Halo 2 Anniversary (confirmed as thing now)

[Zeph]

So yeah, placing all bets on deployment state.


With GFWL dead, I'm doubting that they'll try and put out a PC version to make up for the maimed version we got all those years ago. Then again, if they do put it out and it has multiplayer capability then I dont see what would stop us from getting an actually useful editing kit.

[Ki11a_FTW]

Will be buying. Seeing as H1A didn't make a pc release I don't see why this would, but if they do come to there senses, I would 110% support it.

E: Let me be a little more specific, Will be buying for the MP if 343 doesn't decide to do some half assed halo 4 map pack type deal.

[PlasbianX]

This might sway me to pick up an Xbox One to accompany my PS4.

[Tnnaas]

Will be buying for the MP if 343 doesn't decide to do some half assed halo 4 map pack type deal.

I thought about just totally ignoring this as more money-milking, but if Halo 2 Anniv utilizes its own multiplayer, I might reconsider. It's not a guaranteed buy for me if that does happen though, just a consideration.

I've played only a fraction of what I would have played since I didn't have XBL way back when, and it wasn't until well after Halo 3's release that I got a live account. The few times I did play Halo 2 MP was pretty fun. Each map was pretty awesome and had no two looked the same in layout/design. The uniqueness of each arena was what made the game for me. If they - I suppose it's Certain Affinity - can pull off that same thing, I'll definitely want to get the game. Seeing as how a good portion of the crew that worked on some of the Halo 2 maps and DLC now work at CA, I have higher hopes than I did with HA10 and Sabre Interactive.

EDIT: Apparently Certain Affinity did the Blastacular Map Pack for Halo 2 (the only one I didn't get a chance to play, but!), so a good remake of Tombstone and Desolation won't be too far from imagining.

[Higuy]

Where was this confirmed?

[Tnnaas]

From the Chief's lips of course (http://www.polygon.com/2014/2/13/5410222/master-chief-voice-actor-says-halo-2-anniversary-edition-coming-this).

Still take everything not stated through an official source (i.e., Microsoft, 343i) with a grain of salt.

[Dwood]

Yeah, what sources are there?

[Tnnaas]

Expect Halo 3 Anniversary in November of 2017. :v

But back to the sources, I did say grain of salt (http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/02/14/halo-5-coming-to-xbox-one-in-2015-says-master-chief-voice-actor). But with Microsoft trying to shut up (http://www.vg247.com/2014/01/31/microsoft-seeks-legal-action-against-xbox-one-leaker-report/) those going about giving away yet unrevealed information (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=760013), that's plenty suspicious though. I'm also aware that my last post said, "Chief said Halo 2, and so there was Halo 2." but I didn't dig down further until a short while ago. :v
Again though: salt in hand. Until an official statement from Microsoft or 343i comes out, we won't know one way or the other.

[Btcc22]

Supposedly Halo 3 is going to be ported over to the Xbox One. They'd better release it on PC at the same time, given that it'll be easier than ever to do so.

[Ki11a_FTW]

I think Halo 3 and 4 both refer to PC. I don't see why they would bring an epic enhanced Halo 2, then the same old halo 3 following it up.

[Kornman00]

I'm still waiting for MS to confirm this before believing anything

https://fbcdn-photos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/t1/s720x720/1604557_290502571101539_1713817190_n.jpg

[Tnnaas]

Hella 2 Anniversary: Totes Windows 8

[Ki11a_FTW]

None the less I will be very happy if they decide to bring a new and improved Halo 2 with MP to either console or PC. Halo 2 was such a great era, and the multiplayer would probably bring in more players then halo 4 ever had. The game would be an instant financial success since Halo 2 was pretty much the pinnacle of Halo multiplayer imo.

[Btcc22]

A decade ago: Halo 2 is awful!
Now: Halo 2 is the best Halo ever made, best! I want to superbounce and exploit other game-breaking bugs! I hope they don't dumb it down!

This pattern seems to repeat whenever there's a discussion about older titles in a series. I suppose parts of the community move on and those that were introduced to the series by a later game will end up looking at it through rose-tinted goggles.

In regards to Downes' comment, that has to be the least believable retraction I've seen. Either way, that's quite the foot-in-mouth moment.

[Warsaw]

Nope, Halo 2 is still awful. I don't think it deserves a remastering. A re-imagining? Sure, if it's as good as 2003 BSG was to 1979 BSG. But a remaster? Pass. Assuming it's true, it will at least be exclusive to the current Xbox series. Knowning Microsoft's bone-headed marketing strategies, it will be stuck on Xbox One only.

[Donut]

^this TBQH. Halo 2 was my least favorite Halo the moment I first played it. Seriously, the first time I tried to start the single player I thought my game was broken because I didn't realize the slow moving blue bar was a loading screen. I seriously thought my fucking game was cut down or something because I had bought it from Wal-Mart.

Don't get me wrong, I liked Halo 2, but I'll still take Halo 1 any day.
E: I do like a lot of Halo 2's maps though. I think Terminal would be a fucking awesome 24 player conquest map in BF4.

[Ki11a_FTW]

I can infact agree the Halo 2's SP was complete shit (I've gone on several rants about it), however personally, id kill to have a barebones classic Halo multiplayer mode again. Halo 4 and reach are over done to shit with perks, weapon customization, etc. Hell weapon spawns are entirely absent in Halo 4, something in which Halo 2\3 MP maps were designed around. (No i do not count random ordnance drops weapon spawns).

No sprint, gameplay designed around equipment on the field and everyone starts with an AR or whatever is all I ask! Sounds like something they can make a playlist out of. BUT NOPE.

