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  • Subject: What do you think about Halo 2 and the custom soundtracks option?
Subject: What do you think about Halo 2 and the custom soundtracks option?

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Let me say why I voted that it will not, because I have to qualify it.

I'm almost certain that it won't support custom soundtracks in single play or co-op because Bungie is obsessed with telling a great story in their games... and to do that you have to use every tool you can get to shape the mood of the reader/viewer/player. Music is a *very* effective tool for shaping mood and emotion; that's why movies and videos have soundtracks.

It pays to listen to some movies with your back turned to the screen or with the screen turned off... if you've watched Aliens before, try it without the video. You should be able to "see" the movie in your mind even without the visuals, with only the music, SFX, and dialog to prompt you. That's how effective well-planned soundtracks can be.

Watch FilmOasis' documentary short on the making of Halo2 and see the guys of TotalAudio at work, and listen to Marty O'Donnell's short section on making sure that the music is telling a story. It's the centrepiece of my reasoning for the lack of custom soundtrack in Halo2 solo play.

I'll qualify this for multiplayer and Xbox Live play; I'd like to see the option available to have music in online play, at least, though I realise that custom music at a LAN party could be hellish...

-- Steve is trying not to imagine the sound of 16 different soundtracks playing simultaneously.

  • 06.13.2004 5:41 AM PDT
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Am totally with Anton here. Music can provoke an emotional element to a game. Add suspense, add feeling to a moment. Martys work in the first game was brillient, one of the strongest features of the game is the amazing music it has. So good I bought the sound track and play it very very often. Telling a story music is very crucial, and adds so much.

As for Xbox live...no story going on so really whats it matter. We might as well have custom sounds in that, although personally I think I will be sticking to using the tracks from the original soundtrack CD (until the Halo2 sountrack CD comes out) copied back to the Xbox's HDD.

Same goes for other games, partically those who didn't have good soundtracks. Took me a while to find one which used to work with old Quake2 haha, odd as it seems Fat Boy Slim for some bizarre reason fits the games mood per level better than the original one haha.

  • 06.13.2004 6:04 AM PDT
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The warthog doesn't have a radio.

  • 06.13.2004 6:20 AM PDT
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It doesnt need a radio...make you're own music with the chaingun and the squeching of things under the tyres.

  • 06.13.2004 6:37 AM PDT
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I also vote no. Mr. Marty O'Donnell (I hope I spelled that right) did superb work in HALO, I doubt he will disappoint in HALO 2. The only thinkg I would like to see done 'differently' with the music is a randomized mixing of the battle themes for multiplayer.

  • 06.13.2004 6:42 AM PDT
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that would kick ass. i hav all my cds in my xbox, so that would be awsome

  • 06.13.2004 11:58 AM PDT
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if it did have it i would never use it. i dont have many cds and i like the music they have anyway. very goodand it fits in with your situations well. wouldnt want to take away from that

  • 06.13.2004 12:01 PM PDT
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I think they will for Multiplayer because you don't need the music for storytelling in multiplayer or you could unlock it in single player after you beat the game once so that way you know the story.

  • 06.13.2004 1:47 PM PDT
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I voted that it will not, but i would like it to. Being able to have some of your favorite fighting songs kick in when you get in a big battle or especially in multiplayer would be awsome. I would love to fight covenant with "Subzero vs Smoke" playing. (i recommend downloading that song and checking it out, great fighting music) And about the whole story/mood thing, its not like the game isnt going to have its own music just because it has custom soundtrack capability. You could beat the game withought any custom music, and then when you play it again throw some of your own rockin stuff in, or only use the rockin stuff while your schooling people in multiplayer.

  • 06.13.2004 9:59 PM PDT
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They should keep multiplayer musicless. With music you could not hear:
The cool ambient noises(like the mechnical hum in Wizard, The birdies in Blood Gulch)
From where bullets are being shot and where they're going(Surround only I think, not sure)
People walking up behind you
YEEEEEAAARGHHHHH after you spontaneously explode while holding a rocket launcher

[Edited on 6/13/2004 11:12:10 PM]

  • 06.13.2004 11:11 PM PDT

Here is an example I have played through Halo2 many times. I love the original Halo music I even bought the Halo SE soundtrack but occasionally I like to listen to my own music with such games as Halo, Unreal, and Morrowind. So this one day I filled my cd changer and started playing Halo to Blumchen (German dance group) and that that really set a good mood that went perfect with Halo. Halo2 should have custom soundtracks for multiple player mode and single player mode. The original music IS important for story but if you Halo2 50 times what would be wrong with playing it to you own music.

  • 06.14.2004 2:47 PM PDT

Here is an example I have played through Halo2 many times. I love the original Halo music I even bought the Halo SE soundtrack but occasionally I like to listen to my own music with such games as Halo, Unreal, and Morrowind. So this one day I filled my cd changer and started playing Halo to Blumchen (German dance group) and that that really set a good mood that went perfect with Halo. Halo2 should have custom soundtracks for multiple player mode and single player mode. The original music IS important for story but if you Halo2 50 times what would be wrong with playing it to you own music.

  • 06.14.2004 2:48 PM PDT
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Personally, I really don't want to have the option of the custom soundtracks. If you want to listen to your favs while in multi, grab a cd player and turn on your tunes! I would like to have music playing during mp, though, like he said. The battle songs, or maybe some music that starts out quiet in the beginning and gets more intense as the game goes so that it kind of warms you up. That is what I like about marty's music: It is intense. I hope they don't have -blam!- "Linkin' Park" music as was being rumored..

  • 06.14.2004 4:33 PM PDT

"Bother", said Pooh, as he chambered another round.

Nope, it would put Marty O'donnel out of a job.

  • 06.14.2004 4:49 PM PDT
Subject: What do you think about Halo 2 and the custom soundtracks option?

Poll: Do you think Halo 2 will support custom soundtracks?  [closed]
It will.:  25%
(10 Votes)
It will not.:  75%
(30 Votes)
Total Votes: 40

Do you think Halo 2 will support custom soundtracks? Do you think Halo 2 should support custom soundtracks? Its simple, What do you think about Halo 2 and the custom soundtracks option? Halo is everything Xbox and Halo 2 is rumored to support more Xbox features than any other Xbox game ever released.

  • 06.12.2004 11:31 PM PDT
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I think for one the orig Halo soundtrack goes along with the game (obviously) and it does add a lot to the mood and feel of Halo, but I think the real reason why it won't happen and wasn't possible with Halo: Combat Evolved is because both games use absolutely 100% of the Xbox's system resources and an extra .mp3/.wma player running in the background would be too much for the Xbox to handle. The game would probably start lagging up. Halo did and Halo 2 actually will use more but run more efficiently to make up for it. However I would enjoy it in co-op/multiplayer if at all possible.

  • 06.14.2004 5:44 PM PDT
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I voted no because of all the good reasons everyone else has posted but i do think it should be unlockable after beating the game. I wouldnt mind listining to my music in the warthog while playing SP. so my idea is beat SP first, than ur able to listen to your music because the music in the game really does make the game better.

  • 06.14.2004 5:54 PM PDT
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Screw you -blam!-. Linkin Park is awesome.

  • 06.14.2004 6:37 PM PDT