Halo 1 & 2 for PC
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  • Subject: The "Halo 3 PC" Thread
Subject: The "Halo 3 PC" Thread

NOTE: The content of this post was written by MC Enders III, not me. Credit goes to him.



Contents of Thread :



UPDATE: 08/10/2008
I made a thread for you guys to vote on whether or not Halo 3 PC should have a proprietary O.S. You can cast your vote Here.


So, guys I decided to make this thread and with time I will update and maintain it. This is just a general discussion thread for what we expect or would like to see in Halo 3 for Windows Live.

Update 08/08/2008
Shaverdian found this nice read which advertises Halo 3 as a downloadable "Free Trial".

My thinking is that it may simply have been advertising, or sucker-punching a bunch of people in to clicking on that one link... However, I myself have never seen it, never clicked on it, and do not know the nature of the website that is advertised the link. Personally, I think it may have been someone shooting off their big mouth by mistake... I remember a similar event happened before Halo 3 originally was announced at E3 2006 where a microsoft employee had a look in to bungie and said "Halo 2 and Halo 3" in an interview by accident.[/url]



There are those who said This day would never come. What have they to say now? So what if the "Only on xbox" label is on Halo 3. Wasn't it on Halo: CE and Halo 2 as well?

If you have any supremely urgent suggestions, feel free to private message me.

If not, then just post them here and I will edit and update this thread periodically.

Alright, so I have a feeling we've all played Halo 2 Vista. We've all seen that almost no one is playing it online compared to other Live enabled games, that the graphics are nothing more than amped-up from the Xbox Version of Halo 2, and that -if we had to choose- we would probably buy the console version of Halo 2 (which would cost a grand total of $150) as opposed to upgrading our computers, and then buying a copy of Halo 2 Vista (price-tags are variable, but could be $200+).

Update 03/06/2008 - Cross Platform Gameplay Has Been Abandoned.
Alright, so I gave you guys a week to cast your votes and tell me what you think, and I am trying to voice this as best I can. In simplest terms, most of you wanted a better HEK as opposed to cross-platform gameplay. See thread for reference.


The Essentials:

This is what we expect out of Halo 3 for Windows Vista.

Matchmaking.
This is what makes Halo 3 so much more challenging. Going head-to-head against juggernauts of near-equal wit, skill, and reflex makes the game much more intense and enjoyable to the players who bought it.


Ultimately, what we are trying to do by starting this thread is ensure that Halo 3 Vista is the Epic Win Sauce that Halo 2 Vista wasn't.

Update 2/23/2008:

Alright, so I couldn't help but notice one of you said... *Don't put it on a proprietary OS.I whole-heartedly agree with that statement. I think I'll make a new thread to conduct a poll for this...

And for our map-making monkeys...
Halo 3 Editing Kit
It appears that many of you were disappointed with the map editor that Halo 2 Vista had. But if we are to maintain a cross-platform gameplay method, I don't think this would be possible as this would take some serious tweaking to what is the Halo 3 Source code, which is something Halo 3 Xbox doesn't have.


Can't believe i forgot this of all things...

Clan Support
Well, clans are just tons o' fun. We think that clans should have some form of support or another similar to that of the system back in the Halo 2 Xbox days. no stats necessary to track, although we would much appreciate giving us a second. "friends list" just for our clansmen. You know, to keep track of our brothers in arms.


And this game would be so incomplete without...
Player Voting in General
In the previous PC ports of the Halo trilogy, the ability to kick / ban players from a server was only possible if someone who had access to the server's console commands was present on the server, or if they were immediately notified that someone was wreaking havoc on the server, or just being a general nuissance. We would like this feature to be available to the players with a majority's (51% or more) vote. Often times there are no administrators present on the servers we play on to take care of the problem at hand, and we feel that we must be able to take care of it ourselves.

The features we would like with this "in-game democracy" should include -at the very least- the ability to kick or ban a player for whatever reason the other players may have (hopefully to prevent cheating, or being a jerk, or breaking the server rules.). Also, the ability to call votes to change the current map would be much appreciated.


Also...

We would prefer an MoTD for in multiplayer.
A motto of the day (also known as MoTD) would help keep server regulars updated and informed on the news that goes on for the clan or pub that the server was bought for. We don't expect anything too grand, but perhaps something like the one in Counterstrike or Halo: Custom Edition. Custom colored fonts not required, but preferred.