[Warsaw]

Halo 2's multi-player isn't classic Halo multiplayer, though. It's a completely different animal from the original game, and one which Bungie tried to bury with each subsequent entry but couldn't because too many people liked it. It was Bungie's Modern Warfare 2.

Halo multiplayer demands health bars, ridiculously high ammo caps, FOUR-hits to kill with melee, no lunge, and shorter range-caps on mid-range weapons as much as it demands no sprinting and the presence of equipment on the field. Also, there shouldn't be any concept of "power weapons" to the game. The shotgun, needler, and plasma pistol (Reach) are not god-damn fucking power weapons, Bungie you cunts.

[Donut]

Power weapons wouldn't arise as a concept if they hadn't more than doubled the arsenal of weapons between Halo 1 and Halo 2 (then subsequently quadrupled it in Halo 4). It blows my mind how games like BF4 will have over 100 guns and like 10 attachments that slightly alter how they work, but then Halo has 30 weapons with only 3 or 4 guns that everybody sticks with.

If you want that variety, it would make more sense to me to dial it back to Halo 1's weapon set, then give those weapons attachments like BF4, except with more meaningful attributes. Imagine Halo 1's spam-cannon assault rifle with attachments. You could put a heavy barrel to reduce the spread at the cost of recoil, or a laser sight to improve the accuracy of sustained fire.

[Warsaw]

Power weapons wouldn't arise as a concept if the pea-brained masses learned how to properly counter players using shotguns and needlers and plasma pistols (and sniper rifles and rocket launchers) instead of whining on the forums about it. Halo 1 didn't have any balancing issues (it really didn't, at least not on Xbox), but every game after it was positively overflowing with them. Vehicles were either cardboard boxes or unstoppable behemoths, the mid-ranger out-gunned the sniper rifle at sniper distances, rocket launcher was either too easy to use or straight-up useless, plasma pistol is only good for its overcharge or can kill you in 5 hits...the list goes on.

Halo does indeed have too many guns; instead of adding to the existing stack they should straight-up make a new, smaller stack. Stop replicating niches. I'm not interested in variety of weapons, I'm interested in variety of play. Halo 2+ is rock-paper-shotguns while Halo 1 was use "your head to use what you got." At least Halo 4 encourages more of the latter; a shame they went back to the regenerating health style and went with loadouts over pickups. It was so close.

[Higuy]

Halo 2 had by far my favorite multiplayer in it to date, hell, it was what got me into the series. Almost all of the maps that came out of the game are still some of the best in the franchise, including some of its SP missions.

I also dont see how you can say Halo 2 was a "completley different animal" in comparison to the other games. The multiplayer was pretty similar but had much more attention imo, and ofc it included some of Halo 2's newer mechanics. Halo 2's mp was great becuase it was much like Halo 1 - simple and fun. This time it just included XBL so you can play with your friends.

I hate how people hate on Halo 2. Even though the game was rushed in some areas and Bungie does not even deny it, the game as a whole is still very good and a very enjoyable experience.

[Btcc22]

Imagine Halo 1's spam-cannon assault rifle with attachments. You could put a heavy barrel to reduce the spread at the cost of recoil, or a laser sight to improve the accuracy of sustained fire.

Nope. You'd just end up with a massively rock-papers-scissors sandbox with most players using cookie-cutter templates despite the 'choice'. That and having to unlock stuff for multiplayer is anathema to skill-based gameplay.

On another note, I view Halo 3's multiplayer as a refinement of Halo 2's. After a while, they realised dual-wielding wasn't really working out and put more emphasis on the Battle Rifle, carried over the grenade balance changes they made in the first update and at least tried to make the sword not so utterly overpowered.

Halo 1 to Halo 2 was a revolution but Halo 2 to Halo 3 was evolution.

[Warsaw]

Halo 2 had by far my favorite multiplayer in it to date, hell, it was what got me into the series. Almost all of the maps that came out of the game are still some of the best in the franchise, including some of its SP missions.

I also dont see how you can say Halo 2 was a "completley different animal" in comparison to the other games. The multiplayer was pretty similar but had much more attention imo, and ofc it included some of Halo 2's newer mechanics. Halo 2's mp was great becuase it was much like Halo 1 - simple and fun. This time it just included XBL so you can play with your friends.

I hate how people hate on Halo 2. Even though the game was rushed in some areas and Bungie does not even deny it, the game as a whole is still very good and a very enjoyable experience.

Halo 2's forte is in its ability to deliver a cinematic experience. It is the best-looking game on the original Xbox, bar-none. Out of the entire series, it by far has the best-looking and most interesting cutscenes, aided by the lack of loading screens between every level. It had the most interesting plot points as well. It was great.

What makes it a completely different animal is that it plays nothing like the original. Now you HAVE to finish off your target instead of hurting him and then setting ambush at the health pack. Now you HAVE to bum-rush the "power weapons" because it won't ever respawn. Now you HAVE to use melee up close because it's so powerful it autoaims and kills in two hits. Now you HAVE to use the Battle Rifle because every other weapon in the game is so woefully inadequate.

Campaign had a different set of issues. First, the encounters were generally boring, with to few enemies at once (the Flood were especially dumbed down from Halo 1). Legendary was also a huge crock of rigged bullshit. A larger issue was the lack of ammunition provided to the player. If I wanted to use human weapons, I had to melee fight my way through the mission because some doofus thought it would be fun to give the player three magazines as a maximum limit. I tracking hate using Covenant weapons in Halo 2+, and Halo 2 and 3 had a very noticeable bias for Covenant equipment.

