HALO poll

[Bigjakkstaffa]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Halo using DirectX 8 technology designed for the XBOX which is a Pentium3 750 and a GF3 erra GPU?

Correct, i reckon there some trademark slack modern game coding goin on with it

--Jakk

[Magua]

It is a resource hog, especially when it comes to RAM. However the textures and shading are not the same as xbox, the image is MUCH sharper. Also take into consideration the resolution of a monitor vs. a TV.

[maje87c]

I thought it was OK. It seemed like a rather unoriginal game to me. That and the weapons made me feel like I needed some real firepower. I also think too many things came over from the X-Box, like the grenade system.

It was fun, but it did not utilize the PC to the full extent. The vehicles are, IMHO, the saving grace of Halo. Multiplayer would be if some people would set up some decent servers.

[tasty danish]

Originally posted by Met-AL
As far as hardware requirments go, Halo runs like **** on my PC. Normal game settings for me are 1280x1024, 6xFSAA, 16AA. With Halo, I got 20FPS with above settings. I had to back down to 1024x768 with 0 FSAA and 16AA. Then I got between 40-80fps.

My specs are
XP2000+
ASUS A7N8X-Deluxe NF2 Ultra 400
512MB Dual Channel DDR 400
Tyan G9700-ProM at 370/680
nVIDIA SoundStorm

wow, what games do you usually play? solitare? running the game like that isnt exactly running it like ****, especially with a lower end amd, 512 ram and a vid card not optomized to rock at high aa/af levels. id be thankful if i were you. and id back down the aa and up the resolution.

[Met-AL]

Originally posted by tasty danish


wow, what games do you usually play? solitare? running the game like that isnt exactly running it like ****, especially with a lower end amd, 512 ram and a vid card not optomized to rock at high aa/af levels. id be thankful if i were you. and id back down the aa and up the resolution.

The games I usually play the most are Soldier Of Fortune II, Comanche 4, C&C Generals, and MOHAA. With SOF2, the game I play most, I get anywhere from 120fps to 90fps with everything maxed out. This is the online part. Haven't played the single player game since I got my 9700, but I do know it has more detailed graphics. And I honestly think SOF2 looks better than Halo. Better textures, more details in the levels and MUCH smoother online play.

With Halo, I did turn off FSAA and lower the resolution to get the FPS up to 40-80FPS. This is with my GPU/MEM at 370/680 I did find that I needed to leave the AF up to 16x to keep the textures sharp.

To sum it up, the game seems like its a in-efficient game engine. For what you get, it should not take so much hardware to run it. But it is fun to play, especially the single play mode.

[tasty danish]

ah i see, halo is indeed coded poorly, but you have to understand that first: you are acutally running the game really well (its a dx9 title and you must consider people with older machines that are happy to get that performance with medium details and 1024 res.) its easy to get caught up (with all this top of the line non-sense) in the full everything craze and not actually realize that just because you cant run it smoothly with ALL the eye candy doesnt mean it doesnt run or look great. also, those older games are quite a bit more dated than alot of games, try running those setting on splinter cell.... good night!
just for the record: im building a new machine and will probably get miffed off if i cant play any given game without all the hizzle fo shizzle turned on, and yes, halo is poorly coded.

[ComPooTer]

good point, and you know what i just got hired for a job 10 dollars an hour (very good considering im only 16) so when i get the money im gunna buy a 9800 XT with free half-life YAY, but this is of course after i try to volt mod my 9600 pro

[tasty danish]

eww... volt modding.... i dunno bout that, you'll fry your card.
i just got a job for 7 plus tips (16 also) but im just getting a 9800 pro. you should just sell your 9600, or better yet, wait for the "loki"

[ComPooTer]

whats a "loki" ? and for selling the 9600 pro i wont get much for it, so might as well have some fun if im gunna be buying a new video card. maybe i can practice soldering skills who knows maybe itll work succesfully? weeee i think im just feeling saucy right now because i just got hired

[Magua]

I do think Halo could have been coded better, but I also agree with Danish that people need to stop expecting to max every option. I feel that options are just that, options. The game developers put in those extra textures and shading so if you do have amazing hardware you can get a little bonus. If not, the game still looks great without them. Just because you can't run a game at 1600x1200 with max AA, AF, and textures dosen't mean its 'broke'.

[tasty danish]

oh i never gave my rating, it may be one of the better games this year, but i dont think the best, as for the options, till my mega savior comp is finished im happy with medium detail at 1024 on quake 3 on my laptop. how likely do you think a chance for a coding improvement will be for halo? (maybe with a patch or halo 2) and what about the multiplayer? i havent played it, is it really laggy? i dont think many people realize just how poor the original half life engine was for online networking games together (we call it "dynamic slow down" here in missouri), has anyone experienced this in halo?

btw "loki" is ati's code name for the r420 chip scheduled for early next year, maybe around the time doom comes out.

[Magua]

Multiplayer runs very smooth if you find a good host, like any other game though, people try to host on dial up or satellite and its unplayable. I don't think they have a dedicated server system up yet, that should help alot. I usualy host my own games half the time, after I cant find a good one in 10 minutes or so.

[fizur2002]

Yeah, there are some laggy ones out there, but there are some really good ones too, found a ping of 10 the other night, was like playing at a LAN party, and if i cant find one, i host one and i always make a good hosting seeing how i now have me cable internet with about 512Kb up speed and 4.1mb down.

[neverwhere]

sniff, i just dloaded it but only got the install CD *cry* now i have to shell out the $50 to get it

[fizur2002]

Halo is only one CD. But you should go out and buy it anyways, it is well worth the money.