Halo 1 & 2 for PC
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  • Subject: Xfire: The Definitive Guide/Maw Screenname List...Now Alphabetized!
Subject: Xfire: The Definitive Guide/Maw Screenname List...Now Alphabetized!
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Updates: 9/26/06
>Anyone wishing to include their name on the Xfire SN List must PM Me or won't be included.
See end notes for details...
>A note about copying this Guide see below for details...
>I'll be adding some info about the new Clan Groupings feature sometime soon...or maybe when it comes out of beta...


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Xfire: The Definitive Guide

It's the standard, everyday problem among gamers everywhere. You want to play on the same online server as your friend, you both have the same game, but you don't have a way to communicate and locate the same server. Oh, sure, the phone works as well, but who wants to bother with all the fussing around dialing numbers anyways?

Enter Xfire. The self-proclaimed "Instant Messenger for Gamers" costs nothing and enables you not only to chat with other gamers using Xfire, but has a nifty direct-connect feature that will allow you to join into the server of any fellow gamer on your buddy list, provided the server isn't full and you also have the same game.

In addition, Xfire also supports most of the features your standard Instant Messenger system supports, namely, VoIP communication (that can also be used in-game), a fully featured buddy list including block options, customizable, easily viewable profiles akin to AIM custom away messages, and the ability to group contacts on your buddy list.

But first, the basics. Once Xfire is downloaded, installed (download it here ), and your account is fully registered and activated, simply log in and begin using it as you would any other Instant Messenger. You may have a preliminary buddy list of several people. These are people who have begun using Xfire at around the same time you have and who therefore inexplicably appear on your buddy list. Delete them to make room for your real friends. Why not start by adding a few fellow Maw frequenters? (See Below)

The default Xfire skin has four buttons along the bottom. The first one from the left, marked with a Plus sign, is to Add Contacts. Simple, straightforward. The next button, marked with a speech bubble, is to start a chat. Highlight a contact and hit the chat button. The fourth button brings up a user's profile.

The third button, makred with a gamepad, is the key feature of Xfire, the Join Game button. Say your friend "me15ter" is playing a round of Halo, indicated by the game icon and his status next to his name on your Contact list. Highlight his name on your contact list, and Xfire will tell you he's playing on "Unofficial B.net Maw Server" and that there are only 14/16 players on the server. Simply hit the Join Game button and Xfire will boot up halo, skip the intro screens and the main menu, and take you directly into the game. While happily fragging away, you can hit a (customizable when out of game) key combo to bring up the in-game Xfire main menu, with options to start chatting with a contact on your buddy list, hold a group chat, the works. All while in game.

Also useful is the VoIP communication system Xfire provides. Say you're in me15ter's clan and want to warn him about the hog coming up from behind. Before the game, simply set up a voice chat server by opening up a chat room (rightclick username, select "Start Group Chat") and inviting your clan into it. Then on the collapsible tab on the right, there should be a button with a microphone on it. Hit it and start the voice chat. Now you're ready to voice chat while in-game, providing your clan with the ability to communicate in voice while in game, regardless of whether the game supports voice chat or not.

Xfire is fully compatible not just with Halo, but with Halo: Custom Edition, the Half-Life Series (including CounterStrike,) World of Warcraft, Battlefield 2, Unreal Tournament and other popular titles.

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Xfire Version #: 1.63

Official System Requirements:
2 MB avalible Hard Drive Space
PC with Windows 98/2000/ME/XP (NOTE: Xfire doesn't have a mac version. Sorry.)

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Official Maw Xfire Names List

Names listed alphabetically by forum name. Most of the time, your name will be added into its correct alphabetical slot in the list. However, if I happen to be too busy to add you alphabetically, your name will appear at the bottom of this list. If this is the case, don't worry, I'll get around to putting you in the right spot eventually.