[Donut]

Nope. You'd just end up with a massively rock-papers-scissors sandbox with most players using cookie-cutter templates despite the 'choice'. That and having to unlock stuff for multiplayer is anathema to skill-based gameplay.
Man you really didn't give that a chance at all. Are you trying to tell me what Halo is right now isn't a massively rock-paper-scissors sandbox? You'd rather have 30 guns with 3 or 4 in each weapon profile instead of 10 that the player can meaningfully customize? The argument about unlocks is null after the first week of play anyway. Putting those unlocks, say, 10 kills apart would make the unlocks quick, but still give the player a chance to experience the gun with and without it. Also, I fail to see anything cookie cutter about allowing a player to choose between suppressing their weapon and making it more accurate at range. That's a pretty significant choice.

[Ki11a_FTW]

Halo 2s campaign is an unfinished dubbed down piece of crap compared to what they were presenting prior to release.
Especially playing the game in 1080p makes its obvious issues even more obvious. Ex:

Every cutscene has a flaw. Especially the intro to outskirts like wtf? That and the intro with the scarab if you look to the back you can see where the road just cuts off.

Half the characters in the cutscenes don't move their jaw while they talk (specifically johnson in parts of outskirts and metropolis).

The whole heretic sequence was an abomination. Especially when the BSP's it uses were designed for a completely different mission.

I get confused sometimes because even though the Arbiter was critically acclaimed a good character, I sometimes feel like the story could have went in a way better direction if there was no Arbiter side of the story, period. Now basically, bungie and 343 want to go back and add mystery behind the covenant again. Which you can't do now considering what we saw of them in Halo 2\3. Well bungie not so much considering their last product was a prequel, but still.

Almost every BSP is in some way unfinished. Especially the city levels.

The only things I feel like were done right were the Flood and the Covenant. Halo 2 had such a great style of assets. To bad the lackluster environment's don't help bring it all together.

[TeeKup]

It doesnt help that Halo in general has this nasty habit of having the player completely backtrack previous levels, either spread over 2 missions or crammed into one. The Library was god aweful because of this. The Covenant did that as well in Halo 3.

[=sw=warlord]

The library had no backtracking at all.
It's just every corridor looked the same.

[Tnnaas]

343 Guilty Spark had some though. When I first played that mission, I got severely lost for about five days. >_>

[Warsaw]

I am probably the only one who liked The Library. Why? Because it was perfectly representative of the Flood: they are numerous, they are faceless, they all look alike, and they attempt to wear you down through those characteristics.

You get out of The Library what you put into it.

[TeeKup]

The library had no backtracking at all.
It's just every corridor looked the same.
Then its essentially the same thing. The Library was great for the flood, but the level itself just grinds my gears because of the aformentioned reasons.

EDIT: if the flood ever make a return they need to be how they were in Halo 1. Genuinely terrifying, endless in number, and completely relentless. More often than not in H2 and H3a I could encounter random combat forms that would just stand there and do absolutely nothing.

[Tnnaas]

I found it hard to shove past waves of Flood on the first Halo. Halo 2 and Halo 3 I could run and jump by them without worry. Seriously, the Sentinel Wall mission found me just walking over Flood heads as the Arbiter.

[Warsaw]

I hope you aren't saying that's a good thing, because the Flood are supposed to be hard to shove past.

TeeKup: they also need to be faceless. The concept of the Gravemind, while it does actually make the Flood stronger and thus even more dangerous, kind of ruined the "scary." The feral Flood were far more creepy.

[Higuy]

Halo 1's 343 was genuiely terrifiying on the first playthrough. I was also like 11 but w/e

[Dwood]

Halo 1's 343 was genuiely terrifiying on the first playthrough. I was also like 11 but w/e

It was the same way for me, and I was about 13 when i first played it.

[Warsaw]

I was 12, and I was "what the fuck is this WHAT IS HAPPENING" when I played it first. And I was playing Co-op, too.

[Tnnaas]

I hope you aren't saying that's a good thing, because the Flood are supposed to be hard to shove past.

I'm not saying strolling past hordes of brainless zombies without worry is a good thing.

I was going to put "The Flood need to be scary and tough again." to my post, but I thought it wasn't necessary to add that from how I was reading it. I can see how without it, my view could be confused. :ugh:

[TeeKup]

I liked the Gravemind H2 because he was brooding and mysterious. In H3 he got tyranical and over emotional, that detracted from his character. Hes a millennium old sentient being, he should be over petty emotions. The forerunner beastiary describe the flood having a phaseof being feral before the gravemind is formed. It would be neat to encounter a planet of feral and ruthless, vicious flood. Maybe at the end of the campaign/mission w.e. we see the gravemind form or something.

EDIT: I want to hear a kickass reboot of thr Devils...Monsters soundtrack.

[Warsaw]

The Flood in Halo 1 were feral. They sure weren't connected to the Delta Halo Gravemind, or they wouldn't have started trying to build another one out of the Keyes biomass. Still, the fact that they can collectively think and act at a higher level humanized them too much. It makes them more dangerous without a doubt, but getting absorbed into a collective that is still intelligent is not as bad as becoming consumed by a faceless, brainless tide. The Flood can at least contemplate the meaning of life, a zombie cannot.

And yes, we need more Devils...Monsters. That track was so iconic to the Flood. We got a Perilous Journey remaster for Halo 3, why no Devils...Monsters?


I'm not saying strolling past hordes of brainless zombies without worry is a good thing.

