Halo 2 Vista FAQ

Bungie isn’t famous for the speed of porting games from Xbox to PC and Halo 2 makes no exception. It was originally launched in November 2004 for the Xbox console and Microsoft announced it as a launch title for Windows Vista in the second quarter of 2007. Either they are really slow or they have modified the game beyond any resemblance with its counterpart. We present here a small collection of information under the clever disguise of a FAQ.

Q: What systems is Halo 2 for Windows Vista available for?
A: As the name suggests, Halo 2 Vista will be brought to PCs with Windows Vista only. Of course you can always purchase Halo 2 for your Xbox or Xbox 360. There are currently no plans to bring Halo 2 to Mac, Playstation 9, or the Commodore 64.

Q: Will Halo 2 Vista players be able to play against Halo 2 Xbox players?
A: No, Halo 2 Vista players will only be able to [play] against Vista owners.

Q: Does Halo 2 Vista support the Xbox 360 Controller?
A: Yes, the Xbox 360 controller will be fully supported by Halo 2 Vista.

Q: What are the minimum system requirements for Halo 2 Vista?
A: The Halo 2 Vista team is still hard at work fine-tuning the game so at this time, we cannot give details on the minimum system requirements, but we'll let you know as soon as the picture becomes clearer.

Required:
Windows(R): Vista - 512 MB RAM
Processor: Pentium 4 2.0 GHZ or equivalent
Hard Drive: 3.0 GB (+4.0 for developer software)
Video Card: DirectX 9.0c, 128 MB/T&L capable
Online/Multiplayer: 56.6 kbps modem or LAN; broadband to run a server
Other: 8x DVD, Sound Card, & speakers/headphones

Recommended:
Windows(R): Vista -1 GB RAM
Processor: Pentium 4 3.0 GHZ or equivalent
Hard Drive: 3.0 GB (+4.0 for developer software)
Video Card: DirectX 9.0c, 256 MB/T&L capable
Online/Multiplayer: LAN or Broadband; DSL (high) or more to run a server
Other: 8x DVD, Sound Card, & speakers/headphones

Contrary to popular belief, Halo 2 Vista will actually utilize DirectX 9 graphics to the popularly-believed DirectX10 graphics, since Vista will require DirectX10 to run. What this means is that the current video card you have now (meeting the minimum requirements or recommended) will still be able to play games under Vista.

Q: Does Halo 2 Vista support user-created content?
A: Yes, there will be a comprehensive package released to facilitate the generation of user-created content for Halo 2 Vista.

Q: Can I play my favorite Halo levels, like Blood Gulch, in Halo 2 Vista?
A: Not exactly. Bungie does not like to reuse old content, so we built four levels in homage to older Halo favorites. These are Coagulation (an aged, excavated version of Blood Gulch), Beaver Creek (a modified version of Battle Creek ), Warlock (a version of Wizard which has since been overrun by tropical growth) and Elongation (which answers the frequently asked question - what if Longest were a shipping room on a space station?). All should prove both familiar and surprising to fans of older maps. Another image map is Foundation, loosely based on an old Marathon map. Don't worry, there will be enough modders out there to convert Halo 1 multiplayer levels to Halo 2. The Halo 1 PC modding community did it with Halo 2 levels for Halo 1.

Q: Will there be multiplayer bots?
A: No. If you want to practice, you can do it against real people. You can however explore any multiplayer level you wish by simply starting an "empty" LAN match.

Q: How does dual wielding work on Halo 2 Vista?
A: Virtually, the same way it does on the Xbox. To dual wield, you simply approach a second weapon that is lying on the ground. You'll see the standard "press E to swap weapons" message appear in your HUD. However, if it's a one handed weapon, you will also see "Press and hold '' to "dual wield". If you do that, you will pick up the gun in your left hand. Left click first the left weapon, right click fires the weapon in your right hand. You can't melee attack or throw grenades while dual wielding. You can stop dual wielding at any time by pressing melee attack (discards extra weapon and punches simultaneously) or by tapping 'T' to toss your secondary weapon. Of course, the keyboard layout is fully customizable and you can change any of the settings to your heart's content, or just use the controller.

