Halo PC

[DPDarkPrimus]

HALO is a good game, as I've said before, but do I play it a lot now? No. Unless I go to a friends house and do a LAN multiplayers session, it doesn't go into the X-Box.

[YT300000]

I only have the demo, which my mom is watching me play, and evaluating if the game is appropriate ( ). The demo has The Silent Cartographer mission.

Anyway, there is a base where a bunch of grunts and an elite are standing in a rough cluster. I was driving a Warthog, full throttle, straight at them. Right before they saw me, I skidded sideways, bailed out, and watched the M-12 roll right into them, wiping out about half of the Covies. Rolling as in flipping.

[Alyeska]

Flawlessness? Exactly how is it flawless?
Lame vehicle control, repetitive and few enemies and uninspired weapons, lame level design, somewhat below average graphics, inexcusably poor performance, shitty netcode (i can play BF1942 with 31 other players without any lag, but with Halo 8-10 players does the deal, even those firing at me have problems so i know it's not just me, and all kind of lag glitches happen, while pinging at <100 when i got in the server), multiplayer itself is only average.

If anything i would call it general mediocrity, it doesn't stand apart in any aspect, except, probably, hype.

Lame vehicle control? I did not like the controls at first, but after getting used to it I am rather happy with it. It is much more precise then standard keyboard control.

Few enemies? Half-Life had just as many. Poor graphics? Show me the other late 2001 games with graphics this good. Unispired weapons? Their meant to be realistic, this is a red herring. Lame level design? I guess you don't like having large levels without loading points. Large levels are a GOOD thing. The netcode is a byproduct of it being an X-Box port and you can place that blame squarely on Bungie and Microsofts feet.

[Shogoki]

Lame vehicle control? I did not like the controls at first, but after getting used to it I am rather happy with it. It is much more precise then standard keyboard control.

I like to be able to look and aim at places other than those I'm heading to, it helps you make decisions, casual vehicle control was done better before, in Codename Eagle.

Few enemies? Half-Life had just as many.

I remember the enemies not being just the same 3 or 4 enemies half the game, and 3 or 4 other enemies for the other half, at least it was not that damn repetitive, specially because a lot of halo's enemies do exactly the same thing, they just have different colors or a slightly different model. HL had the bosses too.

Poor graphics? Show me the other late 2001 games with graphics this good.

I never said it had poor graphics in 2001, though i take points away because it just ran on TV resolutions, making the graphics not as good, it's below average today, though it gets a boost for being playable at high res.
Anyway, games i think had better graphics in 2001:
Comanche 4
IL-2 Sturmovik
AquaNox
Max Payne
Black and White
As i said, Halo would not run smoothly on 2001 hardware at high res, and high res performance counts as a big part for me, what good is a game with a lot of graphic gimmickry if it's blurry and wont even work beyond tv resolutions, especially when we're talking about a FPS, it already had troubles keeping 30 fps at times. Put Halo on high res in 2001 hardware and you have to say goodbye to detail to a level even more 2001 games look better.

Unispired weapons? Their meant to be realistic, this is a red herring.

I find hard to believe a gun can have almost perfect accuracy when fired repetitively, you can even snipe with it on the pc, yet the assault rifle fires even the first shot wildly, and i mean the first shot as in standing still before firing, if this guy can fire a pistol so well why can't he fire just a single bullet straight with his rifle, i don't find this too realistic. I didn't mean the weapons were actually bad, just standard issue, nothing new, except for that crystal firing gun, too bad it's almost useless.

Lame level design? I guess you don't like having large levels without loading points. Large levels are a GOOD thing.

I never said i didn't like large levels, i loved Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight, it's levels are bigger than Halo's and i don't remember long loading times.
What i refer to as lame was the repetitiveness of them, the covenant ship levels were just the same corridor again and again, something different now and then. Same for the Pillar of Authum's levels, and some parts of the underground levels, and then comes the library, the most annoying game level i ever played, and then we have the covenant ship again, and the pillar again.

The netcode is a byproduct of it being an X-Box port and you can place that blame squarely on Bungie and Microsofts feet.

I don't think Halo is bad, i did say it was generally mediocre, it doesn't mean it's bad, it just does nothing that makes it stand up. I finished it once i im not at all compelled to do it again, on the other hand i got Max Payne 2, finished it, and i'm itching to go through it again.