I was going to put "The Flood need to be scary and tough again." to my post, but I thought it wasn't necessary to add that from how I was reading it. I can see how without it, my view could be confused. :ugh:

Yeah, with so many opinions being tossed around it's best to be specific in a thread like this. Normally I'm pretty good at reading tone through the internet, but it's better safe than sorry,

[Ki11a_FTW]

The flood in Halo 1 and 2 downright scared the hell out of me. I played Halo 1 when it came out years ago and was generally afraid to play the game after 343 guilty spark. Halo 2 freaked me out even more, especially in Sacred Icon, with the screams and what-not that they don't use in Halo 1. Now that I look at it, 343 Guilty Spark over all had to be the most terrifying level out of the entire series. The Library was indeed frightening however it was very repeated and kinda empty other than hordes of flood. Halo 3 flood were LOL. They were pretty scary visually, however whoever made it so you can melee through hordes of them should have been fired.

343 should have taken a point to make other games in the Halo universe.. not just continuing with chief. There are so many areas of Halo's story you could turn into a game.

-Harvest
-Johnson(multiple games could follow him)
-An ODST sequel or prequel. (As long as Buck is included)
-Masterchief on Reach

I'm sure many more that I can't think of.

[Dwood]

I'll put up 100k doge coin for the person that can make me freak out from the flood again with a mod or something.

[Warsaw]

The tone of 343 Guilty Spark was creepy, and the tone of The Library was desperate. My problem with Halo 2 flood is that they were too few in number. Carrier forms hardly let out any infection forms and they went *splat* instead of *bang* when they exploded. It was...lame. The screams were pretty terrifying, though.

I would love to have another game in the same format as ODST. I loved the open-world roaming and flashback levels. And the music!

[Ki11a_FTW]

There are actually tons of fans wanting a followup on Bucks story, who knows if 343 will ever do anything, they seem to want to almost entirely ditch bungie's characters.

[Warsaw]

343i is intent on burying everything Bungie did, good and bad. They are out to prove that they can handle Halo, and I'm willing to admit that they know how to handle the gameplay. What they suck at is story. I'd rather they leave ODST alone and just make another game in the same format with completely new characters and stuff.

Also, while we're at it, they should completely scrap Halo's legacy weapon-set and make a new, more focused set.

[ODX]

Here's my idea: Make a game about Johnson, take heavy inspiration from Republic Commando. Instant fucking profit. Seriously I'm surprised no one yet has done something like Republic Commando did or at least if they have then I'm not aware of it or they didn't do it very well. Shit would work super well with Halo I thinks.

Also going back further to the Library, that levels was fucking fun honestly. Fully loaded 60+12 round shotgun and plasma rifle, non-stop shooting, super adrenaline with some breaks spread throughout. Was and still is fucking awesome.

[Tnnaas]

Speaking of Johnson, how do you think he'll look with Sabre Interactive's new Mustache 2.0 engine working the upper portion of his cigar chomper?

[Ki11a_FTW]

So I'm seeing tons of people willing to spend $500 for an xbone for H2A, most of them more excited for H2A then Halo 5. Which I must say, I'm on board. I would kill to go back to when Halo 2 came out. Halo 3 ODST was the last great Halo game IMO.

If 343 takes Halo 2's initial style and just refines it and makes it next gen, I will pay $500 and whatever the game costs. Mainly if the original MP is included.

343 needs to pull some fancy shit for Halo 5.. get Benjamin Burnley back in there to make another kickass song.

[Dwood]

I'm not paying $500 for a console- i'd have to buy a tv and extra controllers for $60 for 1 game ( or $50 used at gamestop) When I just spent ~$1200 bucks for this system and the crappy monitor. (4k, please come down to 600 at 24-30 inches). I can buy any game i want on pc on steam or humblebundle OR gog for cheap, especially during a steam sale. nope nope nope.

[Warsaw]

If you have a monitor that can do HDMI and has audio out (not necessarily built-in speakers), you don't need to buy a TV.

That said, even $500 for one game is ridiculous. But if enough people are willing to do that, it becomes a viable market to pursue.

[Rosco]

I'm not paying $500 for a console- i'd have to buy a tv and extra controllers for $60 for 1 game ( or $50 used at gamestop) When I just spent ~$1200 bucks for this system and the crappy monitor. (4k, please come down to 600 at 24-30 inches). I can buy any game i want on pc on steam or humblebundle OR gog for cheap, especially during a steam sale. nope nope nope.

http://www.whathifi.com/news/bush-4k-tv-on-sale-in-argos-for-£500

you'll be super excited for this summer then

[Dwood]

http://www.whathifi.com/news/bush-4k-tv-on-sale-in-argos-for-£500

you'll be super excited for this summer then

We're getting there! Though there already is a 4k tv for $400. (http://techreport.com/blog/25929/you-can-snag-a-39-4k-display-for-404) It's just I want something in the sub-30 inches range.
added link with edit.

[Rosco]

We're getting there! Though there already is a 4k tv for $400. (http://techreport.com/blog/25929/you-can-snag-a-39-4k-display-for-404) It's just I want something in the sub-30 inches range.
added link with edit.

yes the bush tv i linked to is a rebrand of that tv :D

[Ki11a_FTW]

Blah
http://www.gamezone.com/news/2014/02/21/halo-5-is-coming-this-year-oxm-claims

[Rosco]

Blah
http://www.gamezone.com/news/2014/02/21/halo-5-is-coming-this-year-oxm-claims

"Gib1997 (http://www.gamezone.com/users/gib1997)
commented less than a minute ago
I just bought the magazine to check it out. Waste of money. There's three new bits of concept art that show nothing important, and even the article admits it could just be a beta this year. They completely dismiss the fact that they insist on referring to it as "Halo for Xbox One" rather than Halo 5, even though this is reason for many to believe that it's Halo 2 Anniversary instead. Don't bother with it."


fear not!

[Dwood]

So, what's the likelihood of someone tricking win8 to pretend to be an xbOne?

