Halo 2 PC Closing Down

[jcap]

To switch gears ever so slightly, we’re sad to report that the service end-date for Halo 2 PC Multiplayer will be February 15, 2013. We’ve been monitoring the population for months, and it’s been peaking consistently at approximately 20 players or less. Those that own this game can continue to enjoy Multiplayer over LAN after that date; however our network services will be turned off at that time. We love you, Halo 2 PC, and you will live forever in our hearts.
http://blogs.halowaypoint.com/Headlines/post/2013/01/16/The-Halo-Bulletin-11613.aspx


They are finally putting that shit stain out of its misery.

If only they FIXED THE FUCKING THING, maybe it wouldn't be peaking at 20 players. Go fuck yourself Microsoft.

There's also literally no reason to do this, since it's just a god damn server browser. It's not like Microsoft is hosting shit.

[itszutak]

RIP halo 2 multiplayer

I'm guessing this isn't exactly the sort of thing that one can patch a workaround for

[Nero]

The memories... rip. :(

[Btcc22]

Amusingly, reports suggest that a large number of serials provided with legitimate copies of the game don't even work. No wonder the population is so low when nobody can get on*.


*ignoring the fact that everything was terrible. Did the port have a single redeeming feature?

[Con]

If anyone bothers to install it and play it we should have a gamenight before it shuts down.

[ChemicalFizz]

I don't know how I should feel about this... I'm down for a last gamenight if anyone here wants to go before the pig is slaughtered.

[Patrickssj6]

I cannot even get it to install...

If this wouldn't be Microsoft + GFWL, imagine how Steam would have saved it on a last sale.

[InnerGoat]

lol RIP

funny how that falls on the same day modacity shuts down

[itszutak]

lol RIP

funny how that falls on the same day modacity shuts downcoincidence???

[DarkHalo003]

If anyone bothers to install it and play it we should have a gamenight before it shuts down.
I'm up for one.

This is dumb though. What bother does the game's multiplayer have on MS? What harm could go from making the EDK opened for SP?

Even more so, why not leave it open for people who still want to set up Dedicated Servers?

EDIT: You know what, I can understand why they would shut it down. Halo 2 is obsolete now, the multiplayer has no one in it half of the time, the servers are laggy, and basically it's a piece of extraneous junk now. It's just another extraneous expense they don't want. Regardless, I think it's shitty they aren't even going to refurbish or think about doing anything besides shut it down.

[Kornman00]

Well, this almost makes the idea of a H2 anniversary more believable.

[Tnnaas]

It's bad news and I hate to hear it. :/
But it works to my advantage.

[jcap]

Halo 2 Anniversary for Windows 8

[0ra]

RIP h2.

I don't see why they're closing down the multiplayer though. The game probably would of got more traffic if they took the time to implement improvements.

[DarkHalo003]

Halo 2 Anniversary for Windows 8
Only way I'd be remotely happy about this subject, unless of course they decided to keep Halo 2 For Windows in order to improve upon it with new updates.

[arbiter901]

Halo 2 Anniversary for Windows 8
I wouldn't mind as long as it's not a shitty port.
Seems like H2V was developed on XP but they slapped shit in towards the end to make it incompatible.

[Warsaw]

That's because that's exactly what they did.

[Zeph]

Wait, the game has LAN support?

[Con]

Regardless, I think it's shitty they aren't even going to refurbish or think about doing anything besides shut it down.

Why, what's the point? It's already a lost cause and they know it. The servers would be better put towards something else. As you said, right now they're just an extra maintenance cost with no value.

[DarkHalo003]

Why, what's the point? It's already a lost cause and they know it. The servers would be better put towards something else. As you said, right now they're just an extra maintenance cost with no value.
Yeah, but I mean I really would have liked it if they'd have done something to help it before axing it. Of course, that's just what I would have liked and we all would have loved if it had had decent support during it's meager life span.

[Resinball]

I don't get their methodology. They offer no alternative FPS game(s) to play or purchase on the gaming device of our choice. What kind of business sense is that to just ignore potential customers.

H3 or any other older unreleased Halo (on PC) would sell gangbusters. Meanwhile Steam is eating their lunch and now its hanging out on the living room couch as well. So focused on thier XBOX, how long can they afford to refuse money?

