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Subject: Bungie's quick Halo CE FAQ
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Hi, I’m Roger Wolfson, Bungie’s test lead for Halo PC. I see all the questions that come in to Bungie’s Halo PC email alias, so I’ll take a few minutes to summarize the newly-released Halo Custom Edition (Halo CE) and Halo Editing Kit (HEK) that Gearbox has made available.

Q: What is Halo CE?
A: Halo Custom Edition is an optional, unsupported download that is free for all users of Halo PC, which will allow you to play multiplayer games on custom maps that will be created by Halo fans. It is now available from Gearbox; see their forums at http://gbxforums.gearboxsoftware.com/ubbthreads.php for download locations.


Q: What is the HEK?
A: The Halo Editing Kit is an optional add-on to Halo CE which allows the creation of the custom maps that Halo CE can play. It contains some of the tools that Bungie made to create the original multiplayer levels for Halo.

Q: Is Halo CE an official Bungie release of Halo PC?
A: No, the changes in Halo CE were created by Gearbox, and will be supported via their web forums at http://gbxforums.gearboxsoftware.com/ubbthreads.php . This release has been tested in-house by Gearbox while Bungie’s test team focuses on Halo 2, so they’ll be the ones to answer all questions about Halo CE and the HEK. Of course, Microsoft Product Support will still be available for the retail version of Halo PC.

Q: Where can I find the official FAQ?
A: There are several good FAQ compilations on the Gearbox website and their forums. This one will just fill in a few answers from the Bungie side. There’s a good (fan-compiled) FAQ compilation at http://gbxforums.gearboxsoftware.com//showflat.php?Cat=&B oard=Halo&Number=175999&page=0&view=collapsed& ;sb=5&o=&fpart=1

Q: Why a separate release?
A: One of the side-effects of adding support for user-created maps was that the map file format had to change. This made the new version too large to download as an auto-update, so we separated this build, so that enthusiasts can enjoy the new Halo CE features while 1.04 remains available for those who are happy with it.

Q: Why has this release taken so long?
A: Gearbox's custom-map-capable build is rich in features and so it's a complicated beast. The scope of the Halo CE release is far beyond a traditional game auto-update so Bungie and Gearbox teams had to work together on a system for releasing the build, while also providing a means to release future updates and content. The upside of the wait is that the bundle can now also include new features, and Gearbox has had time to address more bug-fixes. Since Gearbox provided the testing on this release, they will be the ones best able to address any questions you might have and will gladly tend to that stuff through their forums.

Q: What about future patches?
A: Since Gearbox and Bungie are both happy with the review process we’ve followed over the past couple weeks, we’ll probably follow this path for future non-critical updates to Halo PC: If Gearbox has features to add, we’ll give it a really quick look-over and hand it back to be made available as an auto-update from Halo CE. Of course, any critical updates (like Halo PC 1.04) will continue to be made available for the retail game.

Q: Will the new Halo CE shader system be made available for single-player (retail version) at some point?
A: In-game frame rates depend on several things; most generally: your hardware, your settings, and the area of the game you're in. Here in the test labs where I have compiled the Halo CE version of the single-player maps, I have been able to run "timedemo" to get a repeatable benchmark that represents framerate in a specific set of single-player scenes which are fairly graphics-intensive. Testing was focused on the high-end, since performance tuning is most interesting to our fans with high-end systems to begin with. My test system was a P4 2.53 GHz with 1 GB of RAM. On an Nvidia GeForce FX 5900 Ultra with all game settings "High" and resolutions of 1024, 1280, and 1600, Halo CE timedemo was roughly 5-10% slower than Halo (retail) 1.04. On an ATI Radeon 9800 in the same modes, Halo CE results were just fractionally slower than 1.04, but not to a statistically significant degree. The new shader system primarily benefits lower resolution modes; at 640x480, Halo CE was faster than Retail, by about 14%. Just as there are some game scenarios that are slower, there will also be those that are faster, but since we can't guarantee that this shader system will be a pure improvement for users, we are not currently planning to roll out this version of the shaders for the retail game.

  • 05.05.2004 12:09 PM PDT
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Watch: in the next week bungie email servers get swamped with help pleas for Halo CE.

  • 05.06.2004 9:51 AM PDT
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"Q: Will the new Halo CE shader system be made available for single-player (retail version) at some point?
A: In-game frame rates depend on several things; most generally: your hardware, your settings, and the area of the game you're in. Here in the test labs where I have compiled the Halo CE version of the single-player maps,"

So, does this mean that SP maps for HCE will be released, eventually?

  • 05.06.2004 10:16 AM PDT
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r : w )

So, does this mean that SP maps for HCE will be released, eventually?

The current thinking is that they will not be. Here's one reason: it's not just ten files like "a10.map", etc - it's all-new versions of bitmaps.map and sounds.map with the single-player resources in them. This means that if at some point in the future, Gearbox wants to binary-patch the Halo CE content files by auto-update for any reason, it won't work because we won't know which starting version of the resource files you have.