Adduxi - adduxi
AJ6627 – aj6627
aM Inspire-deusmortui
aogvolcom - aogvolcom
Apoc the stunter-Apocalypse001
Ateabanana - ateabanana
Beowul7-sniperwaffle
Blackmarch 2 – blackmarch
Boo Diddly - BooDiddly
Çäspër – caspur
Chaos Master- wartexx54
cheesemaster-cheezmaster
Colm – kewlcolm
Commando Jim - commandojim
Conman577- Conman577
dalmedya - dalmedya
DandyfulDonegan - bluntbutsharp
Dark Hunter1069 - reclaimerx
Demigod333-demigod333
Demon117-adiopunk187
DivX (HMDz Ronin) - hellblazer970
DogBreath - originaldogbreath
Dragonus - dragonus82
Dutchperson – nateskate
EnderWiggin DA - Eñdër [DA]
Ericwtlaws – ericwtlaws
fastmatt - fastmatt
fccDaniel – fccdaniel
fhs2006gte - fhs2006gte
GameJunkieJim - gamejunkiejim
Giulls - giulls
Gladiator1064 – gladiator1064
GratedJuice – gratedjuice
Grim Mouser – darthmouse
halodev1 - halodev1
IceIceBaby - iceftw
Iggwilv – iggwilv
ImSpartacus – imspartacus811
lpjuunin - lpkevjuunin
IWantSomeCookies - iwantsomecookies
Jman571 – jman571
joe98200 - joe98200
Johnny Orcface – turbocircuits
Jon of Druids - jonofdruids
junky258 - junky258
k Zzzyax – zzzyax
K121 Widowmaker – k121widowmaker
Lil_Deamon - lildeamon
LordAndrew - lordovos
MacMnc -- BobownsBob
MadHatter - tlsross
Master A10- spartan135
masterchiefloser -- 0fullmetal0
McKeeganWRX – mckeeganwrx
me15ter – me15ter
MikeM709-smellyfeet89
mirage--zsnipe
Mr. MA5B - nickstarner
MuSkets - muskets
Mysticwarloc-mysticwarloc
New420 - New420
n0d3z320 - node357
Paradox621=paradox621
Pokebis- pokebis
possibleninja- Dokken666
PlasmaPistool-cazaxa77
QUIKQOLD-odstleader
RaTcH_THPS-ratchthps
reidypea - reidypea
RidiculousX - ridiculousx
RoXaS00 - 00cabooose
RustBandit - rustbandit
The Red Thrall - mustang678
SkatingMC – skatingmc
SM Shadow 17 – shadowofdarkness1337
SparkIsGood- mlgspark
Spartan_113 - mastercadaver
Spartan 351 - bigblue22
Stare3-Coldstare3
Tedi Slayer - tedizslayer
t3heford - t3heford
topazfreno - TopazFreno
trekkie- enterprisencc1701
TRINIMAN - 30567
VII Toast - tekfunk
WookieeMania12 - wookieemania13
WsLp137 - evilshiznit137
Xavya-Xavya
yump - mushroom13
Zero000 - r4zgriz
ZZZENNN – 77zen77

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End Notes

>For updates, inclusions or exclusions to the Xfire Names List or to the Guide, please PM me 15ter Make sure you send in this format: Bungie.net Profile-Xfire SN, as shown below...
VII Toast - tekfunk If not placed in this format, your name won't be added to the Xfire List. Sorry, but I don't have the time to retype long and/or complicated B.net profiles or Xfire SNs.
>Again, Names will not be added unless you PM me about this specifically, and in that specific format.
>It has come to my attention that there are several sites on the internet using this guide on their own personal forums. While I don't mind and in fact encourage the circulation of this material, please give credit where it is due, as this is the fruit of nearly a year's worth of work.
>And finally, I hold no real responsibility over this sticky, as this is something I do on my spare time. I update it when I please, and how I please. If you don't like it, go take it up with a moderator. Nobody's stopping you.

[Edited on 11/21/2006]

  • 01.11.2006 3:45 PM PDT
Subject: Xfire: Don't Game Without It. The Definitive Guide...
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Awesome guide, I like it, very informative, I think Goweb's going to sticky this one, everyone who plays Halo (at least on Windows; sorry Mac people) should have X-fire! Oh ya, that's a good point, mention that if you have an Apple computer you can't download X-fire, there's no Mac version unfortunately. But other than that, there's no reason why you shouldn't have it people!

Just do it!

-jman571: "X-fire, The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread"

[Edited on 1/11/2006]

  • 01.11.2006 3:51 PM PDT

Join the MAW Clan
X-fire username:Iggwilv
My Real Avatar

This is better then the one I sent goweb but I hope he includes the link I put in mine to their tutorial.