[Warsaw]

Because they think it's more profitable to try and herd everybody onto their prime-time gaming solution. They want to sell you an Xbox AND a copy of Halo AND all of the accessories and services that come with it.

I'm not sure it would really add much to the development cost to make Halo multi-platform to begin with, but doing so would certainly make some people not buy an Xbox because they can get a game they really really want on the PC.

[TeeKup]

A herd of cattle can only eat so much of the same field of grass before its bare.

Microsoft needs to get their shit together.

[Snowy]

I can't believe they're taking my Halo 2 Vista away!! :(

I'm down for game night. :woop:

[supersniper]

I posted in the news section and linked 343i to the buyers remorse letter you wrote a while back. hopefully bs_angel reads it and actually says something...

Not even a new refurbished game for windows 8 but a massive title update for the original game (that fixes all these horrible bugs) worth 10 bucks

I mean people pay 10 bucks for map packs all the time! I would def pay 10 bucks for a title update for H2V.

[Tnnaas]

hopefully bs_angel reads it and actually says something...
Funny thing about her is that she will only reply when she it works in her favor. She's a bit of a cunt.

Too bad I can't remind the Waypoint forums of that, else they may ban me and stuff me into one of those new top-secret filing cabinets and put it under OPENED MOUTH/INCINERATE.

If anything, Halo 4 needs to be dragged out into the woods and shot in the back of the head. Put thatsick dog out of its damn misery already. Halo 2 over here is just old. Not doing much, but still a faithful companion.

[DarkHalo003]

Funny thing about her is that she will only reply when she it works in her favor. She's a bit of a cunt.

Too bad I can't remind the Waypoint forums of that, else they may ban me and stuff me into one of those new top-secret filing cabinets and put it under OPENED MOUTH/INCINERATE.

If anything, Halo 4 needs to be dragged out into the woods and shot in the back of the head. Put thatsick dog out of its damn misery already. Halo 2 over here is just old. Not doing much, but still a faithful companion.
Dude, leave Halo 4 out of this thread. It isn't pertinent and frankly every time you post about it you look like you're raging. The game isn't bad (yes I've played it enough to say that) and in comparison I find it to be a fun, time-worthy game. Halo 4 maybe isn't what you want, but your consistently rash statements don't belong in this thread. It's not Halo 4's fault for H2V being cut down. There is a bigger fish here. So please, direct your rage at Microshit for not understanding that pleasing your consumer pays for itself.

As far as BS Angel is concerned, she's just a spokesperson. Honestly word from her wouldn't matter to me at all, especially given how she probably wouldn't have any valuable information to give.

I have started a Farewell game night thread in this forum. If you're interested, please vote for a time and help decide a date for this game night.

[Cloud]

There's also literally no reason to do this, since it's just a god damn server browser. It's not like Microsoft is hosting shit.

I could not agree more. Its not like they are HOSTING THE SERVERS.
Pretty pissed. Ive been running halo 2 vista servers for the past 3 years and hoping to god Microsoft will pull something out of their ass and throw the pc players a fucking bone.

[Amit]

I read through all the comments on that post by Hawty McBloggy. Even though I'd rather see H2V put to rest, it still pisses me off. No, not because Microsoft is doing it, but because of all the console fags there who are saying they are "sorry" that H2PC is going down and that they hope to see an anniversary remake of Halo 2 on XBOX. Well, go to Hell you inconsiderate bastards. We're the ones losing a Halo game, not you with your Halo 4, Halo Reach, and fuck, even your Halo 3 that you can play. Why not an anniversary remake on PC instead?

:suicide:

[Ki11a_FTW]

I honestly don't get it myself. You'd think if M$ ported one of the newer Halo's today, it'd sell like candy. All they need to do is support thier shit, get rid of GFWL and get back to the fucking basics. You know how much they probably made off Halo 1 PC and all the other games published by them before 2006? A fucking shit-load compared to what they are doing right now. I don't get it, they make it so damn clear they are in it for the money.

Say they ported Halo 4, and actually supported it for a while.. (which shoulden't be that fucking hard) they'd make a good buck compared to just having it on the xbox, which I could honestly give two-fucks about if Halo was on the PC. They baited me in, I still buy all the new Halo games, still ONE DAY hoping they will get their shit together and I can sell all that bullshit and buy the new Halo for PC. They really hit a new low with windows 8 though, hopefully shit will start to turn around.

