Halo 2 Forum
This topic has moved here: Subject: Is This True?
  • Subject: Is This True?
Subject: Is This True?
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My friend told me that he read on IGN a long while ago that Halo 2's engine power is acutally not as high as Halo: Combat Evolved's engine power. I asked him how that's possible, and he said that Bungie is using a new technique that requires less pixels per polygon, thus less engine power. Do any of you know if this is true? I asked him for a link, but he couldn't find one since he read this like a year ago, when we didn't have as much specifics about Halo 2 as we do now.

  • 07.29.2004 1:06 PM PDT
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bungie said they were going to pump out every drup of energy the xbox has to keep this game working. So technically: it wont be coming out on other consoles. Xbox is the best.

  • 07.29.2004 1:07 PM PDT
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What does that have to do with my question? I know it's not coming out on any other consoles. I didn't ask that.

  • 07.29.2004 1:08 PM PDT
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the graphics are better than the original Halo. isn't that all that matters. who cares how they pull it off. they did say that the chief has fewer polygons thus taking less work to render.

[Edited on 7/29/2004 1:10:48 PM]

  • 07.29.2004 1:10 PM PDT
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Your friend is talking about bump-mapping, and yes the character model of the chief in Halo 2 has less polygons than the original. But the new engine has a lot of other things, so I'm pretty sure its more powerful. The only thing is that the bump-mapping makes it so you can put in details without using polygons.

  • 07.29.2004 1:11 PM PDT
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I know the engine is now much more efficient, and will produce better visuals and graphics, but I just want to know the answer to my question. Not whether it's better or worse, but whether its stronger or weaker.

  • 07.29.2004 1:13 PM PDT
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sigh....

i'm sure they have beefed up an engine. that is like asking if a computer you buy this year is going to be weaker than the computer you bought 2 years ago.

  • 07.29.2004 1:15 PM PDT
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yeah its a somewhat new technique (when i say somewhat, i mean i think people have known about it for about a year) that everyone is using, its called "normal mapping"

basically you get a high poly character or whatever and make a map of it, then you apply that map to a low poly character so it makes it more detailed without actually having a high polygon count

i think the chronicles of riddick was the first game to be released that used normal mapping, but thats just because it didnt take a long time to make opposed to halo 2, half life 2, doom 3, eq 2...etc :P

  • 07.29.2004 1:15 PM PDT
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If its stronger, then wouldn't it be better? I don't know what the hell ur asking.

  • 07.29.2004 1:15 PM PDT
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Posted by: cDringer
If its stronger, then wouldn't it be better? I don't know what the hell ur asking.


Not nessecarily. If it's stronger it also requires more energy, and may have lag problems, etc. Efficiency, on the other hand, is what it's capable of doing, as in how fast, how well, and how much energy it's using. And for the guy that said how "He's sure they beefed it up," well, if I'm not mistaken they redid the whole engine from scratch, so they couldn't "beef it up."

[Edited on 7/29/2004 1:18:26 PM]

  • 07.29.2004 1:17 PM PDT
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honestly freak, ur friend described it in a way a 2 year old would understand it. we are describing it like a full grown man (or woman) would. take it, or leave it, we are saying the truth. o srry, tru7h!

  • 07.29.2004 1:20 PM PDT
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Ya, well CoolCow isn't the smartest of guys (sorry man).

  • 07.29.2004 1:21 PM PDT