Halo 1 & 2 for PC
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Subject: What happened to Halo 2 PC?

Bring Back Rocket Race!!!


Posted by: Dr Syx
It's not debatable which control option is better for shooters. It's absolutely clear to anyone that has sense that the mouse is a much better tool for aiming. There is absolutely no debate in regards to this and if you actually want to debate that you obviously have no idea what you're talking about.

Also, why the hell don't you consider Portal 2 to be cross-platform? If you can play with other people across two platforms, it's cross-platform play. Global Offensive was going to be cross platform but they didn't want to deal with the stuff they would have to go through with Sony. They also have pretty much their entire fan base screaming at them at the idea seeing as though Counter-Strike players are the hive for PC elitism.

It makes no sense for Microsoft to abandon cross-platform gaming just because one platform is superior to the other. In fact, that was the whole point they even conceived cross-platform, to finally settle the debate about which platform is better.It does when your platform is shown to be the one that's inferior. Don't even start with saying that the PC is Microsoft's platform either. They're not making much money off the PC gaming market. GFWL was their failed attempt at that. There have been multiple sources that confirm Microsoft shut down cross platform gameplay projects with FPS games in a competitive arena because of this. They were embarrassed by it.


I didn't consider Portal 2 to be cross-platform with the Xbox 360. What we've been talking about this whole time was cross-platform mainly between Xbox 360 and PC. Global Offensive also wasn't meant to be cross-platform with Xbox 360.

I thought the official reason for not following through with cross-platform support was that they would've be able to update the PS3 version as fast as the PC version.

Microsoft most definitely does own the PC platform. You all run Windows on your PC's. That's one of Microsoft's biggest and most prized cash cow. Or have you all taken the existence of Windows on your PC's for granted?

I really don't see how they'd be embarassed if one platform dominated the other. Why do they care? They're not responsible for the skills of their players. If I had two kids and one kid was better at soccer than the other, I wouldn't be embarassed and prevent them from being together.

There are NO official sources that cross-platform was shutdown. Until Microsoft says it themselves, you have no proof. And because cross-platform games are still being released on GFWL, it further supports my side.

And I was there on the first day when Microsoft started cross-platform gaming. I played Shadowrun from my Xbox 360 and got several of my friends together for a team. We, Xbox 360 gamers, won over 50% of the games we played. The ones we lost were close games (couple points difference). And we were aware when someone was from the PC side of Live. There was never a case where an all PC team completely destroyed us.

As for Lost Planet, I played a few games on the PC and again, I noticed no difference. The Xbox 360 gamers didn't dominate my matched up PC teammates and we didn't dominate them either. The scores were pretty much the same as what you'd get when playing against people of your own platform.

My guess is that the sources which claim Microsoft was embarassed were PC gamers that were embarassed themselves that they weren't able to dominate console gamers like they thought they would. They were angry and confused at why they were wrong. If Microsoft really did shutdown the project, then there wouldn't still be new cross-platform games coming out.

  • 04.02.2012 8:29 PM PDT

Bring Back Rocket Race!!!


Posted by: Wilis_kid
It still doesn't change the fact that Mouse and Keyboard beats a controller any day unless the controls are gimped. And I don't believe Lost Planet is a AAA title, it wasn't very good and the player counts I saw were pretty low. I'm talking Microsofts so called AAA titles - Halo, Gears, Forza etc that could all have had cross-platform.

Microsoft has failed with cross platform gaming as they are refusing to add any games worthy of note which is why most of the releases never get any good attention. While they did attempt to reintroduce cross-platform gaming with Shadowrun, it never caught on due to balancing issues which is why many developers have not bothered with it except Valve which was going to implement it to one of their AAA franchises, which Microsoft refuses to do.

I don't consider myself to be a great PC gamer, but I know damn well with a good number of years experience with PC and consoles that a mouse and keyboard would dominate hands down. Even in a game such as COD (yes I uttered those words) there is a noticeable difference which makes switching back and forth between platforms in those games unbearable. Halo PC is no different, it's alot slower to aim on CEA than Halo PC, which is noticeable. Even BF3 is the same, the list goes on. Any gamer with experience on the two will tell you that mouse and keyboard wins.

It's something that can't really be disputed unless there is massive amounts of controller aim assist and gimped mouse and keyboard controls...in other words Halo 2 Vista.


