbps
Using Server from Dallas, TX: 38ms Ping Download: 2460kbps Upload :350kbps
Using Server from New York, NY: 92ms ping Download: 2566kbps Upload:417kbps
True, not the best, my computer has handled 16 player games fine.

[Edited on 12.11.2007 7:08 PM PST]

  • 12.11.2007 6:58 PM PDT
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Posted by: Anton P Nym
who says you have to be an ace to have fun?

Posted by: TUI_Obi_Wan
Stupid parents let their stupid children play games that are rated M when they should be playing Big Birds Spelling Adventures

Posted by: Kira Onime
Also the AR is actually good in CQB now and no longer a glorified baseball bat.

Let's stick with the MAW~ server for now and see how it works. ;)

Afterall, it is a "MAW Gathering". ;)

  • 12.11.2007 7:47 PM PDT

Ok, so yeah. Im backup server if Iggwilvs cant handle all the people

[Edited on 12.12.2007 7:07 AM PST]

  • 12.11.2007 8:22 PM PDT
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Posted by: Anton P Nym
who says you have to be an ace to have fun?

Posted by: TUI_Obi_Wan
Stupid parents let their stupid children play games that are rated M when they should be playing Big Birds Spelling Adventures

Posted by: Kira Onime
Also the AR is actually good in CQB now and no longer a glorified baseball bat.

Talk to Igg about that first. ;)

  • 12.11.2007 8:43 PM PDT

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After some testing last night the Slayer and Team Slayer will be changed so you start with BR instead of SMG. I want to use this server to test it if it fails we can look at other options.

  • 12.12.2007 6:13 AM PDT

I need to buy 2GB of RAM and H2V, I already have a copy of Windows Vista Business around here somewhere...

  • 12.12.2007 6:14 AM PDT

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Team Slayer and Slayer gametypes now have BR start and the maplist is up and running. Hope to see you there tonight.

  • 12.13.2007 3:16 PM PDT

Is H2V worth buying yet?

Cause maybe if it is I'll get it and maybe join you guys...

  • 12.13.2007 5:17 PM PDT

OK, so, this nights gathering was mildly dissappointing. Sorry Igg, but the playlist is not that great

  • 12.13.2007 6:34 PM PDT

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Well I was satisfied with the servers performance. A little choppy and laggy but we had a full house at one point in time and it was very playable. There was a tool who was delaying so i was forced to reset the server to clear it out. But then I installed the mod from Vicky on H2vista.net and now you cannot hit X to delay. The draw back is you have about 5 sec to switch your team before the match starts. I'll see if I can increase this any to give us more time.

HaloCTF played much better then the default version but still was lacking something. The game just seems to move at a snails pace and it still pretty hard to get the flag out of the base.

There is a couple things I need to change. I forgot to take the banshee off of the ascension map. (Although the life expectancy of a Banshee pilot in Acsension Rockets is about 3 secs.) Need to take the noob ass Wraith out of Terminal. Single Bomb on Zanzibar tends to get campy. I'm thinking a bigger map would allow for charging hog runs and such. Territorires is just KOTH with more hills, it just doesn't seem fun.

I saw Rith, node, Sgt Pepper, Halo2vista and there were probably more but I'm not familiar with everyones Live IDs. It would be a good idea if you guys announced your B.net name when you come in so we know who every one is. Thanks for playing.

Start thinking of other gametypes we could play for next week.

[Edited on 12.13.2007 7:01 PM PST]

  • 12.13.2007 6:59 PM PDT

Whatever

[Edited on 12.13.2007 10:44 PM PST]

  • 12.13.2007 7:46 PM PDT
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Posted by: Anton P Nym
who says you have to be an ace to have fun?

Posted by: TUI_Obi_Wan
Stupid parents let their stupid children play games that are rated M when they should be playing Big Birds Spelling Adventures

Posted by: Kira Onime
Also the AR is actually good in CQB now and no longer a glorified baseball bat.

DUDE!!! Let Igg run the server the way HE WANTS TO!!! NOT the way YOU want to!!!

  • 12.13.2007 8:17 PM PDT
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Managed to get about an hour before I had to leave. However it was all good fun fun fun !! I even managed to get close to the top on a couple of games.
Server performance was as expected, it just gets more choppy and laggy as more people come online. Nothing too serious though, so I'm looking forward to the next event.
It's a pity I can't stay longer as I didn't see any MAW clan players except yourself, Igg. All in all a pretty damn good job and you deserve praise for making the effort.
Thanks :-)
Long Live The MAW !!

  • 12.14.2007 4:40 AM PDT
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Ya the server was good aside from the rockets. <.<

I was High Flea just for the record.

The gametypes needed a few tweaking but overall they were good. Cause of the small parties I think you should focus on either free for all slayer games or small tight objective games. The za-blam!-bar one was actually not that bad if you worked together with a "squad".

Also Beach Battle, Frostbite and a few other custom maps should get thrown into the pile.

[Edited on 12.14.2007 5:01 AM PST]

  • 12.14.2007 4:54 AM PDT
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Programatically invading forums.

