Halo on PC 2nd August 2002?

Gonzo · 20-05-2002 10:05pm #1

According to Game, Halo is coming out on PC this summer, i thought it was an Xbox exclusive, can this be right?

________________________________________________

Halo
ETA : Aug 02
£34.99
PC Games > Action
Publisher > Microsoft
Developer > Bungie
Rating > (ELSPA) (BBFC)
System Requirements >

Product Description
Halo is a sci-fi shooter that takes place on a mysterious alien ring-world. Packed with combat, Halo will have you battling on foot, and in vehicles, inside and outdoors with Alien and Human weaponry. Your objective: to uncover Halo’s horrible secrets and destroy mankind’s sworn enemy, the Covenant.
Huge Weapon Variety: Vanquish your enemies with a vast array of Human or Covenant weaponry ranging from the stealthy (semi-automatic pistols and needler guns) to the fierce (rocket launchers and flame throwers).

Vehicle and Foot-Based Action: Tackle missions anyway you choose - be it storming an enemy base or taking the wheel or gunnery position of a variety of powerful vehicles. Vehicles range from stolen Covenant flyers to Human buggies and more.

Indoor and Outdoor Combat: Fight seamlessly in Halo’s ultra-realistic indoor and outdoor environments as you hunt the Covenant in a variety of single player missions and multiplayer battles.

Intense Multiplayer Shoot-outs: Form a team, choose a role, and fight cooperatively with your friends, battle it out Deathmatch style via intense split screen, LAN-play or fight co-op with a friend through the single player missions. (Full PC multiplayer details yet to be announced).

Incredible Mission Variety: Fight the Covenant in a variety of missions as you uncover the dark secrets of Halo. Among your many objectives ¯ attack enemy outposts, raid underground labs for advanced technology, rescue fallen comrades, steal alien vehicles and weaponry and snipe enemy forces.

Reality Bending Special Effects: Halo features the most advanced graphic system on the most advanced gaming platform in the world. Gunfire rips off the screen, explosions light up a living room, and environments blur the line between your couch and fantasy.

Rich Sci-Fi Experience: Halo transports gamers into a science fiction universe fresh out of a Hollywood movie. With a detailed twisting story line, complex characters and cunning enemies Halo will fulfill every sci-fi enthusiast’s dreams

KdjaCL · 20-05-2002 10:37pm

Sweet

It was always mooted as coming out but no definite news ,thecompany i work for makes cds for MSft and i asked there cust rep about it and he was clueless that was a while ago.
Must ask him again

Kdja

tHE vAGGABOND · 20-05-2002 11:09pm

According to Game Championship Manager 4 is out in mid-September - which is totally made up on their part..

So, while its good news, I would not take that as gospel

po0k · 20-05-2002 11:29pm

Mmmmmmmmmmm, nice

DeadBankClerk · 21-05-2002 1:07am

Originally posted by tHE vAGGABOND
According to Game Championship Manager 4 is out in mid-September - which is totally made up on their part..

does it not get boring making the same game year in year out?
(im not trying to be a smart ass)

Shinji · 21-05-2002 1:39am

(im not trying to be a smart ass)

What, you succeed at being a smart ass without even trying? Impressive.

spooky donkey · 21-05-2002 7:42am

Well this is good news if its true but it does seem a little early. I thought it wouldent be out till early next year.

Perhaps game are trying to get pre orders early they like that kind of thing pre ordering!

tHE vAGGABOND · 21-05-2002 9:37am

What, you succeed at being a smart ass without even trying? Impressive

Thats quite a skill you know, very marketable in the work place

Saruman · 21-05-2002 9:40am

Do you think it will be as good on the PC? They could make it a little worse so as to make the Xbox seem Godlike compared to a PC for games...

Shinji · 21-05-2002 10:13am

Do you think it will be as good on the PC?

No. It's a console game. It won't work shockingly well from a gameplay perspective on a PC, and graphically they'll probably have to drop a fair bit of stuff to make it work on cards with no pixel or vector shaders.

Oh, and that date is one of the random spurious dates that retailers make up. The PC version hasn't even been officially announced yet, never mind having a date set. And AFAIK it's not at E3 this year, which tends to kill the idea that it'll be out in two months time.

astrofool · 21-05-2002 1:21pm

it's actually one of those games that should work well on both systems, it's basically a simple fps shoot em up.

