- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
Well I figured out how Nessy has his chromed like graphics. It is achieved by simply finding your video card chip name in Halos config.txt file, and adding the line, DisableAlphaRenderTargets. In addition, if you have the crappy Radeon 9200 series cards that render camo as color changing blobs, this fixes it by making camo faded. Also, you get no scope blur, so sniping gets somewhat easier.
I made a video of this, complete with pictures on how to achieve this effect, if you want it.
All you have to do to find your video card chipset number is go to the Start button, Run programs, and type in dxdiag. When you get there, hit the Display tab, which will bring up info of your video card. I show exactly what to look for in the vid; which is the chip number, usually 0x### with # being any random letter and number, depending on the card itself. What you do then is take that combo, and find it in the config.txt file for Halo. If yours doesnt show up, no need to fret, because all you have to do is paste your video card combo number in the right category (ex: Radeon cards in Radeon category, Intel cards in the Intel category...etc) and underneath that, above the next video card listing, put the command DisableAlphaRenderTargets, and then save and close. Then run Halo with specular on, and youll immediately notice the difference.
Again, its a matter of personal preference if you want this effect. Pros to it is that it makes gameplay and framerate a bit smoother, because its forcing the vid card to draw less than it normally would. Cons are that it makes everything with specular chromed out and the lighting is off, so if your a video and lighting freak and want everything to appear normal, then this is not for you. Again, these changes are not permanent, and erasing the Disable command restores Halos normal graphics back to how they should be.
You can see the video I made of it here
http://media.putfile.com/GFX-Before-and-After
[Edited on 11/23/2006]