  • 01.11.2006 3:59 PM PDT

Posted by: Nessy

The bungie.net community is the halo PC community that is renowned for being unbelieveably sucky.

Funny, I installed XFire a few days ago, did all the right stuff to set it up, and within a few hours I was getting MAJOR compatibility problems as well as getting spamed by Instant Messages while playing. Halo probably crashed at least 3 times, and when it didn't crash, as soon as I exited the game, i had exception errors.

I actually uninstalled XFire, and then Halo wouldn't start. Needless to say, I had to completely uninstall, then reinstall Halo to get it working properly again.

I know a lot of people use XFire, but my experience was horrific, truly awful.

  • 01.11.2006 4:00 PM PDT
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Hm...did you uninstall and reinstall Xfire? Or perhaps a corrupted download? It shouldn't have that much incompatibility with Halo...there are many other people who use it without a problem...As for that spam-by-IM thing, it happens with every kind of Instant Messenger, regardless of type, popularity or functions. Besides, did you set your visibility to friends only and not to "Anyone Interested On The Web"?

EDIT: In light of Igg's post below, I think it's because you forgot to clear off the preliminary friends list they give you when you first login. Always remember to do so.

[Edited on 1/11/2006]

  • 01.11.2006 4:10 PM PDT

Join the MAW Clan
X-fire username:Iggwilv
My Real Avatar

Instant messages from who? You can only receive IM's from people in your friends list. If nobody's in your list you can't receive anything. I have had NO problems with X-fire and couldn't live without it now. Don't know what happened to you.

  • 01.11.2006 4:17 PM PDT

Posted by: Nessy

The bungie.net community is the halo PC community that is renowned for being unbelieveably sucky.

Posted by: Iggwilv
Instant messages from who? You can only receive IM's from people in your friends list. If nobody's in your list you can't receive anything. I have had NO problems with X-fire and couldn't live without it now. Don't know what happened to you.


Don't know, I kept getting pop-up messages from some dude. Imagine the worst lag you've ever had and multiply it by 10x, thats what it made Halo like for me.

But that wasn't even the worst part, the game wasn't stable at all, multiple crashes and exception errors.

XFire is cool, but not something I need to enjoy Halo MP, and it's just uncesssary software as far as I'm concerned. Just gets in the way...

  • 01.11.2006 4:21 PM PDT
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Posted by: Frnksnbns
Funny, I installed XFire a few days ago, did all the right stuff to set it up, and within a few hours I was getting MAJOR compatibility problems as well as getting spamed by Instant Messages while playing. Halo probably crashed at least 3 times, and when it didn't crash, as soon as I exited the game, i had exception errors.

I actually uninstalled XFire, and then Halo wouldn't start. Needless to say, I had to completely uninstall, then reinstall Halo to get it working properly again.

I know a lot of people use XFire, but my experience was horrific, truly awful.

rofl
maybe you should go into tools and uncheck the box that says: let my freinds and my friends of my friends see each other while gaming.

  • 01.11.2006 7:39 PM PDT
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Frnksnbns,

You will solve your frame rate and stability problem in Halo by disabling in-game messaging in Xfire. The latest version allows you to selectively disable in-game messaging so you can continue to use this feature in games that are not affected. Admittedly, this makes Xfire about half as useful, but it is still handy for seeing whether your friends are playing and in what servers. It actually sounds like this will kill two birds with one stone in your case, as you will no longer be interrupted during games with message windows. Give it a try. It's worth it.

Just out of curiosity, what is your hardware setup? I had this problem with my current build and am wondering if there are any similarities between our machines.

  • 01.11.2006 8:49 PM PDT
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It might be your resolution: back when I ran Halo in 1024x768 X-fire worked perfectly, I could see all the convo. text perfectly, and send messages too. But now that I use 800x600 to make the game run smoother all the text is wayyy to small to read (I've learned how to read it) and it's very hard to work the menus to message someone, however I can still respond to messages, I've always found it easier to minimize the game and just msg. someone on my desktop, that's what I love about the program, it's almost replaced Messenger as my standard IM program. It's really useful that way.

[Edited on 1/11/2006]

  • 01.11.2006 9:09 PM PDT

Posted by: Nessy

The bungie.net community is the halo PC community that is renowned for being unbelieveably sucky.