Graphically it's easy to get the game to scale to different systems, only turning on the good stuff when it gets on gef4 systems.

Halo however was on the wrong development cycle to use vertex shader's fully and most likely makes most use of the fixed function TnL of the xbox than the vertex part.

Graphically the game is not amazing, gameplay wise it's excellent (have it on xbox myself anyway).

PC is still a viable enough platform shinji, and will continue to be, especially as the price drops and internet charges reduce, I couldn't do half the internet stuff I wanted to do on a console, online shopping and casual browsing maybe, but on a tv screen

i'd much prefer it on a 19" monitor, + the fact that internet browsing isn't really a communal thing like the tv is

koneko · 21-05-2002 1:35pm

Kinda have to agree with astrofool on this. Halo would probably work pretty well as an FPS game, with maybe a freak tweaks here and there. I'd be very interested to try out the multiplayer (online) aspect of it.

Playing in split screen with one other person obviously isn't the ideal solution.

EvilGeorge · 21-05-2002 1:42pm

I cant stand this game on the Xbox - the game play is too slow, you cant react the sane way as with a kbd and mouse.
About time they got their act together for the PC release - I hope this is true.

Saruman · 21-05-2002 1:49pm

Actually Halo was ORIGINALLY supposed to be a PC game but when Microsoft decided to make the XBox it was put on hold and then developed for their console

Shinji · 21-05-2002 3:29pm

it's actually one of those games that should work well on both systems, it's basically a simple fps shoot em up.

Nah - it was tweaked totally to allow for people playing with pads rather than keyb/mouse. The game would be far, far too easy if you had that level of control accuracy.

Of course, they COULD ramp up the enemy AI and the speed of the game overall prior to the PC launch, but what are the chances eh?

Halo however was on the wrong development cycle to use vertex shader's fully and most likely makes most use of the fixed function TnL of the xbox than the vertex part.

Halo uses vertex shaders fairly extensively. Pixel shaders it uses less but they're still there and very much in evidence.

Sure, you could turn this all off and make it run on a PC without the appropriate kit, but.... Would you really, really want to?

Graphically the game is not amazing, gameplay wise it's excellent (have it on xbox myself anyway).

heh weird, I'd have said the exact opposite. I found the gameplay tedious - it lifts every decent cliche of the last five years from PC FPS games and then does them again, and again, and again, and again, ad nauseum.

PC is still a viable enough platform shinji, and will continue to be, especially as the price drops and internet charges reduce, I couldn't do half the internet stuff I wanted to do on a console, online shopping and casual browsing maybe, but on a tv screen i'd much prefer it on a 19" monitor, + the fact that internet browsing isn't really a communal thing like the tv is

I couldn't agree more! Don't get me wrong, I'm not a PC-hater - being a big RTS and FPS fan, I could hardly be! I'm sitting in front of a 22" monitor powered by a GF4 and an Athlon XP 2000+ right now, if I started hating PCs that wouldn't really have been money well spent....

The PC is a great platform. It's just not suitable for all games; some games work on it, some work on consoles, that's just how it is. I happen to think that Halo is better suited to consoles in its current form. Yes, Bungie's original design for it was a stunner of a PC/Mac game, but since it was redesigned from the ground up for console play, I just don't think it's appropriate for PCs any more. All IMO, of course.

DeadBankClerk · 21-05-2002 7:47pm

console games should be played on a console.
with a joypad.
Its how they were designed.

I started playing goldeneye a few weeks ago and it is so easy since i began playing pc fps'. The only thing that makes it hard is the console control system as shinji pointed out. If it were to be playe with a mouse it would be piss easy.

quozl · 22-05-2002 12:22pm

I've seen you play Quake Marc. Who are you trying to fool?
quozl

MelKor · 23-05-2002 2:06pm

i just wanna drive that jeep!:)

po0k · 23-05-2002 3:01pm

You play Flashpoint, don't you Bitchin?
Why have cotton when you can have a T-80?

Just about that control issue.....
If the game is only challenging because the control system in inadequate to the extent that your accuracy is not dependent on your individual ability but rather the control pad, what does that say about the aformentioned control system?

*hint: pants are involved.

seeing as how it's basiclly a streamlined PC running on a win2k +DX hybrid core OS, why couldn't they slap on a wireless mouse and keybaord combo as an optional control 'solution'?