[Ki11a_FTW]

"Gib1997 (http://www.gamezone.com/users/gib1997)
commented less than a minute ago
I just bought the magazine to check it out. Waste of money. There's three new bits of concept art that show nothing important, and even the article admits it could just be a beta this year. They completely dismiss the fact that they insist on referring to it as "Halo for Xbox One" rather than Halo 5, even though this is reason for many to believe that it's Halo 2 Anniversary instead. Don't bother with it."


fear not!

thank god, i posted that from my phone so i didn't get to see the full website

[itszutak]

little bit of a bump but since it's an actual thing now figured this'd be the best thread for this--anyhow:

SO WHO'S READY FOR PREORDER EXCLUSIVES

http://www.ebgames.ca/xbox-one/games/halo-the-master-chief-collection-with-exclusive-bonus/319692

http://www.amazon.com/Halo-Master-Chief-Collection-Xbox-One/dp/B00KSQHX1K/

ONLY WAY TO GET ALL THE SKULLS oh wait no you can't because Gamestop gets the Bandana skull and Amazon gets the Pinata skull. Can't get both unless you preorder the goddamn game twice or hope for someone to put a key up on ebay or something

editing your post because someone on steam wants to know if edit post is broken

help moderators are using me as a puppet for their tests

[Kornman00]

I'm sure they'll put those skulls up as DLC soon after launch, or at-launch

[itszutak]

The grunt funeral skull was never made available by DLC

[Tnnaas]

A master collection you say?

My master collection is Halo: Combat Evolved-4 and the only disk I'm missing is Halo 2 Vista. I even have all of the limited edition disks.

Can 343i even get on my level? I'll throw down in the ring with Frankie 1v1 me m88888888888888888 u 2 scurred?? I sppok u like a scurry skelinten

[=sw=warlord]

A true master collection deserves a master system to play on.

http://gamester81.com/wp-content/uploads/Sega-Master-System-Set.jpg

[Rosco]

can play tower of power on ascension with slotguns again :neckbeard:






:gonk:

[itszutak]

http://i.imgur.com/7CWkHsL.png

So it looks like the H2A mp stuff we saw was on the remastered maps for forging, neat

[Higuy]

so Halo PC maps confirmed. good.

I still really dont want to shell out 400$ for this though

[Zeph]

so Halo PC maps confirmed. good.

I still really dont want to shell out 400$ for this though
Then dont. Spend 400 bucks on another video card and praise GabeN

[PlasbianX]

Then dont. Spend 400 bucks on another video card and praise GabeN

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-SnyUNyfSXgU/AAAAAAAAAAI/AAAAAAAAABg/Kql6x6FEdSk/photo.jpg

[Kornman00]

I'm betting those remasted H2 maps are based in H4, which is how they inherit the Forge capabilities. In which case, there will be no 'press back for classic mode'.

Turns out Ruffian Games are the ones who worked on the XBO port for Spartan Assault. Makes sense they would work on the H3 and H4 ports. What's interesting is that all of these games originally last ran on DX9 and in 32-bit. Now they're on the XBO, meaning DX11/12 and 64-bit (there's no 32-bit 'emulation' like with Windows IIRC). I wonder if we'll be able to sv_say with these new dedicated servers :mech2:

I hope they do a post-mortem on their adventures in making the MCC, especially when it came to the tech.

[Kornman00]

I think it is worth noting that this infographic probably isn't actually official (I raised an eyebrow at that Regret quote at the end) http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=116544227&postcount=18298

[ODX]

All of that for $60 is actually a damn steal. Like holy shit that's really good holy hell wow. I mean I already have everything but I still want to get this.

Will eventually buy an Xbox One, still deciding on that. Maybe this holiday, who knows? I'm mainly waiting for Witcher 3 but I do want to play the beta.


Guess the Wii U will have to keep waiting until Zelda :[

[Amit]

To be very honest, I think the Master Chief collection is really what is going to tip a lot of old Halo fans into getting the XBone. Even my heart is being wrenched. Halo 1 & 2 co-op+ MP over the webz! ARRGGHHH.

[Ki11a_FTW]

Ideas I posted at facepunch:


I think people are looking over a really big part of what the Master Chief collection can hint towards. Think about it, every Halo Chief sided Campaign (1-4), every Halo multiplayer map (over 100 maps) all on one disc? Thats a lot of fucking data for one disc. We should be expecting a HUGE story in Halo 5. Imagine 35 different campaign levels? Maybe one perspective in chiefs, one in lockes, one in arbiters. The fact they squeezed 4 entire Halo games on one disc and can now make it a single game shows that Halo 5 could be the greatest Halo adventure, surpassing even the greatest expectations were having. COULD being a key word there, if 343 invests the time and effort, there is no excuse for what I just said not happening.


those last 4 games were built around last-gen consoles and technology. I don't believe they had the ability to push even close to 50gb of content for the last gen consoles. I could be wrong though. Halo 4 was pushing the storage with the amount of detail and visuals alone, (which is why MP was on a seperate disc) and the campaign was pretty short.

[Kornman00]

The PS3 has had 25/50GiB discs for years now...not all games use up the entirety of a SL/DL disc. I believe part of the reason they fucked the Covie dialogue was because there was no room to localize grunts/elites/brutes/etc. Now they have no excuse to not at least re-use all those old localized silly grunts calling you names and crying like babies.

[Zeph]

Ideas I posted at facepunch:
Engine size isn't really that big. Game assets are the largest part of a game's size. The biggest offenders there are uncompressed audio and lossless texture sources. The advancement of game quality had traditionally been the increase of available graphics memory and the bandwidth to process on it. Now, developers have damn near as much memory as they could want to use and the limitation is in how long it takes to run your draw calls.