Posted by: Leoht
Frnksnbns,

You will solve your frame rate and stability problem in Halo by disabling in-game messaging in Xfire. The latest version allows you to selectively disable in-game messaging so you can continue to use this feature in games that are not affected. Admittedly, this makes Xfire about half as useful, but it is still handy for seeing whether your friends are playing and in what servers. It actually sounds like this will kill two birds with one stone in your case, as you will no longer be interrupted during games with message windows. Give it a try. It's worth it.

Just out of curiosity, what is your hardware setup? I had this problem with my current build and am wondering if there are any similarities between our machines.


Thanks for the nice post.

My hardware is about as good as it gets for AGP:
x850xtpe
AMD Opteron 252 @ 2.8ghz (217x13)
2x512mb (2-3-2-5)
1.5mb connection (300k is the realistic speed)
but, anyone whose played online with me knows my ping is uber low, always in the 30s on Bungie servers

I would like to use XFire but I was surprised with the troubles I had right off the bat. It wasn't just the instant messages, but the classic "gathering exception" errors we all know and love.

My friends are all in their late 20s and play Xbox live (halo2) so I'm pretty much on my own...

I will give it another shot and take all your guy's advice, hopefully I can hit the pavement running with no problems.

  • 01.12.2006 11:28 AM PDT
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X-Fire has alway's worked great for me. My pc isnt anything special, so I know you dont need a beefy machine to get it to work properly.

The only problem I had with it was when I downloaded an XP skin. I could not message in game. I could here people messaging me, (the beep when someone im's you) but could not respond unless I minimized. So I went back to the reg. skin that comes with it.

Good luck.

  • 01.12.2006 11:40 AM PDT
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Posted by: jman571
It might be your resolution: back when I ran Halo in 1024x768 X-fire worked perfectly, I could see all the convo. text perfectly, and send messages too. But now that I use 800x600 to make the game run smoother all the text is wayyy to small to read (I've learned how to read it)

yes xfire is the best thing to halo pc besides the creation of halo pc.
OFF TOPIC: so thats why my text is smaller... but how good of a computer do you need to run on 1024x768.

  • 01.15.2006 5:45 PM PDT
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nothing too good, I could still run it like that if I wanted to, actually...come to think of it I might change it back. I have P4 1.4Ghz, 512 MB RAM, Nvidia FX 5600XT 256MB, and some crap old sound card, crap Intel motherboard, and a few other things.

  • 01.16.2006 4:13 PM PDT
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thx for xfire

  • 01.16.2006 7:12 PM PDT
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And add me if you want to experiance what it is like for pure pwnage :P ...

Any way... well done on getting this thread to a sticky Me15ter.

  • 01.19.2006 10:13 AM PDT
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I have this problem on both my computers with xfire. On both, soon following the installation, a message popped up on my screen saying that my computer had recovered from a critical error, should I reinstall xfire and create a new account?

  • 01.21.2006 7:04 PM PDT
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Hm...did you finish installing the IM? Cause if you did, then you're fine, and don't need a reinstall. If that message popped up halfway through the install, say, then you'll probably need to uninstall what you did install and reinstall it.

  • 01.23.2006 8:45 PM PDT
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i know u are so right u just gotta have xfire. ive had it for about a good month or so and before me and my friend were trying to join the same server by phone we were telling eachother gto go there an there but with xfire right when he joins a server i can just join his game with the click of a bottomand boom im there

just if u wanna talk to me (probably not) but anyway my xfire name is hunterslayer458

and my aim instant messanger screen name is fenderbenderi800

(whatever) : ) well c ya!!!!! : )

  • 01.25.2006 7:25 PM PDT
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lol

  • 01.25.2006 7:27 PM PDT
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My XFire name is gladiator1064.

  • 02.02.2006 9:27 AM PDT
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i just downloaded xfire ...

my name is "coviesniper"

  • 02.08.2006 4:41 PM PDT
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Nice. Very nice. Halo PC should have had a "Buddy System" to begin with.

  • 02.10.2006 9:41 AM PDT
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Yeah, And diddo on what you said about Xfire I mean every PC gamer needs it. It's a must have. If you don't have xfire, than you aren't serious about your "Game"


~MC

  • 02.22.2006 8:19 PM PDT