However, halo 2 vista is not cross-platform. And I think Lost Planet does count as a AAA title. For a little bit, it and its sequel has been in the top 20 of Major Nelson's Xbox Live Activity list. It's made by a AAA studio as well. Capcom has a long history of making great games.

Shadowrun and Lost Planet were THE first cross-platform games between Xbox 360 and PC. First hand experience while playing on both platforms during day 1 of cross-platform proved to me that neither side has any real advantage.

Now you may be right about the nerfed controls, but it shouldn't matter in the long run. If a significant skill gap exists, then it will show regardless of the controls.

Like I said, this debate can only be settled in cross-platform games. And so far, neither side is winning. We'll see if the debate shifts in either directions as more cross-platform games are rolled out.

Technically, Microsoft isn't refusing to develop cross-platform games. It's all up to the developers. They choose if they want to. Microsoft just publishes their games and helps promote them. Implementing cross-platform support costs developers extra time and money which they'd rather not spend.

  • 04.02.2012 8:37 PM PDT


Posted by: General Heed

Posted by: Wilis_kid
It still doesn't change the fact that Mouse and Keyboard beats a controller any day unless the controls are gimped. And I don't believe Lost Planet is a AAA title, it wasn't very good and the player counts I saw were pretty low. I'm talking Microsofts so called AAA titles - Halo, Gears, Forza etc that could all have had cross-platform.

Microsoft has failed with cross platform gaming as they are refusing to add any games worthy of note which is why most of the releases never get any good attention. While they did attempt to reintroduce cross-platform gaming with Shadowrun, it never caught on due to balancing issues which is why many developers have not bothered with it except Valve which was going to implement it to one of their AAA franchises, which Microsoft refuses to do.

I don't consider myself to be a great PC gamer, but I know damn well with a good number of years experience with PC and consoles that a mouse and keyboard would dominate hands down. Even in a game such as COD (yes I uttered those words) there is a noticeable difference which makes switching back and forth between platforms in those games unbearable. Halo PC is no different, it's alot slower to aim on CEA than Halo PC, which is noticeable. Even BF3 is the same, the list goes on. Any gamer with experience on the two will tell you that mouse and keyboard wins.

It's something that can't really be disputed unless there is massive amounts of controller aim assist and gimped mouse and keyboard controls...in other words Halo 2 Vista.


However, halo 2 vista is not cross-platform. And I think Lost Planet does count as a AAA title. For a little bit, it and its sequel has been in the top 20 of Major Nelson's Xbox Live Activity list. It's made by a AAA studio as well. Capcom has a long history of making great games.

Shadowrun and Lost Planet were THE first cross-platform games between Xbox 360 and PC. First hand experience while playing on both platforms during day 1 of cross-platform proved to me that neither side has any real advantage.

Now you may be right about the nerfed controls, but it shouldn't matter in the long run. If a significant skill gap exists, then it will show regardless of the controls.

Like I said, this debate can only be settled in cross-platform games. And so far, neither side is winning. We'll see if the debate shifts in either directions as more cross-platform games are rolled out.

Technically, Microsoft isn't refusing to develop cross-platform games. It's all up to the developers. They choose if they want to. Microsoft just publishes their games and helps promote them. Implementing cross-platform support costs developers extra time and money which they'd rather not spend.

My argument has nothing to do with Halo 2 Vista and cross platform, that argument is to do with the gimped mouse and keyboard functionality which allows a controller to be superior.

The reason that CS:GO and Portal 2 did not allow the 360 to be cross platform is because Microsoft refuses to allow the use of Steam, something which Sony is happy about doing which pretty much alienates itself from any future AAA titles wishing to do so.

The games you listed will have been dumbed down mouse and keyboard wise or with a 360 controller having significant aim assist. On a level playing field, mouse and keyboard would own. And developers like Microsoft aren't developing cross platform games for this very reason. I would like to see a cross platform Halo 4, but Microsoft along with 99% of developers are afraid of trying or don't know how to make it work effectively. As said, I believe that FPS cross platforms can only work with Co-op, unranked, or in Valves case, by allowing consoles to use a mouse and keyboard itself, something which Microsoft is too proud to do.