  • 05.06.2004 10:27 AM PDT
Subject: Halo
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So is there going to be one of these babys for X-Box?!?!

  • 05.06.2004 1:34 PM PDT
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Posted by: Nardwar
So is there going to be one of these babys for X-Box?!?!


No. Halo CE is pc game project. You'll be able to kill your friends on xbox live with halo 2 soon enough. =)

[Edited on 5/6/2004 2:35:36 PM]

  • 05.06.2004 2:34 PM PDT
Subject: Halo CE And HEK
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Can somebody zip the installation and post it cuz i cant find a site where u dont have to sign up to get it...

  • 05.06.2004 5:17 PM PDT
Subject: Bungie's quick Halo CE FAQ
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Where do i start to make my new map and do i need 3ds max to use HEK? I can't find any info on it anywhere. Anyone got any ideas or tips?

  • 05.06.2004 7:19 PM PDT
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Posted by: spank zero0
Where do i start to make my new map and do i need 3ds max to use HEK? I can't find any info on it anywhere. Anyone got any ideas or tips?


Did you read this tutorial from cortana.org? Should answer your questions.

  • 05.06.2004 7:26 PM PDT
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yes i did try that but it didn't help much i just need to now how to get started and get to a sreen like in the pics. i see every where

  • 05.06.2004 7:43 PM PDT
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so where exactly can we download it from?

  • 05.06.2004 8:54 PM PDT
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hi

ive just downloaded CE, but i dont see the big differences isnt it just Halo with few patches? cause i dont see any big things changed so why download(its a stupid question becuase i already have but still), cause some of my m8's say its just halo patched up nothing new. what are the big differences in CE which can i see?

  • 05.07.2004 8:14 AM PDT
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'what are the big differences in CE which can i see? ' -welllllllllllll

1) You get fast-shaders, don't ask me about it though, as i'm stuck with about 5 textures at the moment.

2) You can play maps made with HEK, nobody is hosting a server with one on though...

and now for a few questions myself
1) where can i get a download of HCE AND HEK which i wont lose my connection with while downloading, please dont say fileplanet, it isn't workin for me, and nowhere else where i need to sign up.
2) with HEK do you need to have the software, eg 3ds max???
3) is the dedicated server included in the HCE download???

  • 05.07.2004 8:46 AM PDT
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you dont need xtra software, only Halo for the Pc and its keycode, the site i got it from is http://www.gamershell.com/download_5734.shtml

but you have to sign in, but you can always download it from there, this link is about a site where you dont need a account but the download can be full sometimes
http://www.gamershell.com/download_5734.shtml

and as far as i know is the dedicated server included, but still there aint big differences or am i blind and are the biggest things inside the program

  • 05.07.2004 8:55 AM PDT
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Does anyone know what the xbox sync is for?

  • 05.07.2004 1:59 PM PDT
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I think that Cysco (Gearbox) on the GBX forums came out with the numbers and gave us hard straight facts on the link below...

"OK. I just duplicated this test. I just compared a retail version of Halo PC against a version of Halo CE with SP maps. all settings were the same. I ran 1280x1024, 1024x768 & 800x600. The timedemo results are below. Draw your own conclusions.

-=Cysco"


http://gbxforums.gearboxsoftware.com//showflat.php?Cat=&B oard=Halo&Number=185058&Forum=All_Forums&Words=Cy sco&Match=Username&Searchpage=0&Limit=25&Old= allposts&Main=184838&Search=true#Post185058

1280x1024 Winner Halo CE 14% faster
1024x768 Winner: Halo CE 17% faster
800x600 Winner: Halo CE 33% faster

in his own words "Draw your own conclusions"

halo CE is clearly faster

  • 05.07.2004 3:38 PM PDT
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Game Tag: DABOMB36
I'm intrigued go on.
Microsoft Word: Ghetto Edition; Write letters and -blam!- yo

mine cant create maps

  • 05.08.2004 10:53 AM PDT
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Anyone know how to change ".rar" files into ",map" files? I can't really figure out the tool program. thanks

  • 05.11.2004 5:26 PM PDT
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HMT 3.5
download at www.halomods.com

  • 05.12.2004 5:43 PM PDT

RAR files are compressed. Do a search for WinRAR.

[Edited on 5/14/2004 11:10:34 AM]

  • 05.14.2004 11:10 AM PDT
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Where do i go to create a map? i'm too lazy to read all the crap! i just wanna make a map! WAAAA!
Thanx,
SPART 666473
Automatics, explosives, and vehicle specialist

  • 05.14.2004 11:23 AM PDT
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Blah! I don't know how to make a freaking map! Will someone please tell me!

  • 05.16.2004 9:46 PM PDT
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READ THE MANUAL
and i think you do need 3dsmax for level creation. Their trying to make a Gmax plugin...but im not sure if its out yet...

cant wait for the plugin for gmax to come out though

  • 05.19.2004 3:03 PM PDT
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Qestion: Where can i find halo custom made maps?

  • 05.28.2004 3:43 PM PDT
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BOOOGILY CHEESE BRAINS!

  • 06.02.2004 5:38 PM PDT

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