Q: Do you plan on enabling anti-aliasing? Other visual features?
A: Halo 2 for Windows Vista makes use of several DirectX 9 features such as edge anti-aliasing, anisotropic texture filtering, enhanced resolution shadow buffering, additional dynamic shadows, improved normal map filtering, parallax mapping, and per pixel specular mapping.

Q: Why will Halo 2 for Windows Vista not support DX10?
A: Halo 2 will certainly support DX10 graphics cards but the game itself is not being re-written to specifically take advantage of upcoming DX10 features. The more robust your graphics card, the more visual features and fidelity you will be able to enjoy.

Q: How does Halo 2 for Windows Vista cope with cheating, aimbots, and so on?
A: Cheating is a big concern for us, especially in online play, just as it is for any online game regardless of platform. Windows Vista and Live include several features intended to prevent cheating in online games, and players who need an extra degree of certainty can control their own community using Dedicated Servers or Live Friends lists. Even so, there will always be those who work around these measures and make it impossible to eliminate cheating completely. We’re doing all we can to make sure that online play is fun for the majority of honest H2V players.

Q: Will it be possible for players to create their own campaign or co-op levels for Halo 2?
A: No, the user-created content tools are exclusively for multiplayer maps and game types.

Q: Will there be Co-Op mode on Halo 2 Vista?
A: No.

Q: How will online play work if Xbox Live is no longer the system that Halo 2 Vista will use?
A: Bungie is implementing a new system called Live Anywhere, which is, supposedly, a service similar to Xbox Live and will bring matchmaking to H2V players. It is stated that we will be able to do all the things we could do before: system links for local connections, global online play, and dedicated servers. Bungie has stated that there will be no ranking or player stat tracking systems for Halo 2 Vista, nor will it offer clan support. It will still offer some options that should be recognizable to anyone, such as inviting your friends or having others join you.

Q: Will we have to pay to play Halo 2 Vista?
A: In a recent update, Bungie has confirmed that you will be able to play H2V "at zero cost." Though they do go on to mention that there would be "very tempting reasons to upgrade to a full paid Live Gold membership."

Q: When will Halo 2 Vista come out?
A: Q2 of 2007.

Q: How much will Halo 2 Vista cost?
A: Most new PC games cost $50, so there's an idea.

Q: What will be Halo 2 Vista's ESRB Rating?
A: M for Mature.

Q: Will Halo 2 run on any version of Windows Vista?
A: Yes, it will. It is optimized so even the people who are getting a simple upgrade can play the game.

Q: What do we know about the custom tools to build our own maps in Halo 2 Vista?
A: Quite a lot. The original tools found for the first port, Guerilla, Sapien, and Tool, will make reappearance; this time included on the disc. The H2V team has stated that this time around, we will be able to customize a lot more than Sapien had to offer, as well as creating new and improved textures and even customizable shaders.

It is also said that the H2V team are trying to make the tools much more user-friendly as the co-existing tools for Halo 1 were extremely hard to use and were not easily picked up, even after you had an extensive knowledge on how to use it.

The H2V team also boasted a much more stable toolset, as the three had an uncanny habit of corrupting files, shutting down for no reason, and producing errors that no one had ever heard of. This is something that many Halo 1 modders would call a Godsend.

Q: Cool! So we'll be able to model our own maps with the tools given to us?
A: Actually, no, you won't. Bungie will not be including a 3D modeling program once again for you to model your own maps.

Q: What are some boastable new features Halo 2 Vista will include?
A: Up to 1900x1200 screen resolution, dedicated servers, tools to create custom maps, extremely upgraded and fine-tuned graphics, text lobby chat (as well as a mic still), and in-game text chat.

Q: Will there be new weapons or vehicles in Halo 2 Vista?
A: No.

Q: Will there be new maps for Halo 2 Vista?
A: Just the regular maps from Halo 2's release and the Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack.


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