3/27/08
Support in General
Honestly, guys. Look at Halo: CE. Halo: CE received far more support (anti-cheat, and technical support) than Halo 2 Vista ever did. The biggest problem we are looking at right now is that Bungie only seems to care about the cash they make off of the initial sale of their games. And honestly, we have not seen any bungie.net mods, Frankie, Achronos, or Lukems actually acknowledge that we -the PC fan base- have been neglected as disatisfied customers. When cheaters popped up in Halo 2, Frankie was all over it. When Halo PC Cheaters and H2vista cheaters (I have yet to see the latter of the two) popped up, I didn't see anything mentioned about them. I have found zero weekly whats updates concerning issues with the PC ports of these fabled Legendary Xbox Games.


And for graphics...

Directx10 or higher support.
I mean, come on guys. We're looking at Halo 3 for Windows Vista being released (by my estimates) in late 2008 at the earliest. It's time for an upgrade for those of you who haven't already gotten an NVIDIA 8000 Series card. Also, the NVIDIA 9000 series has just popped its head over the horizon. We all saw that Halo 2 Vista's Graphics were nothing more than exponentially increased Xbox graphics. I mean, many reviewers said that games on the Source Engine (Half Life 2, Day of Defeat : Source, Counterstrike : Source and so on.) look far better, graphically speaking. And the irony of it is, Half Life 2 was only released 7 days after Halo 2 for the xbox.


Anti-Cheat Support
Everyone here (myself included) has some strong resentment for Punk-Buster. If possible, we would like to see some sort of new anti-cheat software enforced with the release of Halo 3 for Windows Vista.


Suggested Development Team(s)
Epic Studios. Gearbox Software.

Public Beta Testing
Well, let's face it: Halo 3 had a public beta-test phase, right? Why not make one for the PC Fan-base as well? Also, we could use this beta test as an opportunity to refine gameplay and filter out any bugs that the game currently has: one-hit melee kills from the front, weapons balancing, and other pre-release or other interface issues that may come with the final version of the game (similar to that bug the E key has on your keyboard).


Added 08/08/2008:

Field of View (Fov)
Please, for the love of God, bring the field of view back to 90 degrees. Sure, the first Halo had a 70 degree FoV, But Halo 3's FoV is actually quite cramping. In between the over-sized weapon display, along with the huge GUI, that left very little for the player to actually see. We want to see a return to normalcy with the PC port of Halo 3. Also, Halo 2 (Xbox and PC) had a FoV of 90 degrees.


Changes: I changed the name of the "working title" of this game from "Halo 3 Vista" to "Halo 3 PC" for several reasons. First and foremost: We do not know for a fact that it will actually be released exclusively for Windows Vista. In other words, anything can happen.

[Edited on 01.07.2011 7:32 AM PST]

  • 08.17.2008 8:25 AM PDT
Subject: The New Official "Halo 3 PC" Thread
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*Gives Pedo Bear Seal of Approval*


*Cat*

[Edited on 08.17.2008 8:47 AM PDT]

  • 08.17.2008 8:26 AM PDT

Threads of Interest :


Should Halo 3 run exclusively on Vista?
Should Halo 3 be cross-platform, or have a better HEK instead? [theoretical non-serious thread]

Original "Halo 3 PC" thread [for reference]


[Edited on 08.17.2008 2:22 PM PDT]

  • 08.17.2008 8:26 AM PDT

Other relevant information regarding Halo PC gaming [and other stuff, in no particular order] :


Halo 2 Vista :
08/17 - 2008
* "Buyers Remorse" - an open letter to the H2V devs. [ basically, an in-depth explanation of why H2V sucks... very good read]
* Halo 2 Vista is officially no longer supported. [ thread ]



Halo 1 PC :
08/17 - 2008
* Halo 1 PC 1.08 Patch released


Random Halo 3 for the Xbox 360:
10/23 - 2008
* A Little Tidbit on Tripmines - Bapa's complimentary thread on why he thinks the Tripmine is awesome [hey, there's 10,000 characters to spare here]



[Edited on 10.23.2008 9:46 PM PDT]

  • 08.17.2008 8:26 AM PDT

I give this thread the MC Enders III Stamp of Approval.

  • 08.17.2008 8:27 AM PDT
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Oops. Bapa, if you need my first post just tell me, k?