  • 04.03.2012 4:26 AM PDT

Bring Back Rocket Race!!!


Posted by: Wilis_kid

Posted by: General Heed

Posted by: Wilis_kid
It still doesn't change the fact that Mouse and Keyboard beats a controller any day unless the controls are gimped. And I don't believe Lost Planet is a AAA title, it wasn't very good and the player counts I saw were pretty low. I'm talking Microsofts so called AAA titles - Halo, Gears, Forza etc that could all have had cross-platform.

Microsoft has failed with cross platform gaming as they are refusing to add any games worthy of note which is why most of the releases never get any good attention. While they did attempt to reintroduce cross-platform gaming with Shadowrun, it never caught on due to balancing issues which is why many developers have not bothered with it except Valve which was going to implement it to one of their AAA franchises, which Microsoft refuses to do.

I don't consider myself to be a great PC gamer, but I know damn well with a good number of years experience with PC and consoles that a mouse and keyboard would dominate hands down. Even in a game such as COD (yes I uttered those words) there is a noticeable difference which makes switching back and forth between platforms in those games unbearable. Halo PC is no different, it's alot slower to aim on CEA than Halo PC, which is noticeable. Even BF3 is the same, the list goes on. Any gamer with experience on the two will tell you that mouse and keyboard wins.

It's something that can't really be disputed unless there is massive amounts of controller aim assist and gimped mouse and keyboard controls...in other words Halo 2 Vista.


However, halo 2 vista is not cross-platform. And I think Lost Planet does count as a AAA title. For a little bit, it and its sequel has been in the top 20 of Major Nelson's Xbox Live Activity list. It's made by a AAA studio as well. Capcom has a long history of making great games.

Shadowrun and Lost Planet were THE first cross-platform games between Xbox 360 and PC. First hand experience while playing on both platforms during day 1 of cross-platform proved to me that neither side has any real advantage.

Now you may be right about the nerfed controls, but it shouldn't matter in the long run. If a significant skill gap exists, then it will show regardless of the controls.

Like I said, this debate can only be settled in cross-platform games. And so far, neither side is winning. We'll see if the debate shifts in either directions as more cross-platform games are rolled out.

Technically, Microsoft isn't refusing to develop cross-platform games. It's all up to the developers. They choose if they want to. Microsoft just publishes their games and helps promote them. Implementing cross-platform support costs developers extra time and money which they'd rather not spend.

My argument has nothing to do with Halo 2 Vista and cross platform, that argument is to do with the gimped mouse and keyboard functionality which allows a controller to be superior.

The reason that CS:GO and Portal 2 did not allow the 360 to be cross platform is because Microsoft refuses to allow the use of Steam, something which Sony is happy about doing which pretty much alienates itself from any future AAA titles wishing to do so.

The games you listed will have been dumbed down mouse and keyboard wise or with a 360 controller having significant aim assist. On a level playing field, mouse and keyboard would own. And developers like Microsoft aren't developing cross platform games for this very reason. I would like to see a cross platform Halo 4, but Microsoft along with 99% of developers are afraid of trying or don't know how to make it work effectively. As said, I believe that FPS cross platforms can only work with Co-op, unranked, or in Valves case, by allowing consoles to use a mouse and keyboard itself, something which Microsoft is too proud to do.



Actually, I think Valve is bsing us. Microsoft allows other gaming services to run on top of Xbox Live. For example one of the Final Fantasy games has its own online service and is cross-platform with the PS3. In fact, all you need is an Xbox Live Free account to play online for that game as long as you use subscribe to SquareEnix's own online service. There's also EA's own online service. EA Origin, which is EA's version of Steam, runs on top of Xbox Live as well. There's no reason Valve couldn't have put Steam on Xbox Live. They did mention Microsoft's update policies, but I've never been aware that Microsoft had any specific update policies.

Technically, the Xbox 360 does support Keyboard and Mouse. It's just up to the developers whether they want to support it in their own game or not. I currently develop Xbox Live Indie games for the marketplace using XNA. So far, the framework fully allows for mouse and keyboard on an Xbox 360. Implementing it is also very easy.

I'm not sure how Shadowrun or Lost Planet have dumbed down controls. They're both not even your typical shooters.

  • 04.03.2012 12:14 PM PDT
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Halo 1&2 PC forum's resident OC ReMixer. Like rockified and metalized video game music? Subscribe to my YouTube channel.