I joined at one point (Swords on Turf) and it seemed like a mess... about 5 people and like, no communication. I probably was too late or too early for some fun. Can't wait for the next though.

  • 12.15.2007 1:42 AM PDT
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Yes, I am a hypocrite, and I'm sorry. I really do mean well, but I'm not running on all cylinders.

Everytime someone buys a copy of Halo 2 Vista, a puppy dies.

District low FPS + mouse lag + sluggish turret control = super frustration.... Other than that, it was great.

[Edited on 12.16.2007 12:42 PM PST]

  • 12.16.2007 12:41 PM PDT
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Go get the Vista RC1. Makes a big difference.

  • 12.16.2007 3:02 PM PDT
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Posted by: Anton P Nym
who says you have to be an ace to have fun?

Posted by: TUI_Obi_Wan
Stupid parents let their stupid children play games that are rated M when they should be playing Big Birds Spelling Adventures

Posted by: Kira Onime
Also the AR is actually good in CQB now and no longer a glorified baseball bat.

You mean the Vista SP1 RC?

Vista RC1 expired at the end of May. :-p

  • 12.16.2007 4:53 PM PDT
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Same thing <.<

  • 12.16.2007 5:21 PM PDT

Hello! Star Wars FTW. Also, join the MAW group. Please?

Posted by: Adduxi
It's a pity I can't stay longer as I didn't see any MAW clan players except yourself, Igg.


Ouch.
Sgtpepper1724 = Sergeant Pepper. Makes sense huh? I'm on your freinds list even! And I was there when you were. You may remember me beating you by about 3 kills on a certain game of slayer on sanctuary :)
And Rith was there too. SolarRith=Rith

Moving on. I think the playlist was pretty good and I did have a lot of fun. Some complaints though: Ascension rockets isn't fun for me with 6+ people, too much of spawn->die within 5 seconds. Also, we never (or at least i wan't their) got around too hog wars on district. And there were way too many rounds of assualt on zanzibar.

Another thought: Use mikes! I know that most of us (myself included) have already gotten frustrated with the too-talkitive tools on windows live and have muted everyone by now, but unmute for at least the duration of the gathering. We could even create a seperate channel on live if necessary.

  • 12.17.2007 3:03 PM PDT
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Sounds pretty sick. As soon as this semester ends and I finally go home for Winter break, I'll be grabbing myself a copy of the game and hopefully will be able to run it decently enough on my laptop. I'm probably pulling the minimum of the minimum requirements here, but if my GeForce Go 6150 can run Half Life 2: Episode 2 and maintain decent framerates at medium settings, then for sure I can run H2V.

Question, since I haven't bothered with learning all this stuff before (I know, I know, you can flame me later :); would I need a payed for Gold account to play in dedicated servers or can I just get by with Silver? Basically what can't you do with Silver that you can with Gold?

  • 12.18.2007 4:03 AM PDT

Hello! Star Wars FTW. Also, join the MAW group. Please?

No one is going to flame you for asking a question, you're in the Maw. Anyway, you can get by with silver just fine, gold is worthless. Without gold, you can't join non-dedis (can join dedis with silver), nor can you create one, you can't download custom maps in-game (takes forever anyway) and you can't join a freinds game in prgoress through live. I haven't renewed my membership since the 1 month free that came with H2V expired, and I haven't been missing it.

  • 12.18.2007 8:47 AM PDT
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Posted by: Anton P Nym
who says you have to be an ace to have fun?

Posted by: TUI_Obi_Wan
Stupid parents let their stupid children play games that are rated M when they should be playing Big Birds Spelling Adventures

Posted by: Kira Onime
Also the AR is actually good in CQB now and no longer a glorified baseball bat.

The upside to Gold is that you can use voice chat. You can also play an awesome cross platform game called Shadowrun. :D

  • 12.18.2007 9:10 AM PDT
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Sorry about that accidental PM, I meant to reply to the thread.

Anyways to sum it all up; I don't need voice chat since I have both Teamspeak and Ventrilo, although would I be able to create and download/upload custom maps with Silver as well? I'm pretty sure that Halomaps.org has H2V custom maps, so if its just like the same format of adding maps to Halo Custom Edition, then I'll be fine from there.

I just hope I'd maintain good framerates with what I have at 640x480 res windowed mode.
Gaming Rig Upload Rig
Manufacturer: Hewlett-Packard
Processor: AMD Turion(tm) 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-56 (2 CPUs), ~1.8GHz
Memory: 1982MB RAM
Hard Drive: 151 GB
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce Go 6150
Monitor: Generic PnP Monitor
Sound Card: Internal Speaker/Headphone (Conexant High Definition Audio)
Speakers/Headphones: 2 tiny ass speakers
Keyboard: USB Root Hub
Mouse: USB Root Hub
Mouse Surface: Random Mouse Pad
Operating System: Windows Vistaâ„¢ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6000) (6000.vista_gdr.070627-1500)

  • 12.18.2007 11:04 AM PDT