[Resinball]

Not like it will matter:
Change.org - 343 Industries: Keep Halo 2 PC Online (https://www.change.org/petitions/343-industries-keep-halo-2-pc-online)


and:
Surveymonkey.com - Save Halo 2 PC!!!!! (http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CN8GBLL)

[Cloud]

Thank you for signing the petition "343 Industries: Keep Halo 2 PC Online"​

[Con]

I voted to shut them down, deal with it.

[Btcc22]

The old Pentium 3 that hosts the master server and probably the entire GFWL service must be pretty expensive to run.

http://i.imgur.com/xAj2r.jpg

[Cortexian]

I'm gonna poke the 343 and Microsoft/Xbox executives that I know and see where those emails go. I'm gonna include a few suggestions from this thread in the email I shoot off to them.

Bypassing whoever this bs_angel person is and going straight to the top.

That said, I'm going to recommend that they not bother keeping the servers online unless they actually get someone to fix the main bugs with the game (ie. how terrible the mouse support is).

[ejburke]

I honestly don't get it myself. You'd think if M$ ported one of the newer Halo's today, it'd sell like candy. All they need to do is support thier shit, get rid of GFWL and get back to the fucking basics. You know how much they probably made off Halo 1 PC and all the other games published by them before 2006? A fucking shit-load compared to what they are doing right now. I don't get it, they make it so damn clear they are in it for the money.

Say they ported Halo 4, and actually supported it for a while.. (which shoulden't be that fucking hard) they'd make a good buck compared to just having it on the xbox, which I could honestly give two-fucks about if Halo was on the PC. They baited me in, I still buy all the new Halo games, still ONE DAY hoping they will get their shit together and I can sell all that bullshit and buy the new Halo for PC. They really hit a new low with windows 8 though, hopefully shit will start to turn around.

It's not just a matter of unit sales; it's about making money off the multiplayer. On Xbox, Microsoft has a subscription model that hasn't been out-and-out rejected by consumers and on PC, they don't. That's why we don't get multiplayer stuff like Halo and Gears of War anymore, but single-player ports like Alan Wake and Fable 3 are eventually happening. If you're going to play Halo, they want you playing it where they can make the most money from it. With a PC port, they'd have more total people playing, but they'd be devaluing their XBL Gold service, which is a much more stable revenue stream for them than unit sales, whose prices quickly crash to practically nothing (unless you're Call of Duty or Elder Scrolls).

[Shock120]

Good night sweet prince.

[Timo]

I can't play it because I installed it once, 6 years ago.

[Donut]

single-player ports like Alan Wake
the alan wake devs had to pull a lot of strings with the right people to get the game on the pc, apparently
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-02-16-how-remedy-convinced-microsoft-to-let-it-make-alan-wake-pc

it would be kind of funny to see a statistic of how many people bought an xbox to play halo. i certainly did back when halo 3 came out, although at that point i was getting an xbox anyway. im sure theres a significant portion of people who want to play a newer halo game but are unwilling to buy an xbox to do so. im curious how those two numbers would stack up.

[DarkHalo003]

I'm gonna poke the 343 and Microsoft/Xbox executives that I know and see where those emails go. I'm gonna include a few suggestions from this thread in the email I shoot off to them.

Bypassing whoever this bs_angel person is and going straight to the top.

That said, I'm going to recommend that they not bother keeping the servers online unless they actually get someone to fix the main bugs with the game (ie. how terrible the mouse support is).
I know one of the co-creators of Bing (friend of my father's). Sadly, that doesn't go many places. The Microsoft Games division is literally one of the most separated sectors in the whole corporation. Bing is basically intertwined with Xbox Live and when I asked him any questions regarding Xbox he hardly knew a thing. I don't mean "What's some awesome secrets?" kind of questions, just "Who is this person or what's the policy on this?" In other words, I hope your emails and communications work better than mine ever could.

I love posting condescending posts at 343i for this. They did a good job with Halo 4's Singleplayer IMO and the multiplayer was enough to satisfy me for now, but taking off Halo 2's last public way of playing Multiplayer? That's just horse shit and they need to get harassed for it.