Yeah. That's right. I don't have a 50 in H3. I never got Onyx in Reach. If a game sucks too much, I won't even bother trying for such trivial "accolades". Besides, I've done way more things that take far more skill and talent than anything that can be done in a video game.

Posted by: General Heed
Technically, the Xbox 360 does support Keyboard and Mouse. It's just up to the developers whether they want to support it in their own game or not.

As hilariously ignorant as most of your posts are, this much is true.

Valve wasn't BSing though. Valve has always wanted to do a lot of stuff with their Xbox 360 releases that Microsoft just wouldn't have. Their update policies, for instance; Any updates larger than a certain size have to be counted as DLC, and Microsoft doesn't like when publishers release free DLC because Microsoft takes a cut from all DLC sold on the Marketplace. That's one of the reasons why TF2 never got all those updates on the Xbox 360. I can easily see Microsoft pitching a fit over Steam.

[Edited on 04.03.2012 12:47 PM PDT]

  • 04.03.2012 12:46 PM PDT

Something smells fishy...

party hat? I got extras:)

  • 04.03.2012 1:58 PM PDT

Bring Back Rocket Race!!!


Posted by: DusK
Posted by: General Heed
Technically, the Xbox 360 does support Keyboard and Mouse. It's just up to the developers whether they want to support it in their own game or not.

As hilariously ignorant as most of your posts are, this much is true.

Valve wasn't BSing though. Valve has always wanted to do a lot of stuff with their Xbox 360 releases that Microsoft just wouldn't have. Their update policies, for instance; Any updates larger than a certain size have to be counted as DLC, and Microsoft doesn't like when publishers release free DLC because Microsoft takes a cut from all DLC sold on the Marketplace. That's one of the reasons why TF2 never got all those updates on the Xbox 360. I can easily see Microsoft pitching a fit over Steam.


I've seen pretty big updates before. I think the limit is a couple hundred megabytes. Maybe 100 MB is the magic number. How big are steam updates usually?

  • 04.03.2012 3:45 PM PDT
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  • Noble Legendary Member

Halo 1&2 PC forum's resident OC ReMixer. Like rockified and metalized video game music? Subscribe to my YouTube channel.

Yeah. That's right. I don't have a 50 in H3. I never got Onyx in Reach. If a game sucks too much, I won't even bother trying for such trivial "accolades". Besides, I've done way more things that take far more skill and talent than anything that can be done in a video game.

Posted by: General Heed
I've seen pretty big updates before. I think the limit is a couple hundred megabytes. Maybe 100 MB is the magic number. How big are steam updates usually?

For TF2 and Left4Dead 2, 500+ MB.

The update limit for Xbox 360 titles you're thinking of is 256MB, btw, and is to be shared cumulatively for all title updates for any particular title.

  • 04.03.2012 5:39 PM PDT

Bring Back Rocket Race!!!


Posted by: DusK
Posted by: General Heed
I've seen pretty big updates before. I think the limit is a couple hundred megabytes. Maybe 100 MB is the magic number. How big are steam updates usually?

For TF2 and Left4Dead 2, 500+ MB.

The update limit for Xbox 360 titles you're thinking of is 256MB, btw, and is to be shared cumulatively for all title updates for any particular title.


Ah, I can see how that can be limiting. And since Microsoft seldom allows free DLC, it makes it even more difficult. I can see where Valve is coming from now.

There are benefits to limiting the update size though. Everytime you have to update a game on Xbox Live, it signs you off. I wouldn't want to wait 10 minutes for an update to download and install. I think that's one of the reasons Microsoft set the limit.

Still, if Valve made the updates paid DLC, I might be willing to pay for it, depending on what's included in the DLC. I guess this is the only limit they'd have to overcome. I don't believe Steam on Xbox Live is an issue.

  • 04.03.2012 8:03 PM PDT
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Posted by: General Heed
Still, if Valve made the updates paid DLC, I might be willing to pay for it, depending on what's included in the DLC. I guess this is the only limit they'd have to overcome. I don't believe Steam on Xbox Live is an issue.
You actually think making updates paid DLC is a good idea? Seriously? That's a terrible idea. These things are free on purpose because it's a service to the players of the game. If your platform isn't capable of delivering that service to you then either live with it or get one that can. Making required updates paid DLC is just idiotic.

