Need some Halo Advice

Hi I just downloaded the trial off of Microsoft's websight and really like what I saw. What I especially like was that it would play on my crummy Intel GM 855 graphics card, a little bumpy at times but other wise great. OK for my questions.

Would upping the ram to 1 gig give me more FPS and improve the overall smoothness of the game? And is Halo 2 much more demanding on the computer than the original Halo combat evolved? Combat evolved just barely played on my computer so anything more demanding would probably make it die. And finally if the Trial would play on my computer than the complete version should play OK right?

OK a little update, I just noticed that Halo 2 is not even ported to PCs yet, so just my questions about Halo combat evolved.
Incedentlly it looks like Halo 2 is only going to be a Vista game. Perhaps DX10?

 

Look, Halo 2 isn't going to be DX10, though it's meant to have 'some performance benefit'. Doubt it though.

http://digg.com/gaming_news/Microsoft_clarifies_Halo_2_Vista_won_t_be_Direct_X_10

Also, Halo will not benefit so much from 1 gig RAM as opposed to a better gfx card. But if it's a notebook, oh well then. You might as well upgrade to 1 gig ram anyways, you'll appreciate it. And finally, get Halo Custom Edition. It has a 70% performance improvement in some areas, because the demanding shaders in Halo have been optimized. If you want some FPS comparisons in any map, all you have to do is ask. Or you could try it yourself XD.

Halo CE is a 135mb download, and you can download cool maps for it like Halo 2 Zanzibar, Coldsnap etc. (all with new weapons... a bit laggy though). You can mod Halo CE so it's worth it. Free from wherever you can find it. Definitely worth it. If you'd like a game by the way, I'd be happy to play!

P.S. H2 will most likely be more intensive than Halo 1, though maybe not by TOO much if whoever's developing it (Gearbox?) gets the shaders right. I hope they fix the draw distance issue though, it really sucks... I doubt it will run on your integrated card.

 

Move side to side as fast as you can with the 'A' and 'D' keys during a 1v1 confrontation. And time your shots to coincide with your crosshair intersecting with your opponent's face mask.

...

Oh I mean uh, yes, moving from 512MB to 1GB of RAM will greatly improve gameplay in any current generation FPS.

 

Alright then I will probably get the extra gig of ram and see how that helps. Would a faster hard drive help any? Probably just with load times right?

Thanks for the advice on halo custom edition. I am guessing the custom edition is basically the regular Halo just with the ability to take plugins? I hear that you have to have a product key to use it, so I will have to pick up the regular version anyway - probably will do that same time as I get the ram.

 

I have Halo, the full version. When I played it on my Dell 1150 with Extreme Graphics, I didnt noticed any slow down. I upgraded the RAM from 256 MB, to 768 MB, to 1 GB.

256 MB, YES it took a while to game to load but plays pretty ok. However, When I upgraded another 512 MB, it load much faster but the game play still the same. And finally, when I upgraded to 1 GB, no differences.

As for game's graphcs, err, I wish I had my sister's B130, her notebook graphics is soo much bettter.

JC

 

Yea I have the P4 2.66 GHz and when it starts to get hot everything starts to lag, very annoying but when I put the notebook on my custom made notebook cooler everything seems to go a lot smother. Anyway I will be getting the game and ram from newegg so, hopefully it will come soon.

 

P.S Hows Halo's online play? It's almost four years old so are there still many servers for it?

 

There are a ton of online servers for Halo, I play all the time. If you really want to have some fun (after playing the regular Halo online multiplayer), download Halo Custom Edition. It's all mods and add-ons - different guns, vehicles, maps, very fun.

 

So can you play the Halo Custom edition inr single player and not only the multiplayer mode? I was reading around and most people seem to think that you could only play Halo CE online with other folks, although I don't mind either way.

 

I'm afraid Halo CE is Multiplayer only. You don't see heaps of people playing CE nowadays, but heaps of people go on halo. In MP, making a server is so much more easier than many other games, though you can't do things like search player.