[2000AD]

On the Level design, is it true that it seems to be a "copy and paste" job ?

[Sir Sirius]

On the Level design, is it true that it seems to be a "copy and paste" job ?

Yes. Dull level desing is HALO's greatest weakness.

[Sir Sirius]

Unispired weapons? Their meant to be realistic, this is a red herring.

Plasma weapons that fire blue or green globs of goo and are powered by "plasmatic energy" are realistic? What have you been smoking?

And then there is the pistol that is more powerfull, accurate and has greater range then the assault rifle.

[Slartibartfast]

And then there is the pistol that is more powerfull, accurate and has greater range then the assault rifle.

Yes, it's incredibly stupid. This was also like that in Marathon. Guess they wanted to keep all weapons usable, unlike most games where once you get a better gun, which uses the same rounds as the old gun, the old gun gets pretty much ignored. It's a gameplay thing, not exactly a realism thing.

[Sir Sirius]

Yes, it's incredibly stupid. This was also like that in Marathon. Guess they wanted to keep all weapons usable, unlike most games where once you get a better gun, which uses the same rounds as the old gun, the old gun gets pretty much ignored. It's a gameplay thing, not exactly a realism thing.

Then they should have replaced the pistol with a semi-automatic rifle and the assault rifle with a submachinegun, that way the arrengement would actualy have made sense.

[Clone Sergeant]

Then they should have replaced the pistol with a semi-automatic rifle and the assault rifle with a submachinegun, that way the arrengement would actualy have made sense.

That inconsistency in the human weapons always bothered me. But it appears Bungie has noticed the issue since they've replaced the pistol and assault rifle with the battle rifle and the smg in Halo 2.

[Shogoki]

And then there is the pistol that is more powerfull, accurate and has greater range then the assault rifle.

Hey! I got the answer! The pistol is modern Halo technology and the assault rifle is pre-ww2 technology with a fancy LCD! You see, the war destroyed their assault rifle factories and they had to use museum pieces, then they just put some case on top of them so they would look high tech.

[Alyeska]

Just a little FYI.

I am going to try and mod Halo at some point in the future. One of the first changes is upping the AR damage to 150% that of the pistol. Give it superior accuracy over the pistol and give it 2x zoom. Change the pistol to a 15 round clip and call it 11.5mm instead. Also remove the pistol zoom. Last of all make the pistol and automatic 3rd weapon always carried (that or swap it for the plasma pistol). This keeps the pistol useful in that you always have it, its accurate for close combat with a better clip, etc... This also greatly improves the assault rifle and makes it far more useful in combat. Hell, you could take down an Elite with little problem.

[Sir Sirius]

Yes, that would indeed improve the game. Might I also suggest that you shorten the time delay in the granades while your at it, it's bit too long as it is now.

[Shogoki]

Yeah, that would actually improve the game. How hard is it to do? Can you just edit some textfiles and be done with it?

[neoolong]

Just a little FYI.

I am going to try and mod Halo at some point in the future. One of the first changes is upping the AR damage to 150% that of the pistol. Give it superior accuracy over the pistol and give it 2x zoom. Change the pistol to a 15 round clip and call it 11.5mm instead. Also remove the pistol zoom. Last of all make the pistol and automatic 3rd weapon always carried (that or swap it for the plasma pistol). This keeps the pistol useful in that you always have it, its accurate for close combat with a better clip, etc... This also greatly improves the assault rifle and makes it far more useful in combat. Hell, you could take down an Elite with little problem.

That might make the game too easy if you just upped the damage.

[Alyeska]

Yeah, that would actually improve the game. How hard is it to do? Can you just edit some textfiles and be done with it?

The firepower issue should be relatively simple. The swaping of scopes should also be relatively easy. Thing is I need to learn how to do it (probably a hex editor). The hard part will be altering the accuracy (and also the cross hairs).

Some other ideas I'm playing with.

Put a dedicated grenade launcher into the game. A clip fed weapon with 6-10 rounds. There would be Warthog mod with this weapon as well.

Replace the flashlight in the AR with the built in grenade launcher originaly intended.

Put a flame thrower in the game.

Increase the clip size of the Sniper Rifle to 6-10 rounds.

Create a third Warthog mod that will house a RPG. Except this one will be identical to the RPG design from back in 2001, not the one Gearbox designed.