Steam on Xbox Live is an issue just because Microsoft wants full control over everything. That's why it won't work. Sony is more open and realizes Valve is a company that knows what's best for gamers and they trust what they will do with the systems.

[Edited on 04.03.2012 8:56 PM PDT]

  • 04.03.2012 8:38 PM PDT

Bring Back Rocket Race!!!


Posted by: Dr Syx

Posted by: General Heed
Still, if Valve made the updates paid DLC, I might be willing to pay for it, depending on what's included in the DLC. I guess this is the only limit they'd have to overcome. I don't believe Steam on Xbox Live is an issue.
You actually think making updates paid DLC is a good idea? Seriously? That's a terrible idea. These things are free on purpose because it's a service to the players of the game. If your platform isn't capable of delivering that service to you then either live with it or get one that can. Making required updates paid DLC is just idiotic.

Steam on Xbox Live is an issue just because Microsoft wants full control over everything. That's why it won't work. Sony is more open and realizes Valve is a company that knows what's best for gamers and they trust what they will do with the systems.


No I don't think Steam being on Xbox Live is an issue. Microsoft already allows EA Origin and SquareEnix's own online service for Final Fantasy. For the Final Fantasy game, it has its own multiplayer subscription which does allow for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC cross-platform and it doesn't require a paid Xbox Live subcription. So if EA and SquareEnix can run their own online services on top of Xbox Live, then I don't see why Valve can't have Steam on Xbox Live. In fact, EA has the infrastructure in place to implement cross-platform support across all their games that support EA Origin.

If an update is several hundred megabytes in size, it must add more content than just a few gameplay tweaks or bug fixes like most games get on Xbox Live. Such an update would probably have new maps or entire new campaign sections. Maybe even new weapons or characters. If those are what the updates are, then it would be plausible to consider it as DLC.

What Valve can do is just update the multiplayer so that it remains compatible with other versions of that game on other platforms and make the new maps/content optional DLC. That's how it works in pretty much every other game including Halo and CoD. Multiplayer gets its own title updates, but new content is seperate optional DLC. Much like with Mass Effect, I was willing to pay for most of the new DLC, although the zero-day DLC in ME3 was a bit controversial. And with Halo 3, I was fully willing to pay for all the new map packs. You don't have to buy the DLC in order to keep playing, but you can if you want. Valve could follow that example.

[Edited on 04.04.2012 9:12 AM PDT]

  • 04.04.2012 9:10 AM PDT
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Posted by: General Heed
No I don't think Steam being on Xbox Live is an issue. Microsoft already allows EA Origin and SquareEnix's own online service for Final Fantasy. For the Final Fantasy game, it has its own multiplayer subscription which does allow for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC cross-platform and it doesn't require a paid Xbox Live subcription. So if EA and SquareEnix can run their own online services on top of Xbox Live, then I don't see why Valve can't have Steam on Xbox Live. In fact, EA has the infrastructure in place to implement cross-platform support across all their games that support EA Origin.
Read before you speak.

If an update is several hundred megabytes in size, it must add more content than just a few gameplay tweaks or bug fixes like most games get on Xbox Live. Such an update would probably have new maps or entire new campaign sections. Maybe even new weapons or characters. If those are what the updates are, then it would be plausible to consider it as DLC.It doesn't exactly work like that. They have large updates from time to time to update things in the engines of the games themselves. Things that require large downloads. Things that Bungie could never fix on the past Halo games (Button glitches, super jumps, etc) Valve has the ability to fix. These things would not be plausible as DLC. Also, if they were, you'd either make just the console guys pay for it or you'd have to make the PC players pay for something they got for free out of integrity from Valve. Either way that would be seen as a massive rip off.

What Valve can do is just update the multiplayer so that it remains compatible with other versions of that game on other platforms and make the new maps/content optional DLC. That's how it works in pretty much every other game including Halo and CoD. Multiplayer gets its own title updates, but new content is seperate optional DLC. Much like with Mass Effect, I was willing to pay for most of the new DLC, although the zero-day DLC in ME3 was a bit controversial. And with Halo 3, I was fully willing to pay for all the new map packs. You don't have to buy the DLC in order to keep playing, but you can if you want. Valve could follow that example. That's one good way to split the community into several groups. With how frequent the updates are that will cause the game to be dead in a matter of one year. Again, try to learn what you're talking about before you start giving out ideas like this.

