Halo PC - New Details?

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StormFront

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Does anyone have any REAL details on the Halo engine for PC? How updated is it?

Rumours abound that it is full-on DX9 with a totally reworked physics engine? Is this true?
 
Originally posted by StormFront
Does anyone have any REAL details on the Halo engine for PC? How updated is it?

Rumours abound that it is full-on DX9 with a totally reworked physics engine? Is this true?

no game coming out will be FULL on dx9...

it will likely have a lot of dx9 shaders... it will probably utilise dx9 for trees/grass/sky/water or partial precision for the like...

the xbox version was designed with auto-aim and to ensure you didn't have to aim too high/low... generally keeping everything in a horizontal sweep...

the aiming system will have been tweaked... teh physics engine seemed to be pretty good with the original but I will take your word for it since I have not followed up on that...

keep us posted on any new info you find m8 :)

cheers...
 
Re: Re: Halo PC - New Details?

Originally posted by Sazar
no game coming out will be FULL on dx9...

it will likely have a lot of dx9 shaders... it will probably utilise dx9 for trees/grass/sky/water or partial precision for the like...

the xbox version was designed with auto-aim and to ensure you didn't have to aim too high/low... generally keeping everything in a horizontal sweep...

the aiming system will have been tweaked... teh physics engine seemed to be pretty good with the original but I will take your word for it since I have not followed up on that...

keep us posted on any new info you find m8 :)

cheers...

In other words, it'll be almost impossible to run on a gf mx400? :eek:
Dang, gotta save up again...

Edit:
Got this from a GameSpot article:
"There are, however, very noticeable improvements in Halo's graphics, particularly in the character and vehicle models. The resolution can be turned all the way up to 1600x1200, and the game's textures look much sharper and more defined than they ever did on the Xbox. Pitchford was quick to point out that the graphics have been overhauled to take advantage of DirectX 9.0 features. Specifically, the game's shaders have all been rewritten to conform to pixel shader 2.0 standards. Zooming in close to a grunt, we noted specular-mapping and bump-mapping effects on the grunt's gold-colored armor, giving it a glistening sheen over a very granular surface. Similar effects can be seen on the plating of many vehicles, such as the scorpion tank and the ghost."
Halo Preview - Halo: Combat Evolved
 
Re: Re: Re: Halo PC - New Details?

Originally posted by Ragnarok
In other words, it'll be almost impossible to run on a gf mx400? :eek:
Dang, gotta save up again...

Edit:
Got this from a GameSpot article:
"There are, however, very noticeable improvements in Halo's graphics, particularly in the character and vehicle models. The resolution can be turned all the way up to 1600x1200, and the game's textures look much sharper and more defined than they ever did on the Xbox. Pitchford was quick to point out that the graphics have been overhauled to take advantage of DirectX 9.0 features. Specifically, the game's shaders have all been rewritten to conform to pixel shader 2.0 standards. Zooming in close to a grunt, we noted specular-mapping and bump-mapping effects on the grunt's gold-colored armor, giving it a glistening sheen over a very granular surface. Similar effects can be seen on the plating of many vehicles, such as the scorpion tank and the ghost."
Halo Preview - Halo: Combat Evolved

not true... :)

hl2 is highly scalable... hence it will play all the way down to dx7 level cards.. which is what the gf4mx is...

the dx9 shaders are in the high quality settings... I spose...

you can play on med or low settings... won't look as good but you will still enjoy the game :)
 
I'm playing the beta right now. My GF4 Ti 4200 isn't running the DX9 shaders, but it produces a reasonable framerate and better-looking textures than what you saw on the X-Box even with the DX8/8.1 shaders.

With the DX8 shaders looking as good as they do at 800x600, I want to see what happens when I get my Radeon 9800 Pro and Athlon XP 3000+!

As far as the physics engine goes, I haven't played Halo on the X Box in over a year, so I don't have recent memory to compare the feel of it.
 
Originally posted by HandyBuddy
I'm playing the beta right now. My GF4 Ti 4200 isn't running the DX9 shaders, but it produces a reasonable framerate and better-looking textures than what you saw on the X-Box even with the DX8/8.1 shaders.

With the DX8 shaders looking as good as they do at 800x600, I want to see what happens when I get my Radeon 9800 Pro and Athlon XP 3000+!

this has a lot to do with the resolutions :)

you are not playing as high a resolution on your xbox...

the thing you do get with the xbox is free aa/af depending on the situation..

your card can't run ps 2.0 (dx9 shaders... the most popular ones it appears :) ) but you can run ps 1.1/1.3

your card is a dx 8.0 class card... therefore you should get most of the effects.. just not some of the ps 2.0 specific ones... such as overbright features and textures/shaders on trees/grass and the like... sky/water as well...

all dx9 games are compatible with previous classes of hardware... or should be... so long as the previous class is of a certain standard...
 
Originally posted by Sazar
this has a lot to do with the resolutions :)

Absolutely! I tested one scene with Fraps, and I got over 60 fps at 640x480, over 50 fps at 800x600, and less than 10 fps at 1600x1200 :rolleyes:

High framerates make it look kinda weird.
 
Well we went gold a couple days ago I must say it beats Halo on Xbox by all means hands down Looks better runs smoother and is alot funner, you guys will enjoy this game 100%.
 
ohhh and its prolly the best looking game that will come out this year since HL2 and doom 3 were pushed back (or am I mistaken?) my NDA go up in a few days also I could provide screen shots for your guys and tell you some of the cooler features :)
 
I must be getting cynical or something. I hear what you guys are saying but, to be honest, the screenies I have seen of Halo PC.... well... they stink!