  • 08.17.2008 8:28 AM PDT
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Frog Blast the Vent Core!

Excellent compilation of new and old. I really hope someone with power over Halo 3 PC, whenever it starts, can listen to us, as obviously we made the difference with H2V.

  • 08.17.2008 8:53 AM PDT

Halo 3 should not only include matchmaking, but a server browser

Server browser for Custom Games

[Edited on 08.17.2008 4:22 PM PDT]

  • 08.17.2008 1:03 PM PDT
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Honestly a vote kick/ban thing would be a terrible idea for halo 3. Imagine how many people will get falsely banned from the server because one little nublet cries "BAWT."

  • 08.17.2008 1:30 PM PDT

As said before, my only wish is this: Let Halo 3 PC be developed by a professional studio that knows what they're doing. Not by a few silly, incompetent cubicle-monkeys that reside in some high-rise building, where interns attempt to climb the popularity food-chain at the water cooler every morning.

I shall have faith.

EDIT: And all Halo 3 PC gamers, those with Gold, or those with Silver, should have the exact same usage of the product. One should not get more "features" [quickmatch... *cough*] than the other.

You bought a PC game. You should be able to play it to its full extent. Or if you do have to pay, make the premium features good this time.

[Edited on 08.17.2008 2:06 PM PDT]

  • 08.17.2008 2:02 PM PDT
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I will be happy if it has everything that the xbox 360 version has and of course it actually plays like a pc shooter not some slow ass mouse senseativity

  • 08.17.2008 3:52 PM PDT

Posted by: cmx
I will be happy if it has everything that the xbox 360 version has and of course it actually plays like a pc shooter not some slow ass mouse senseativity
Rest assured, I don't think anyone will be foolish enough to leave the development of the Halo 3 port up to a less-than mediocre development team... like they did with Halo 2 Vista -_-

  • 08.17.2008 4:06 PM PDT
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yeah thats true I think they have learned form their mistakes thats why they made GFW live free and thats why we are getting a new UI for live/new GFW live marketplace. its all supposed to come out in the fall and they need a game to sell all of that and I cant think of a game better at doing that than halo 3.... Prays for actual development team to port halo 3 pc******* I dont care who does it as long as its done right

  • 08.17.2008 5:44 PM PDT

I think cross-plattform would be a nice idea. But it have to be done correct. I think it would be the best, when the ranked matchmaking would not be cross-plattform. So the PC user would not have an advantage there. The Social Playlist should be cross-plattform. There would be more player than i think and that cant be wrong. Also i think there should be an option for custom games whether xbox/pc user can join the party or not. Also there should be a Browser for custom games and that would be nice for xbox user too. The PC user should have an extra browser for dedicated server.

That is my favourite solution for cross-plattform and matchmaking. I hope it could be like this.

Also I WANT all features of the xbox version on pc: forge, theater, coop, filshare etc..

  • 08.19.2008 10:01 AM PDT
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Posted by: Danielo1991
I think cross-plattform would be a nice idea. But it have to be done correct. I think it would be the best, when the ranked matchmaking would not be cross-plattform. So the PC user would not have an advantage there. The Social Playlist should be cross-plattform. There would be more player than i think and that cant be wrong. Also i think there should be an option for custom games whether xbox/pc user can join the party or not. Also there should be a Browser for custom games and that would be nice for xbox user too. The PC user should have an extra browser for dedicated server.

That is my favourite solution for cross-plattform and matchmaking. I hope it could be like this.

Also I WANT all features of the xbox version on pc: forge, theater, coop, filshare etc..


no player has an advantage over one another all because of what they use. I have played with controller users and they can go head to head with m/k users and vice versa. its not about advantage its about what you perfer. I dont want cross platform because they always put so much auto aim crap in which ever game features it I mean look at shadowrun they even give you an option in the game to have aimbot.keep the aimbot on the consoles.

[Edited on 08.19.2008 12:33 PM PDT]

  • 08.19.2008 12:32 PM PDT

Spectator mode Basically you can join a server and watch the action from a floating camera view. The players in the match cannot see you and you do not cause too much/any lag in the match. There could also be an admin/ref mode where you see the action through the players view, thus letting you see if they have any mods or hacks running.