On a side-note: Halo 2 is still ridiculously hyper-competitive, the BR is a pain in the ass gameplay-wise, and I literally threw half of the junk on my desk around my room when I started playing the beginning of "Gravemind" on Heroic. FUCK THAT SHIT.

[Higuy]

DarkHalo, The Covenant is from Halo 3.

[DarkHalo003]

DarkHalo, The Covenant is from Halo 3.
Oh whoops, I meant "Gravemind." D:

[Lateksi]

Bai bai you laggy game. :(

[Cortexian]

I know one of the co-creators of Bing (friend of my father's). Sadly, that doesn't go many places. The Microsoft Games division is literally one of the most separated sectors in the whole corporation. Bing is basically intertwined with Xbox Live and when I asked him any questions regarding Xbox he hardly knew a thing. I don't mean "What's some awesome secrets?" kind of questions, just "Who is this person or what's the policy on this?" In other words, I hope your emails and communications work better than mine ever could.
All of my contacts are via the gaming and hardware side of things (through work). They're all the executive sorts that actually make decisions, not the people who worked on the game and have no say in stuff like this.

Industry networking ftw.

[KantIZBack]

Me and some other guys were "attempting" to call some people at 343i earlier. by going through M$Corp we got a number to get redirected to anyone We tried calling Frank O'Conner, and Jessica Shea (bsangel) but 343i was closed today..

After that we called GFWL and got on the phone with a Tech that was obviously a H2V player. So we talked to him for awhile and apparently GFWL was not told at all that H2V was going to be taken down and that everyone is trying to figure out whats happening over there. He put us on hold for like 10 minutes and came back after talking to his supervisor. Who had requested that we gather information on the problems with H2V and that the population is more than 20, so that he can send it over to whoever.

It probably wont get anywhere but, fuck I am a little optimistic about it.

[Resinball]

Whats the number?

SAVE H2V! SHUTDOWN FEBRUARY 15TH (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruCCGD3K7bY&feature=share&list=UUnepXGTWSrn15UC68iBd_cQ)

[=sw=warlord]

1877-274-4349911

[KantIZBack]

425 882 8080 (number for any employee calling)

[Zeph]

Me and some other guys were "attempting" to call some people at 343i earlier. by going through M$Corp we got a number to get redirected to anyone We tried calling Frank O'Conner, and Jessica Shea (bsangel) but 343i was closed today..

After that we called GFWL and got on the phone with a Tech that was obviously a H2V player. So we talked to him for awhile and apparently GFWL was not told at all that H2V was going to be taken down and that everyone is trying to figure out whats happening over there. He put us on hold for like 10 minutes and came back after talking to his supervisor. Who had requested that we gather information on the problems with H2V and that the population is more than 20, so that he can send it over to whoever.

It probably wont get anywhere but, fuck I am a little optimistic about it.
I dont think it will be very productive to tell the GFWL department that they're what's actually killing the game. But should it go anywhere, tell them to redact the XBL ToS for H2V and poke 343i about released an unfucked version of the editing kit.

[KantIZBack]

Will do.

[KantIZBack]

Well be got a message from BSangel.
http://i.snag.gy/NxJfX.jpg

[DarkHalo003]

99.9% SET IN STONE? MICROSOFT COULDN'T LIFT A FINGER TO CHANGE THE END DATE FOR ONE OF THEIR OWN SERVERS? WTF?

On the other hand, at least she asked for information instead of saying "Cheers."

[Amit]

How in the fuck are we supposed to have every GamerTag ever used on a single server? Do server logs even keep that much information for so long? (EDIT: apparently it does :S) And jesus, your thread got removed from the forum along with all the comments from the original update. I had to get your thread from google's cache (http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:uhgEE5cgZj0J:https://forums.halowaypoint.com/yaf_postst179789_Dear-343--This-is-our-plea.aspx+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca). Someone really doesn't want H2V fans to be heard.

[t3h m00kz]

I love the irony here.

This site was originally founded to be an H2V modding site in hopes that it would carry on the Custom Edition legacy... Everybody was dissapointed in the game and we changed the site name, and we have been constantly going on about how much of a failure the game has been.

Now everybody's up in arms about it shutting down.