It looks like the same game but in a higher resolution! The aweful, aweful, aweful character models and animation are still there and the total lack of real time lighting is starting to become glaring ('scuse the pun:eek:)

I realy want to enjoy this game. HELL, I wanted to ejoy it when it was SUPPOSED to be launched on 2000!(Billy Gates may you rot in hell!!!:mad: ). But unless it is brought in line with the current level of PC plaforms.... it is just gonna look damned silly. I mean comparing it to the Karma engine or the Source engine or whatever the hell the STALKER engine is called it is archaic.

And all this before we even approach the subject of undoing all the 'dumbing down' that took place once it was confirmed as an XBOX game...

I dunno.... really not convinced......:confused:
 
No matter how you feel about what you've seen or heard, I urge you not to miss out on this game! :D
 
I know I know... Lets face it: I'll play anything. I'm an addict!! :D ;)



And I do want to see what all the fuss is about without mucking about with one of those crappy XBOX controllers..... ugh:p
 
Originally posted by StormFront
I must be getting cynical or something. I hear what you guys are saying but, to be honest, the screenies I have seen of Halo PC.... well... they stink!

It looks like the same game but in a higher resolution! The aweful, aweful, aweful character models and animation are still there and the total lack of real time lighting is starting to become glaring ('scuse the pun:eek:)

I realy want to enjoy this game. HELL, I wanted to ejoy it when it was SUPPOSED to be launched on 2000!(Billy Gates may you rot in hell!!!:mad: ). But unless it is brought in line with the current level of PC plaforms.... it is just gonna look damned silly. I mean comparing it to the Karma engine or the Source engine or whatever the hell the STALKER engine is called it is archaic.

And all this before we even approach the subject of undoing all the 'dumbing down' that took place once it was confirmed as an XBOX game...

I dunno.... really not convinced......:confused:

dynamic lighting... or real time lighting (I will use the latter term wrt doom3) will likely bring a game with as many open vista's as halo to a crawl on today's video cards... therefore it is probably better for there not to be real time shadows and the like... just the regular generated ones...

with that said I quite enjoyed the graphics of halo when it came out on xbox... you have to remember the xbox version was originally a pc game that was redesigned for the xbox (the might m$ talking)

the pc version looks to be decent enough.. depending on your choice of video cards... I must say the r3xx cards from ati do render it in more detail and vibrance than on the xbox... I have the xbox version so I don't know if I want to buy halo for pc... but I will check out the demo and then decide... :)

btw... I have posted a news article on the front page..

http://www.ntfs.org/index.php?action=news&catid=4#news7843

refer to it for some initial benchmarks but pay particularly close attention to the IQ or the total lack of it on gf FX cards from nvidia... dx8 card owners should get similar IQ to that of the gf FX using det 5x.xx's... but perhaps not as dark...
 
ummmm how old is that article....... we have been in Beta 2 for a good 2, 2 1/2 months now. this article is moot the build is almost 3 months old and it shows because the 9800pro only gets 60fps at 1024x768 and my 9700pro gets damn near 90+ with all options on high at the same res. and the game was real ugly in beta 1.5 on both nvidia and ati cards. and I have both so I know.
 
Originally posted by Krux
ummmm how old is that article....... we have been in Beta 2 for a good 2, 2 1/2 months now. this article is moot the build is almost 3 months old and it shows because the 9800pro only gets 60fps at 1024x768 and my 9700pro gets damn near 90+ with all options on high at the same res. and the game was real ugly in beta 1.5 on both nvidia and ati cards. and I have both so I know.

that was a beta 1.5 bench...

have any information on your end concerning gf FX performance.. I am expecting it to be... in pure ps 2.0 situations.. around 3-5 times slower w/o optimzations for a partial precision path..

the article is the first one I have seen where they have released information with a few dx9 benches (and no.. gunmetal is NOT a dx9 benchmark... though it does have one slighlty longer register or shader or something to make it seem dx9... thats all b$ )

ah well... check out the other article I posted from anandtech on the front page.. they have some benches there too for dx9...

remember we are not privy to what goes on in beta testing though I am itching to sign up with the ati program...

we have to wait for information as and when the nda's are lifted meaning most of us have to deal with information a lot older than that which beta testers deal with :)
 
Halo 1.5 beta runs like Crap on my System, well In firefights it does anyway.

and my system is Highly capable id say!
 
Originally posted by Flatbeat_Eddy
Halo 1.5 beta runs like Crap on my System, well In firefights it does anyway.

and my system is Highly capable id say!

It aint the 200 FPS I'm used to, but it's OK on my system... and your graphics card beats mine up just for the fun of it. ;)

I have a GF3Ti200, not OCed.

Are you sure you're not just over-reacting?
 
not quite, considering there aiming this game at a september launch where even the most powerful rigs will struggle, Its plain BS.

look at it, It only has an advantage in Resolution over the Xbox version and at High res It stinks even with a Gfx card 2 times better than what the xbox was using (nvidia cheaters :p) nothing is different, None of these DX9 shaders they were talkign about its Visually the same Apart from its terrible performance on high end rigs.

think ill stick to my xbox, or Dl halo before buying it!! (not warez, call it a Demo :))
 
Originally posted by Flatbeat_Eddy
look at it, It only has an advantage in Resolution over the Xbox version and at High res It stinks even with a Gfx card 2 times better than what the xbox was using (nvidia cheaters :p) nothing is different, None of these DX9 shaders they were talkign about its Visually the same Apart from its terrible performance on high end rigs.


This is exactly what I was afraid of... There is no drive to make this game any good. Microshaft have already made their cash and run, they are just throwing us scraps and (as usual) demanding a hefty wedge for the privelige....:mad:

I swear I am gonna boycott them and any game that has been through their accursed, blood-sucking console....
 

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