One more thing you have to think about is how many updates they release all the time. If you make that paid DLC you'd end up spending over $1,000 on the game just to be up to date. That's ridiculous.

[Edited on 04.04.2012 10:01 AM PDT]

  • 04.04.2012 10:00 AM PDT

Bring Back Rocket Race!!!


Posted by: Dr Syx

Posted by: General Heed
No I don't think Steam being on Xbox Live is an issue. Microsoft already allows EA Origin and SquareEnix's own online service for Final Fantasy. For the Final Fantasy game, it has its own multiplayer subscription which does allow for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC cross-platform and it doesn't require a paid Xbox Live subcription. So if EA and SquareEnix can run their own online services on top of Xbox Live, then I don't see why Valve can't have Steam on Xbox Live. In fact, EA has the infrastructure in place to implement cross-platform support across all their games that support EA Origin.
Read before you speak.

If an update is several hundred megabytes in size, it must add more content than just a few gameplay tweaks or bug fixes like most games get on Xbox Live. Such an update would probably have new maps or entire new campaign sections. Maybe even new weapons or characters. If those are what the updates are, then it would be plausible to consider it as DLC.It doesn't exactly work like that. They have large updates from time to time to update things in the engines of the games themselves. Things that require large downloads. Things that Bungie could never fix on the past Halo games (Button glitches, super jumps, etc) Valve has the ability to fix. These things would not be plausible as DLC. Also, if they were, you'd either make just the console guys pay for it or you'd have to make the PC players pay for something they got for free out of integrity from Valve. Either way that would be seen as a massive rip off.

What Valve can do is just update the multiplayer so that it remains compatible with other versions of that game on other platforms and make the new maps/content optional DLC. That's how it works in pretty much every other game including Halo and CoD. Multiplayer gets its own title updates, but new content is seperate optional DLC. Much like with Mass Effect, I was willing to pay for most of the new DLC, although the zero-day DLC in ME3 was a bit controversial. And with Halo 3, I was fully willing to pay for all the new map packs. You don't have to buy the DLC in order to keep playing, but you can if you want. Valve could follow that example. That's one good way to split the community into several groups. With how frequent the updates are that will cause the game to be dead in a matter of one year. Again, try to learn what you're talking about before you start giving out ideas like this.

One more thing you have to think about is how many updates they release all the time. If you make that paid DLC you'd end up spending over $1,000 on the game just to be up to date. That's ridiculous.


I've read that article before. It only talks about the restrictions on update sizes. It never said Steam itself couldn't run on Xbox Live.

My idea wouldn't necessarily split the community into several groups. You'd only play with people who have the same maps as you similar to how Halo and CoD work with matchmaking. And if you remember Halo 1 PC, even if you don't have the latest update, you can still play with people who have the same version as you. Which means not everyone on Halo 1 PC elected to update their game. Halo 1 PC, which is still somewhat popular today, is a good example of how to manage the update issues.

  • 04.04.2012 12:18 PM PDT
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"A life lived for others is the only life worth living" - Albert Einstein

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Posted by: General Heed
I've read that article before. It only talks about the restrictions on update sizes. It never said Steam itself couldn't run on Xbox Live.
Read it again. It says specifically that do to the restrictions on updates and Microsoft closed off approach, they're not able to put Steam on Xbox Live in a way they would they would find viable.

My idea wouldn't necessarily split the community into several groups. You'd only play with people who have the same maps as you similar to how Halo and CoD work with matchmaking. And if you remember Halo 1 PC, even if you don't have the latest update, you can still play with people who have the same version as you. Which means not everyone on Halo 1 PC elected to update their game. Halo 1 PC, which is still somewhat popular today, is a good example of how to manage the update issues. You're completely overlooking every problem I gave. You're telling people they have to pay for updates that fix issues with the game. That's a service to the buyers, not something you should have to pay for. It's not as simple as map packs. This would split a community, piss people off and cause Microsoft/Valve unnecessary work. It's just not viable in current consoles. This sort of thing is just one of the many rewards you get for playing on the PC platform.