The server browser is functional enough and no complaints of it come from me... yet. And finally, I seem to like the Halo community better. Most of the servers now days are just some people wanting a friendly game, so I suppose they don't give you too much of that "You are n00b, I am l33t, Boom Headshot".

P.S. Halo CE does not need Halo to run. You only require a key. Turns out the Single Player version of Halo takes up 1.2GB all on its own. I'm afraid we have to wait for a 'patch' for Halo addressing the shader issue. But well, Halo isn't the most intesive game nowdays, so you probably have to live with the performance spikes (Halo, Assault on the Control Room, Two Betrayals).

 

Man I just playing the demo over again (4th time) and I am not board of it, i hope Newegg gets the full version to me quick, I cant wait to see whats next. I finally have a reason to upgrade my computer to, things just cant get any better than this.

 

XD. Anyone who's first played Halo will definitely say that. In 2001 the world was mad with Halo fever, though my main gripe with MP is no voting (console doesn't count). There's one thing wrong with Halo though (SP), though I won't spoil it for you here. I bet you'll like the storyline. It's one of the better ones in the standard FPS world. When you get the full version, just PM me and I'll give you a game.

 

I just ordered the Extra ram (Crucial 1GB stick) so that should bring my total up to 1.25 gigs, I have 512 but I will have to take one of the 256mb sticks out to free up a slot which is a shame.

So in the multiplayer how does it work, is it like you have a mission you are trying to carry out with a friend or is it more like you are trying to kill your friend? And how do the different maps work into that?

 

Multiplayer comes in many modes, like CTF, slayer, assault, race, etc. All of these game modes have you competing against a friend. You won't have co-op in the PC version. Multiplayer maps are all very good, depending an the number of players. There are many maps for a large amount of players and snipers such as Danger Canyon and Death Island (the level in the demo ). Now there are also 1-on-1 maps like Wizard. All you have to do is try them. Overall Halo is fun. Many of the good players still go on, so you won't find any lack in challenge.

 

Aw man thats a shame, you mean two people cant play in the first person part? I was hoping to get my brother playing along with me. Oh well still seems fun though. Just out of curiosity what does CTF stand for?

 

Capture the flag. It's when two sides try to capture the other side's flag. I think the most popular game mode in multiplayer.

 

I was just wondering if adding more ram will increase the FPS in a game? Or is adding ram just going to speed up loading time and stuff like that?

 

Actually, it depends on what game. For games like FEAR, there isn't a REMARKABLE increase in FPS as opposed to laoding times when you increase the RAM, though apparently, the new Intel GMA 950 and maybe even your Intel Extreme grahpics will appreciate a LOT more ram to make games run better. This is because these integrated grahpics steals resources and well, more RAM = more room to move = faster game overall.

 

No coop on the pc halo version? Are you serious?
Man... thats.... disapointing. I hope they don't make that same major mistake with halo 2 on vista.

But yup, Halo was one of the better FPS games. A ton of fun. The ram should help, but honestly, I'm not sure if it will be more than minor.

 

Well Hopefully the extra ram will help out a little, every thing is playing smoothly but it would be nice to turn up a few settings.

I was Kinda disappointed when I heard they do not a co-op mode, although I hear there is one for the Xbox version, but I hope they will keep it in Halo 2 for PC. Kinda interesting that Halo 3 seems like it will come out for Xbox about the same time as Halo 2 for PC is out. I guess Halo is an Xbox title though, so thats probably not unusual.

 

Looks like the Port for Halo 2 is about complete although they had it playing in vista which does not have the GPU driver yet, so performance cannot be judged from this.

Hear is the rest: http://www.anandtech.com/displays/showdoc.aspx?i=2904&p=15

 

Man it is irksome when someone in a banshee goes traitor I just played a few hours on the multi player and it was totally fun except for the banshees (and the lag sometimes drove me nuts). Funny I must not be the only one to feel this way since in a few of the games the banshees were frozen.

Overall I am having a great time with Halo though. I just wish Newegg would speed it up and get me the full version quicker, but I suppose Martin Luther day slowed things down a little.