When you've got a game that runs standalone on multiple discs, keep in mind that you've still got to have the engine and globally shared assets on both discs. I'd suggest the reason Halo 4 had a SP and a MP disc was because of the hourish of cutscene footage that was pegged between levels.

[Kornman00]

Last I checked, developers have access to 5 of the 8GB RAM available on the XBO. Meaning they could load ALL of H1X into memory and still have some bits left over...well, assuming the data was still 32-bit. Who knows how much 64-bit explodes uncompressed map files.

Depending on if they are going to release DLC maps for any of these games, they could have optimized how the cache system is used for XBO to facilitate jumping between engines. Eg, they could have a 'shared' cache file which has all the tags (not just art resources) which are used across all H1 maps and that is always loaded (would also save on disc space). Same thing for H2, etc. Then the actual campaign/MP maps would just have their specific scenario/bsp/art data that is loaded as needed (weapons, etc would exist in the hypothetical 'shared' cache). In a way, it would be *kind of* similar to what H2V did for MP maps.

Pretty sure H4 used one of the discs as an 'install' disc, which copied all of the MP and SPOPs maps to the HDD (from Disc2). Then Disc1, the 'play disc', had all of the campaign maps. The MP/SPOPs maps on the Disc2 were 3.3GB-ish by themselves (not counting the Wwise sound banks or the shared cache files, which are both present on each disc). The campaign maps account for 3.9GB of space. Both the prologue and epilogue maps are less than 60MB each. Doing the cutscenes in-engine doesn't really require that much.

However, they did have 1GB of bink movies. They had two .bik files for the epilogue, one for 'normal', the other for legendary. Each weighed in at about 130MB. Guess it didn't matter much since they probably already realized they would be riding on two discs by then anyway.

[ODX]

Yeah, you had to install the second disk to put all the MP maps on the HDD, then just play through Disk1 which had campaign.

Curious enough, the Spartan Ops videos are streamed actually. The maps are downloaded, but not the videos. At least as far as my experience goes/remembers, sometimes my video quality would be toliet-like or stop entirely when I would watch them on my Xbox. If the cutscenes were only 1GB like you've said, I would figure the Spartan Ops ones should be less and should've just been shoved in with the download.


I dunno, we'll see what they'll do with Halo 5 but by this point it seems like it'll be one disk, downloading additional Spartan Ops if that keeps up the same way.

[Kornman00]

The SPOPs videos were probably streamed since they were already pushing Disc2's limits IIRC. Also, Season 1.5 was still a WIP, so it would make sense from a publishing standpoint to just stream the video content rather than ship on 3 discs or explode DLC sizes. There's also the issue of audio localization (not sure if they did face mo-cap for anything besides english), which streaming offloads to the server instead of requiring the client to have to download.

[ODX]

Ah that all makes sense, cause I was gonna ask why you didn't just download the videos to the second half to the season but that clears it up or at least makes sense.

Kornman is Smartman.

[Cortexian]

Liars. It doesn't have ALL of the Halo CE maps. :maddowns:

[Kornman00]

It does too have all the Halo Combat Evolved maps :downs:

[Tnnaas]

But muh Death Island. Does it have that? Ice Fields? Infinity? Gephyrophpbia?

Needs confirmation of all Halo: Combat Evolved maps before I buy or 0/10. :v

(still not buying tho)

[=sw=warlord]

Needs Church and Portent.

[Kornman00]

Yes, it's been confirmed that HPC and H2V maps will be included.

I'm surprised no one here has cried about if HA10 will have HPC's leading or not. Which I'm betting it won't.

[Cortexian]

But Kornholeman they said they didn't touch the original engine(s), doesn't that mean netcode?

o wait Halo 1 didn't have netcode.

Well shit.

Kornholeman please port the new good netcode from HA10 to OpenSauce thank

[Ki11a_FTW]

HA10 was built off the PC version of the game. I'm assuming that includes the net code. The net code was updated in HA10 for 360, for coop. I'm guessing it'll playout the same for Mp.

[Kornman00]

Not likely, as campaign in Halo as always required lockstep synchronization (one of the reasons why you can't join a level midgame). Competitive MP runs on an asynchronous model.

edit: Oh wait, you mean "play out" as in they'll just do some updates for MP net code as well, I think. Nvm

343i are the ones who developed the networking for MCC apparently (I imagine the dedis share a common infrastructure). But for HA10, they could have also just got Saber to just jury rig their Saber3D networking to support Halo1's very minimalistic needs.

At the end of the day, I don't expect them to be using the 'messsage delta' system GBX made for PC, even if HA10 is based on HPC 1.0

[=sw=warlord]

It wouldn't surprise me if they went the route of Ha10 and reach in that the MP was a version of Reach with remade maps in the newer engine.
That would solve a lot of problems but also means BXR and super bounce in H2A MP is out of the question.

[Kornman00]

The original H2 maps will be in the original engine, just as H1's maps, but I'm betting the 6 H2 "anniversary" maps will be in the H4 engine (as they support Forge/Theater)

[ODX]

Judging by the look and the weapon reanimation (which was one of the Halo 4 animators), it looked like the 6 remastered MP maps for Halo 2 were in Halo 4's engine, much the same as Ha10's remastered maps were in Reach.

But yeah, everything else will apparently be done on it's own original engine, save for optimization updates for Xbox One. Get excite.

[PlasbianX]

Judging by the look and the weapon reanimation (which was one of the Halo 4 animators), it looked like the 6 remastered MP maps for Halo 2 were in Halo 4's engine, much the same as Ha10's remastered maps were in Reach.

But yeah, everything else will apparently be done on it's own original engine, save for optimization updates for Xbox One. Get excite.