It wouldn't be right to make PC gamers pay for stuff they got for free before and it wouldn't be right to make console gamers pay for it if the PC gamers didn't have to. It's that simple.

[Edited on 04.04.2012 1:02 PM PDT]

  • 04.04.2012 1:00 PM PDT

Bring Back Rocket Race!!!


Posted by: Dr Syx

Posted by: General Heed
I've read that article before. It only talks about the restrictions on update sizes. It never said Steam itself couldn't run on Xbox Live.
Read it again. It says specifically that do to the restrictions on updates and Microsoft closed off approach, they're not able to put Steam on Xbox Live in a way they would they would find viable.

My idea wouldn't necessarily split the community into several groups. You'd only play with people who have the same maps as you similar to how Halo and CoD work with matchmaking. And if you remember Halo 1 PC, even if you don't have the latest update, you can still play with people who have the same version as you. Which means not everyone on Halo 1 PC elected to update their game. Halo 1 PC, which is still somewhat popular today, is a good example of how to manage the update issues. You're completely overlooking every problem I gave. You're telling people they have to pay for updates that fix issues with the game. That's a service to the buyers, not something you should have to pay for. It's not as simple as map packs. This would split a community, piss people off and cause Microsoft/Valve unnecessary work. It's just not viable in current consoles. This sort of thing is just one of the many rewards you get for playing on the PC platform.

It wouldn't be right to make PC gamers pay for stuff they got for free before and it wouldn't be right to make console gamers pay for it if the PC gamers didn't have to. It's that simple.


I don't believe Valve on the issue of implementing Steam on Xbox Live. SquareEnix and EA both have their own online service on top of Xbox Live with SquareEnix's service running independently of Xbox Live and has its own subscription service.

As for the DLC/updates, I said that if the updates mainly involved map packs or similar items, then I wouldn't mind paying for those extra maps as DLC. But if the updates were just game fixes and stability improvements, etc, then yes, I agree it should be free.

However, for the sake of cross-platform gaming, I'd be willing to allow PC gamers to keep getting free DLC/Updates while I pay for the DLC/Update on the Xbox 360. That's just my personal opinion though. I'm not saying this needs to be forced on everyone, only that I, myself, would be willing to pay. That's also how Microsoft continues to charge for Xbox Live. People are simply willing to pay for it. It may be a difficult concept for people of other platforms to understand why we'd be willing to pay for it, but in simple terms, it's well worth it.

  • 04.09.2012 7:26 PM PDT

Anyway, now Halo 2 PC is availble on GFW marketplace. So, they don't want to make the game dissapear.

  • 04.10.2012 3:10 AM PDT

Bring Back Rocket Race!!!


Posted by: NeverStop91
Anyway, now Halo 2 PC is availble on GFW marketplace. So, they don't want to make the game dissapear.


Nope, only the trailer for Halo 2 PC is available. The actual game itself has never been available for purchase on the marketplace and it most likely never will at this point. It really baffles me why Microsoft would suddenly drop support for Halo 2 Vista and not even make it available for purchase on the marketplace.

  • 04.10.2012 12:08 PM PDT

This is actually the stupidest thing ever posted on B.net:

Posted by: the omega man117
Why does everyone hate Halo 2? Maybe its because its the worst game ever next to mario.

Posted by: General Heed
It really baffles me why Microsoft would suddenly drop support for Halo 2 Vista and not even make it available for purchase on the marketplace.

How is that baffling? There hasn't even been a patch for the game since 2007 even though it is stated in Microsoft's product lifecycle, that the product is still supported until October of this year. H2V is one of MS's dark, little secrets.

  • 04.10.2012 3:08 PM PDT

Bring Back Rocket Race!!!


Posted by: Super PolarBear
Posted by: General Heed
It really baffles me why Microsoft would suddenly drop support for Halo 2 Vista and not even make it available for purchase on the marketplace.

How is that baffling? There hasn't even been a patch for the game since 2007 even though it is stated in Microsoft's product lifecycle, that the product is still supported until October of this year. H2V is one of MS's dark, little secrets.


But that's exactly why it baffles me. Halo 2 Vista is still in mainstream support for Microsoft's product lifecycle, yet it seems they're almost trying to cover up the existence of that game.