I personally detest having to use a joypad for an FPS. Slow, inaccurate and rage inducing. Mikill can testify for this.
Having to stop moving and losing the ability to strafe just to be able to aim your weapon with a semblence of first person perspective is a farce when compared to almost every recent FPS on the PC.
I'd have no problem playing a enjoyable FPS on a console if I could have the same control over my avatar that I expect from a PC FPS.

/me strokes his Logitech Dual optical....mmmm....wuvvablly smoove

l3rian · 23-05-2002 9:54pm

what is so good about championship manager? i find it really boring, please explain the appeal

tHE vAGGABOND · 23-05-2002 10:54pm

Championship Manager is a realistic (as realistic as you can get in front of a computer) amazingly detailed simulation of football management..

its that kind of thing is your cup of tea you prolly own and love Cm..

If its not you prolly have loads of excel jokes (see shinji for info!)

You can download it from the Sun.co.uk in a promo right now, or get a demo in some boxes of brekkie cereal soon if you want a go to see what the story is for yourself.

Monty - the one and only · 25-05-2002 12:15am

well heres the offical info...

http://www.shacknews.com/extras/hpc.x

Shinji · 25-05-2002 12:19am

So, eh, work hasn't even started on the PC version yet and they're all working on Halo 2 on Xbox instead.

Right. Can't really see it being out this year, then

po0k · 25-05-2002 1:24am

[Image too large. And I've already done all the good CM = Spreadsheet jokes. :P ]

Monty - the one and only · 25-05-2002 3:27am

hmm and heres a little more, if not conflicting, offical inforamtion

http://www.macgamer.com/features/publish.php?id=927

How do you respond to allegations that Halo isn't coming out for the PC or Mac?

I understand the sort of thought that goes into that allegation because now that we're owned by Microsoft and the cartoon imagery that Microsoft is the evil thing that will do the evil thing to piss people off.The simple fact of the matter is that we're working on this game to get it out there. Microsoft wouldn't let us use their lawyers to cut deals and wouldn't let us waste their time unless they thought it was going to come out. The lack of information, the radio silence that Bungie maintains, it doesn't lend itself to a lot of confidence. When it happens, people are going to be happy and surprised. We're really honestly working to keep our promise. It would be a lot easier to say "**** it, no Halo version for Mac or the PC, buy an Xbox.'" We thought we were going to be able to say something substantial here at E3, but couldn't keep the legal dogs at bay, which we're clearing up. There should be an announcement soon.

The code is being ported from the Xbox to run on the Mac and PC and we'll see what needs to be done. Once the Xbox version was done, people went away for a while and came back, we're playing it to make sure it doesn't suck. Now we're figuring out how we do it and who does what, it's taken a long time and been a huge pain in the ass. The good news is that the preliminary stuff is taken care of and people are working with the code to get it working.

We made a promise, it's coming to the Mac, it's coming to the Mac and the PC. There are things that mean things to us... promises that mean things to us.

Intereasting to say the least....

and some more

Halo Rumor Control

Halo on PCs and Macs, by Matt
Q

Is Halo an Xbox-exclusive, or will it ever ship for PCs/Macs as originally planned?

A

There WILL be Mac and PC versions of Halo. Go back and read that sentence again. Notice the clear, straightforward nature of the answer. Note that this answer comes directly from Bungie, the makers of Halo, and is posted on our official site.

It doesn't matter what the guy in the forum said, or what the guy in the magazine said, or what the guy at the software store said. All that matters is what Bungie said. And Bungie has said, time and time again, that PC and Mac versions of Halo will ship. Work is being done right now to make these versions a reality. Anyone who tells you otherwise does not know what he is talking about.

Hobbes · 25-05-2002 2:25pm

Originally posted by Saruman
Actually Halo was ORIGINALLY supposed to be a PC game but when Microsoft decided to make the XBox it was put on hold and then developed for their console

Actually it was supposed to come out for the Mac first.

Btw, Montys posts above are from the the time of the mess where MS bought out Bungie and then it was told that that Halo would not be released for anything except X-Box. 46,000+ signatures later they said "oh well we will release it for the PC sometime".

Gonzo · 25-05-2002 5:49pm

Bungie were originally a macintosh only games company a couple of years back, before Doom ever became available on the mac, Bungie developed the Marathon series of First Person Shooters which were quite good offering mac owners a decent game at last untill Doom eventually came out.

Halo on PC 2nd August 2002?

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