  • 08.20.2008 1:46 AM PDT

Personally, I find choosing between a really good HEK, or a cross-platform play [though, frankly, the former seems much more feasible] kinda difficult =\

But... I think I'd have to go with a good HEK in the end. I don't think Halo 3 for the 360 was built with cross-platform play in mind from the start, so I don't know how that'll work. And who knows how modders/"hackers" could affect online play?

I used to use Halo 1 PC's HEK so much... it was just a blessing. Let's hope that Halo 3 PC's will be just as spectacular =]

Now, these may seem like unrealistic expectations, partly because we don't really know if Halo 3 PC is even going to exist, and that this may seem like a burden on the developers... But damn. This is Halo, and Halo has to be done right.

[Edited on 08.20.2008 1:47 PM PDT]

  • 08.20.2008 11:48 AM PDT
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Posted by: Bapabooiee
Personally, I find choosing between a really good HEK, or a cross-platform play [though, frankly, the former seems much more feasible] =\

But... I think I'd have to go with a good HEK in the end. I don't think Halo 3 for the 360 was built with cross-platform play in mind from the start, so I don't know how that'll work. And who knows how modders/"hackers" could affect online play?

I used to use Halo 1 PC's HEK so much... it was just a blessing. Let's hope that Halo 3 PC's will be just as spectacular =]


Now, these may seem like unrealistic expectations, partly because we don't really know if Halo 3 PC is even going to exist, and that this may seem like a burden on the developers... but damn. This is Halo ^-^


amen

[Edited on 08.20.2008 12:47 PM PDT]

  • 08.20.2008 12:46 PM PDT

Like I said, time and again [and I can't stress this enough, as long as Halo 3 PC [I refuse to call it "Halo 3 Vista"] is developed by a professional studio, rather than a bunch of mediocre code-monkeys that climb the social food-chain by the water-cooler in some generic high-rise office building [like Halo 2 Vista was], I'll be content.

And if Halo 3 PC doesn't make use [or intentional, unnecessary use] Vista/Windows7.0 technology, I see absolutely no reason to make it run on a proprietary operating system.

I am confident the same thing will not happen as it did with Halo 2 Vista; I will have faith*

  • 08.20.2008 1:49 PM PDT
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I would love to see a properly done port, with a fully functional editing kit. From my short time playing around with it the H2EK appeared to be even less functional than the original editing kit. Whoever ports the game needs to put the effort into making a proper editing kit. Ideally, it should be pretty much the same(in terms of what we can do with it) as the tools Bungie uses. It should ship with ability to create campaign missions. All of the assets used in Halo 3 should be included for use Editing Kit, we should be able to use any model/texture/tag that's been used in the game. Finally, it should be completely documented. The documentation for The HEK and the H2EK was poor. The sooner people know what to do and how everything works, the sooner people will be producing quality content that will draw people to the game.

I am confident the same thing will not happen as it did with Halo 2 Vista; I will have faith*
Well, you're far more optimistic than I am. I'm expecting another poorly made port that costs to play multiplayer, is exclusive to windows 7, full of bugs, has horrible performance, isn't promoted by bungie after the initial announcement and doesn't include a map editor because forge is good enough.

[Edited on 08.20.2008 7:18 PM PDT]

  • 08.20.2008 7:17 PM PDT

Posted by: opogjijijp
Ideally, it should be pretty much the same(in terms of what we can do with it) as the tools Bungie uses. It should ship with ability to create campaign missions. All of the assets used in Halo 3 should be included for use Editing Kit, we should be able to use any model/texture/tag that's been used in the game.
Now, there's a difference between having the [nearly] same development tools, and having the same source-content as the developers.

Like you said, I think we should have a HEK powerful enough so that we can create content just as the developers do. But I think it's in anyone's best interests to just release their source-content out to everyone. Because if you could, that would probably mean anyone can legally use those source-content files. Now, how would you feel if you saw Brutes in some less-than mediocre game?

Besides, leave that up to the hackers =] That way, it's in our hands.

Posted by: opogjijijp
Well, you're far more optimistic than I am. I'm expecting another poorly made port that costs to play multiplayer, is exclusive to windows 7, full of bugs, has horrible performance, isn't promoted by bungie after the initial announcement and doesn't include a map editor because forge is good enough.
I didn't put an asterisk after my post for nothing ;D But sometimes, I place more faith in people that I should. But oh well.