I do believe they said for sure that the six were running in H4's engine.

[Atty]

I do believe they said for sure that the six were running in H4's engine.I can't find the article but one of the development staff confirmed it was "an engine built specifically to run on the Xbox One" which has lead most to believe its the Halo 5 engine or what will be the Halo 5 engine once its finished.

[Kornman00]

I can't see the sense in involving yet another branch of code, and to extent resources, when they have H4 right there already. There would be no sense in them worrying about backporting MCC to the 360 (as it's just technically infeasible), and I'm more than sure H4 was developed still with next-gen in mind, so I really don't see why it just isn't the H4 engine (which is now designed to run on the XBO...specifically, if they truly are doing a PC port later). I'm pretty sure this mysterious quote is just them covering their ass from saying "yeah, H2A maps are running in the H4 engine, inheriting features like Forge, etc" causing the hard core fans to freak the fuck out that it will somehow magically suffer from what they may think are H4's design flaws.

[Cortexian]

hi is this available on pc yet

[leorimolo]

hi is this available on pc yet
They keep saying the same thing "Our focus in on XB1 right now"

[Zeph]

I can't find the article but one of the development staff confirmed it was "an engine built specifically to run on the Xbox One" which has lead most to believe its the Halo 5 engine or what will be the Halo 5 engine once its finished.

Lol it's Atty.

[Kornman00]

and he's almost grown into her it

[Ki11a_FTW]

Q-PtjomjQ-Y

[CabooseJr]

Coagulation is being remade. Shocker! :downs:

Also
http://a.pomf.se/ayqnni.gif

[Kornman00]

Oh hey, they finally brought back location names in the HUD

[TeeKup]

Q-PtjomjQ-Y

Goddamnit. I want more.

[Cortexian]

I've literally seen better fan made CGI for other games.

More proof that Halo MC Collection is just minimal effort for maximum profits scamming.

[Warsaw]

That is not really a good comparison to draw since that was more like animated matte paintings.

[Zeph]

That is not really a good comparison to draw since that was more like animated matte paintings.
No, that was rigged 3D. The 2d animated paintings they use at least look halfway decent as its own style.

[Rentafence]

Wow that animation was terrible. Fucking look at the elite throwing the marine. Looks like total shit. Brb posting this on reddit so I can get downvoted.

[Warsaw]

No, that was rigged 3D. The 2d animated paintings they use at least look halfway decent as its own style.

I know it was rigged 3D, but the way they textured it and lit it was distinctly flat. Yup, could tell it wasn't actually flat, but only because it was in motion.

[Zeph]

I know it was rigged 3D, but the way they textured it and lit it was distinctly flat. Yup, could tell it wasn't actually flat, but only because it was in motion.
no, you can tell from the horrible texel density descrepancy. they're also using generic shaders.

[Amit]

Better call the police. Or better yet, call Snaf.

[Kornman00]

Better Call Snaul

[Cortexian]

better release on pc so we can fix it

[Ki11a_FTW]

AgLj-vXmrmM

[Lateksi]

Oh the almighty holy shit.

[Zeph]

if only the gameplay wasn't so horrible

[CabooseJr]

Zanzibar's being remade. SHOCKER!:realsmug:

http://i.imgur.com/Y2qrSBq.jpg

Rest of the images: http://imgur.com/a/vgUkz

[ODX]

The cutscenes look uncomfortably good and realistic. Really thrown off by the elites, mainly. Too wrinkly, and Johnson...Miranda, etc, this'll take some getting used to. But I'm sure I'll enjoy it once I see them.

I really like Cortana's design actually.

[Cortexian]

So Master Chief Collection is coming out on PC right? Right Microsoft? You're gonna make the intellegint choice and sell to all your customers not just some of them? Right? Please?

[PopeAK49]

Halo suxs.

[Kornman00]

Destiny r0x

[Amit]

Destiny in 30FPS because old console plebs. At least we PC Gamers didn't get shafted BECAUSE DESTINY ISN'T ON PC :smithicide:

[Kornman00]

Yeah, but at least it's up to Activision to develop any PC ports. And they have a track record of not hating PC. And the game/engine seems to not entirely be entirely designed with "console" in mind (how about that cursor, eh?)

[Kornman00]

An interesting quote that may or may not be in relation to games, but was still said either way:


“I want to transform how people experience ‘Halo’ in their living rooms and on their PCs.” That doesn’t mean creating content for content’s sake. “We will never do anything that doesn't move the universe forward,” Wolfkill added. “We won't do something for the sake of being in a certain medium.” Transmedia storytelling be damned.
I bolded the bold part.

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/stories/people/kiki-wolfkill.html

[PopeAK49]

An interesting quote that may or may not be in relation to games, but was still said either way:


I bolded the bold part.

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/stories/people/kiki-wolfkill.html

Yo dawg, I heard you like bolding your bold, so I bolded your bold.

[Amit]

Yeah, but at least it's up to Activision to develop any PC ports. And they have a track record of not hating PC. And the game/engine seems to not entirely be entirely designed with "console" in mind (how about that cursor, eh?)

Not sure if sarcasm. Activision does hate PC (but still wants the monies).

[Kornman00]

by "not hating" I meant in a fashion like MS where they strive to keep their besting selling game on a single confined platform instead of branching out.

[Cortexian]

I can understand the mentality of wanting to keep a game on their gaming platform to sell more platforms... But aren't they shooting themselves in the foot by not releasing it on PC? All the PC gamers I know either outright refuse to buy consoles or console games, or they also own every current console because they're not filthy peasants and have money to afford everything...

Maybe I've been limited in my exposure to certain types of people, but releasing on PC seems like a pretty sure way of acquiring currency.