:iiam:

[Patrickssj6]

Now everybody's up in arms about it shutting down.
I'm not :v:

[t3h m00kz]

hope you like green~

[Patrickssj6]

i never give out rep~

[Ryx]

Condacted Microsoft and found out the real reason h2v is being covered up:
the reason it's being covered up is that moose got a job at Microsoft as a call center rep. He quickly rose through the ranks to become a regional manager using his shittalking skills, and is now a regional manager, conveniently for the GFWL section (seeing as no one wanted to work in that shithole). He hired the local elementary school manager to kidnap the children of the GFWL IT team, none of whom speak Spanish so they can't talk the janitor out of it. Then he used photos to blackmail them into closing down the h2v servers.

You were warned about moose (b)(a)(b)(y).

:tinfoil::tinfoil::tinfoil:

[Resinball]

Dude, I don't get along with Moose anymore but thats just idiotic; I assume its meant to be more of a joke then anything. If you know Moose then you would know he does not want H2V to die. He wants a newer one on PC just like the rest of us, and he dislikes consoles as well.

[t3h m00kz]

Condacted Microsoft and found out the real reason h2v is being covered up:
the reason it's being covered up is that moose got a job at Microsoft as a call center rep. He quickly rose through the ranks to become a regional manager using his shittalking skills, and is now a regional manager, conveniently for the GFWL section (seeing as no one wanted to work in that shithole). He hired the local elementary school manager to kidnap the children of the GFWL IT team, none of whom speak Spanish so they can't talk the janitor out of it. Then he used photos to blackmail them into closing down the h2v servers.

You were warned about moose (b)(a)(b)(y).

:tinfoil::tinfoil::tinfoil:

that's the most rediculous ass shit I've ever heard

but yeah fuck moose. banned me from his servers because I disagreed with him over the whole FOV hack release

[Zeph]

but yeah fuck moose. banned me from his servers because I disagreed with him over the whole FOV hack release

You know, the biggest complaint we had as a community was that you could circumvent bans by making a new silver account instantly.

[Ryx]

that's the most rediculous ass shit I've ever heard

but yeah fuck moose. banned me from his servers because I disagreed with him over the whole FOV hack release
lol hey there kills alone!

and yeah, I have no idea.

[supersniper]

You know, the biggest complaint we had as a community was that you could circumvent bans by making a new silver account instantly.We made new ways to make bans more affective but there is no solid form of identification towards a player and a gamer because we cannot detect the LIVE key that associates the player to it. there is no hash stored in the memory of the game. unlike halo pc.

[KantIZBack]

3141

[SirBobbington]

Not really sure how I feel about this. On one hand, it sucks that Microsoft has decided that nobody will ever be able to play Halo 2 again, ever. On the other hand, the Halo 2 multiplayer sucked in my opinion... mostly because the SMG was the default starting weapon in 90% of the games I ever played, and it put you at an immediate disadvantage against anybody who had a decent gun. Plus, there were only a couple hundred custom maps, most of which looked either poorly made, or were copies of good CE maps.

I support trying to save it, but I have to agree that having a peak of 20 players is a good justification for shutting it down.

[Btcc22]

mostly because the SMG was the default starting weapon in 90% of the games I ever played

That's kind of surprising given that the BR was the default for most XBL games. That is, after Bungie decided that dual wielding wasn't so great after all, buffed the BR and removed SMG starts*.


Plus, there were only a couple hundred custom maps, most of which looked either poorly made, or were copies

Not unique to H2, sadly. There's probably one good CE map to every 500. :smith:


*and made the plasma 'nades overpowered for H2 and all subsequent games, except Reach which had underpowered map design.

[SirBobbington]

The BR starts were probably after my time, then. I played almost every day until people figured out how to hack (early 2005?) Then I only played a few games before my xbox blew in 2007. Never took H2V online, and I don't even remember what I did with the copy.

And the beginning of CE saw closer to 1/50-100 being good. There were consistently good servers playing excellent maps for the first two years, at least.

[DarkHalo003]

Halo 2 had a lot of memories for me and introduced me to Halo PC ironically. The campaign is awesome IMO, but the online is just unparalleled in BTB. So many shenangans and laughs, not to mention the community (My Spartan Life, Montages) was simple and machinima wasn't as glossy.

[KantIZBack]

Well woke up this morning with 1500+ signs on the petition and only 1050 there being before, and 1000+ unique players logged on H2V so i think that they were pretty off on their calculations