I highly doubt the developers would just plop Forge on us, and say we don't need a HEK... because, well, Forge is "good enough" [or they're just lazy, or for some other, retarded technical reason].

But as I said, I don't think that'll be the case. Because the definition of a "HEK" is supposed to be an editing kit, that is exactly, or very close to the development tools the developers had when they made Halo, passed on to the community. Forge would simply not be good enough; it wouldn't be close to the power that real development tools hold.

But I sincerely hope we get a HEK. And perhaps we could have the option to Forge user-created maps later-on? I honestly have no idea how it's gonna work.

I don't know what to think, really =\

[Edited on 08.20.2008 9:01 PM PDT]

  • 08.20.2008 8:50 PM PDT
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Posted by: Bapabooiee
Because if you could, that would probably mean anyone can legally use those source-content files.

Well, IANAL, but wouldn't that depend on the license agreement they provided? Tell us they can only be used in Halo 3, then let the lawyers go after everyone who uses them in unauthorized ways. Of course, as you said, hackers will come up with tools to extract all that stuff anyway, but I'd prefer it if they just provided it up front. It's far from a deal breaker though. Just something I'd consider nice.


Posted by: opogjijijp
Well, you're far more optimistic than I am. I'm expecting another poorly made port that costs to play multiplayer, is exclusive to windows 7, full of bugs, has horrible performance, isn't promoted by bungie after the initial announcement and doesn't include a map editor because forge is good enough.
I didn't put an asterisk after my post for nothing ;D But sometimes, I place more faith in people that I should. But oh well.

And I'm clearly far more pessimistic than I should be. Although I never actually released anything I made with the HEK, I did have a great deal of fun learning and playing with it. Despite it's problems, I still liked using and seeing what people could create. I admit we'll probably get a H3EK, but I'm not expecting anything much better than what we've got in the past.

  • 08.20.2008 9:52 PM PDT

But yeah, that did cross my mind that they could have their own "terms of use" for their released source-content, but I failed to mention that. Oh well, xD. Either way, I think only the basic tags, like vehicles, and bitmaps etc.. should be release. Which'd be just fine, because that's what they did with Halo 1 PC.

Let us just hope it is not grotesquely limiting, and shoddy like H2V's was. It catered WAY too much to the "lol, I am casual player. I want make map!", leaving the real developers in the dust with it's crappy "user-friendly"/limitations =[

Posted by:

And I'm clearly far more pessimistic than I should be. Although I never actually released anything I made with the HEK, I did have a great deal of fun learning and playing with it. Despite it's problems, I still liked using and seeing what people could create. I admit we'll probably get a H3EK, but I'm not expecting anything much better than what we've got in the past.
And when you say the past, I'll assume you're talking about H2V's HEK. Because that was pretty broken. But Halo 1 PC's was just awesome ^-^

[Edited on 08.20.2008 10:11 PM PDT]

  • 08.20.2008 10:10 PM PDT
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[quote]Posted by: Bapabooiee
Let us just hope it is not grotesquely limiting, and shoddy like H2V's was. It catered WAY too much to the "lol, I am casual player. I want make map!", leaving the real developers in the dust with it's crappy "user-friendly"/limitations =[


That's really what I was trying to get at. The original HEK wasn't perfect, but it was far better than what we got with Halo 2. I still think it's possible to create tools that are both powerful and give more casual players a place to start learning. Obviously, the solution is not to take functionality away. Providing high quality documentation of the tools would be much better than adding limitations to the tools. An original HEK level of functionality should be the minimum that they are aiming for.

  • 08.20.2008 10:56 PM PDT

Posted by: opogjijijp
[quote]Posted by: Bapabooiee
Let us just hope it is not grotesquely limiting, and shoddy like H2V's was. It catered WAY too much to the "lol, I am casual player. I want make map!", leaving the real developers in the dust with it's crappy "user-friendly"/limitations =[


That's really what I was trying to get at. The original HEK wasn't perfect, but it was far better than what we got with Halo 2. I still think it's possible to create tools that are both powerful and give more casual players a place to start learning. Obviously, the solution is not to take functionality away. Providing high quality documentation of the tools would be much better than adding limitations to the tools. An original HEK level of functionality should be the minimum that they are aiming for.

How about an option? Like when you open up the Editing Tool, a windows pops up asking if you want the advanced version or the simple version?

  • 08.20.2008 11:57 PM PDT