[t3h m00kz]

All the PC gamers I know either outright refuse to buy consoles or console games, or they also own every current console because they're not filthy peasants and have money to afford everything...

which are you

I'm kinda the latter. screw this next gen though

last time I was remotely interested in the next new console was, like, the ps2

[Donut]

I can understand the mentality of wanting to keep a game on their gaming platform to sell more platforms... But aren't they shooting themselves in the foot by not releasing it on PC? All the PC gamers I know either outright refuse to buy consoles or console games, or they also own every current console because they're not filthy peasants and have money to afford everything...

Maybe I've been limited in my exposure to certain types of people, but releasing on PC seems like a pretty sure way of acquiring currency.
It's even more ridiculous considering Microsoft wants to move all of its devices to one, unified operating system to make cross-platform development easier. You'd think that would mean they care more about PC.

Also, I could afford to buy a console if I wanted it. That's precisely why I don't own one. I don't want to play a shooter with a controller.

[Kornman00]

So, there will be LAN support http://teambeyond.net/master-chief-collection-will-support-lan/

However, since the goddamn xbox apparently can't do offline (even though I thought this was 360'd last year), your LAN will require an internet connection in order for your goddammitbox to suck the teet of LIVE. I mean ping LIVE.

[Zeph]

Wait, xbone has no offline profiles? So you can't use it at all if it doesn't ping Live?

[ODX]

Sanctuary Reveal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HS05fe6KUfA

Sanctuary Walkthrough

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdzPsdS44ng

Sanctuary and Ascension Gameplay some guy capture

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5NuBpeACVA

Initial Delta Halo Walkthrough

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hl_Nyk0-pu4

Delta Halo Walkthrough

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWPb59brgTE

Delta Halo No Commentary Walkthrough

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84F27ZbrPHo

The Halo Channel Reveal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSfqF7SOva8&list=UU7NCg0venpKJg3kuJojKlbQ

[Rosco]

dunno about you guys but when i saw that SMG i saw this:
3352

H2CE's revamped SMG.

Not sure if good or bad

[Amit]

Tbh, the H2CE SMG looks almost exactly the same as the original H2 SMG to me. The H2A SMG is vastly different:

http://i.imgur.com/TQqDe6A.jpg?1 VS http://i.imgur.com/cGv6iJD.jpg?1

[Kornman00]

343 rips

[Tnnaas]

CMT 343i give us the tags.

[Warsaw]

343i going for that hardcore, hard-edged, super-real look bro.

[Patrickssj6]

TtcTwVhfLQY

[Pyong Kawaguchi]

i came

[ChemicalFizz]

Looks great, but are a lot of those still Halo 4 placeholders?

[Donut]

I'm not sure how to word this, but it seems like each sequential release of Halo get more and more over the top. Like, I really notice it in all the awards popping up on the HUD, Hollywoodish gun firing sounds (mostly the Battle Rifle. I like the SMG's sound) and the announcer's voice. Like when he yells "SLAYER!". Compare that to the way he says slayer in the original game (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQueLe5XbIM). Just seems like a very fake and unnecessary level of enthusiasm.

I realize that's purely an aesthetic issue, but I just don't like it. Guess I'm just old school.

[Kornman00]

The VoG's level of enthusiasm is directly proportional to that of fanboy hype. The more fanboys bounce of the walls for new Halo crap, the more enthused he will sound.

:mech2:

[PopeAK49]

:mech:

[Kornman00]

Good news, everyone! H4's weapons will still despawn the second they leave your field of view!

:mech:

Somehow that was a design decision and they felt it was important to leave in verbatim.

[TeeKup]

I don't know about you guys but that Sniper Rifle sounds terrifying.

[ODX]

Good news, everyone! H4's weapons will still despawn the second they leave your field of view!

:mech:

Somehow that was a design decision and they felt it was important to leave in verbatim.We talking about in the Halo 2 Anniversary maps this will happen? Or just the normal Halo 4 game will still have this to "encourage ordnance drops" or some bullshit? Because if this is in the reimagined maps then holy fuck they don't get it do they.

[Kornman00]

As far as I can tell, the H2A crap is redone using the H4 engine, but there has been some talk of it being an early version of what they're using for H5 (but that just sounds like added technical and QA pressure, so if anything it's a modified H4 setup). Either way, IDK if the behavior will still be there, but I believe they have posted videos of matches on the H2A maps so you can see for yourself.

[ODX]

I feel like it shouldn't be in there seeing as it was a design choice in relation to loadouts and ordnance drops, of which neither exist in the revamped maps so I would think they would keep "dead" weapons on map for a while longer. And please yes have this be how Halo 5 is done seeing as they keep toting of "bringing back arena."

[Warsaw]

I'm not sure how to word this, but it seems like each sequential release of Halo get more and more over the top. Like, I really notice it in all the awards popping up on the HUD, Hollywoodish gun firing sounds (mostly the Battle Rifle. I like the SMG's sound) and the announcer's voice. Like when he yells "SLAYER!". Compare that to the way he says slayer in the original game (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQueLe5XbIM). Just seems like a very fake and unnecessary level of enthusiasm.

I realize that's purely an aesthetic issue, but I just don't like it. Guess I'm just old school.

I thought the SMG and pistol sounded awesome. Sniper rifle and battle rifle were butts, as were explosives.

Also, why the heck do particles still clip through geometry in 2014?

[Rosco]

Tbh, the H2CE SMG looks almost exactly the same as the original H2 SMG to me. The H2A SMG is vastly different:

http://i.imgur.com/TQqDe6A.jpg?1 VS http://i.imgur.com/cGv6iJD.jpg?1

i prefer the original smg, less going on !!

[Amit]

!!!!!