On the Xbox 360, there are tons of games that are available on Games on Demand, yet a lot of them have not been supported for a longer period of time than Halo 2. Some of them are EA games which have had their multiplayer servers shut down awhile ago yet Microsoft still added them to Games on Demand. So if Microsoft would do that, why not Halo 2 Vista?

In fact, there seems to be a whole conspiracy surrounding Halo 2 in general. The original Halo 1 is available for download on Games on Demand (Xbox Originals) and Halo 3 - Halo: Reach are also available on demand. The entire Xbox Halo Series except for Halo 2 is available for purchase on the marketplace. It's really strange that even the Xbox version of Halo 2 appears to have been abandoned or forgotten by Microsoft. This whole cold shoulder towards Halo 2 isn't just limited to the PC version.

  • 04.10.2012 7:31 PM PDT


Posted by: General Heed
Posted by: NeverStop91
Anyway, now Halo 2 PC is availble on GFW marketplace. So, they don't want to make the game dissapear.

Nope, only the trailer for Halo 2 PC is available. The actual game itself has never been available for purchase on the marketplace and it most likely never will at this point.

Wait a second. If you look here, you can see the "Buy for PC" button. I can't check if it works because if I click on it, it says that the content isn't available in my country. Can you check for me if you can buy it in digital delivery? Thanks.

  • 04.11.2012 3:32 AM PDT

Bring Back Rocket Race!!!


Posted by: NeverStop91

Posted by: General Heed
Posted by: NeverStop91
Anyway, now Halo 2 PC is availble on GFW marketplace. So, they don't want to make the game dissapear.

Nope, only the trailer for Halo 2 PC is available. The actual game itself has never been available for purchase on the marketplace and it most likely never will at this point.

Wait a second. If you look here, you can see the "Buy for PC" button. I can't check if it works because if I click on it, it says that the content isn't available in my country. Can you check for me if you can buy it in digital delivery? Thanks.


That's just for the trailer. For some reason it asks you to buy the trailer even though it's free. The actual game itself is not available for purchase.

  • 04.11.2012 5:15 PM PDT

I don't know really what happened to Halo 2 PC, I really want to buy it and play some online with some friends even though I played the 2 first Halo on my Xbox (one of my best gaming memories), all I know at the moment is it seems that Bungie, Microsoft or 343i has just left it on his own, no more official forums, support or anything. It is sad that Microsoft, Bungie, 343i or anyone let the 2 only Halo games on the PC dying slowly.

[Edited on 04.11.2012 5:54 PM PDT]

  • 04.11.2012 5:45 PM PDT

Bring Back Rocket Race!!!


Posted by: Kazark
I don't know really what happened to Halo 2 PC, I really want to buy it and play some online with some friends even though I played the 2 first Halo on my Xbox (one of my best gaming memories), all I know at the moment is it seems that Bungie, Microsoft or 343i has just left it on his own, no more official forums, support or anything. It is sad that Microsoft, Bungie, 343i or anyone let the 2 only Halo games on the PC dying slowly.


If you still want to play Halo 2 PC, you can still get it at Best Buy. Some stores still sell it. I've seen it sold at Gamestop before as well. If not, you can always buy it online from sites like eBay or Amazon.

  • 04.13.2012 12:18 PM PDT

This is the average H2 Fanboy.
Xfire: JacobGRocks.
50 in H2/H3? Great, but you still fail at this.

Halo PC isn't really dead, it still has people doing things like CMT SPv3 to it. Halo 2 is dying, however, it's on life support.

  • 04.13.2012 1:56 PM PDT

I do wonder how Halo 2 Vista would have fared had Gearbox handled the port instead. Its a real shame, I had fond memories of Halo PC, many of which with members of this forum, and had high hopes for Halo 2 Vista, the Xbox version bringing great memories back in the day, which i had hoped could be enhanced for the PC much like the original Halo was although we all know how H2V ultimately turned out.

If Gearbox had handled the port, would the game have been successful? Is H2V's failure the reason the Halo games have been abandoned for PC?

Regardless, H2V will be gone this year no doubt whilst Halo PC will still go strong.

EDIT - I don't think this post contributes to anything so i apologise.. xD

[Edited on 04.13.2012 4:11 PM PDT]

  • 04.13.2012 4:10 PM PDT

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