This is taking in mind the idea that the UNSC Marines are SUPPOSED to kick ass against the Convenant on the ground. With these mods the standard troops will actualy be able to take on Elites. With the other weapons, it will certainly make the game more interesting. Another thing I want to do is remove the grunts and Jackals. The game originaly only intended on you fighting Elites armed with different guns.

Last of all the sword would be usable.

[Alyeska]

Just a little FYI.

I am going to try and mod Halo at some point in the future. One of the first changes is upping the AR damage to 150% that of the pistol. Give it superior accuracy over the pistol and give it 2x zoom. Change the pistol to a 15 round clip and call it 11.5mm instead. Also remove the pistol zoom. Last of all make the pistol and automatic 3rd weapon always carried (that or swap it for the plasma pistol). This keeps the pistol useful in that you always have it, its accurate for close combat with a better clip, etc... This also greatly improves the assault rifle and makes it far more useful in combat. Hell, you could take down an Elite with little problem.

That might make the game too easy if you just upped the damage.

Not if the Plasma weapons also get a firepower upgrade.

[DeadM]

Another thing you could do is to make the missiles faster, in my opinion they seem to slow right now and that's the reason I hate being a gunner in a Rocket Warthog.

[Alyeska]

Another thing you could do is to make the missiles faster, in my opinion they seem to slow right now and that's the reason I hate being a gunner in a Rocket Warthog.

Good point. Its also a pain with the Wraith tanks dodge the missile attacks.

[Darth Wong]

Keep in mind that slow-moving missiles also increase your vulnerability to enemy rocket attacks in multiplayer and also in single-player during the Flood missions, where the Flood starts picking up and using rocket launchers. Currently, rocket launchers are of limited usefulness in multiplayer unless the enemy is either at close range or stupid enough to stop moving.

[YT300000]

Put a flame thrower in the game.

IIRC, thats already in MP, which should make your job easier.

[Utsanomiko]

Yeah, that would actually improve the game. How hard is it to do? Can you just edit some textfiles and be done with it?

The firepower issue should be relatively simple. The swaping of scopes should also be relatively easy. Thing is I need to learn how to do it (probably a hex editor). The hard part will be altering the accuracy (and also the cross hairs).

Some other ideas I'm playing with.

Put a dedicated grenade launcher into the game. A clip fed weapon with 6-10 rounds. There would be Warthog mod with this weapon as well.

Replace the flashlight in the AR with the built in grenade launcher originaly intended.

Put a flame thrower in the game.

Increase the clip size of the Sniper Rifle to 6-10 rounds.

Create a third Warthog mod that will house a RPG. Except this one will be identical to the RPG design from back in 2001, not the one Gearbox designed.

This is taking in mind the idea that the UNSC Marines are SUPPOSED to kick ass against the Convenant on the ground. With these mods the standard troops will actualy be able to take on Elites. With the other weapons, it will certainly make the game more interesting. Another thing I want to do is remove the grunts and Jackals. The game originaly only intended on you fighting Elites armed with different guns.

Last of all the sword would be usable.

From what I've read about Halo's up-coming editor, modding the game is basically a matter of opening up the the packaged data files contianing the relevant models and stats, filling in your own numbers, and telling the editor to repackage the data file. It's merely a matter of reading up on what you need to look for when opening them up and what stats do what.

[Alyeska]

Thats good to hear. Now they need only get it ready.

[Kuja]

I remember the enemies not being just the same 3 or 4 enemies half the game, and 3 or 4 other enemies for the other half, at least it was not that damn repetitive, specially because a lot of halo's enemies do exactly the same thing, they just have different colors or a slightly different model. HL had the bosses too.

I was glad Halo didn't include continuously stonger enemies and big bad bosses that most FPS's flock to. It added a depth of realism to the game that most FPS's lack.


And Alyeska, I like most of your ideas, esp the flamethrower; Halo not having one was a disappointment.

[Slartibartfast]

From what I've read about Halo's up-coming editor, modding the game is basically a matter of opening up the the packaged data files contianing the relevant models and stats, filling in your own numbers, and telling the editor to repackage the data file. It's merely a matter of reading up on what you need to look for when opening them up and what stats do what.

That seems very similar to what they did back then with the Marathon physics files.