Halo for PC?

Retr0gamer

Anyone know when the release date is for Halo on the PC. I've played it on the Xbox and its amazing almost makes me want to buy one only Gamecube is far better in terms of games.

Samson

It's already available, it's called Half-Life.

Retr0gamer

But it's not as good and i'm well sick of playing it. Variety is the spice of life.

tHE vAGGABOND

personally I dont think we will see Halo for the PC..

The game itself would need *a lot* of work to come even close to being a good PC FPS type games. Why release a crap conversion, like they did with the original Metal Gear Solid PC version for example...

I think/hope they will spend that time deveoping Halo 2 for the XBox or something like that..

Rabies

HALO started life out as a PC game. But when BUNGIE (the guys who developed it) got thier hands on early xbox hardware they changed from PC to console. HALO was originaly a 3rd person perspective game but later got changed. Check out the latest edition of the magazine EDGE its got an interview with one of the guys from BUNGIE. HALO 2 is definitly in the pipe line.

tHE vAGGABOND

got thier hands on early xbox hardware they changed from PC to console

Microsoft bought the company, they did not magically get thier hands on a dev kit before anyone else..

The fact that it may have been a intended as a PC game a couple of years ago when Bungee released those cool video's at E3 is not important at all..

If you play the game it only really have 5 levels and looks ok but not amazing, and you kinda play those levels twice - thats simply not enough style and gameplay when you compare it to modern PC FPS games like Wolf and MOH (and UT 2 and maybe Half Life 2 by the time a PC game would get released)

While it says its getting a PC release on the bungee website, word in the industry (that I have heard) is that they are not going to bother

Rabies

didnt realise that microsoft bought bungee or bungie (what ever way you spell it). but i do know that the xbox hardware they used is not the hardware that is out in the market now.
i agree, i cant see HALO going to be released on the PC. if it didnt port over correctly it would be bad news for bungee and people could lose faith in them. they might be classed as a one hit wonder.... they should focus on a HALO 2 and expand the outdoor environments. Unreal Tournment 2's outdoor stages look, well, unreal.

tHE vAGGABOND

Dont forget Bungee were known as a Mac developer before, they did not do anything worth jumping upand down about on the PC anyway..

Retr0gamer

It would be a mistake if they didn't release it for the pc unless microsoft have an exclusive deal with them. Even if it's not all that good it would still sell rather well. I don't have much faith in Unreal 2 the first game looked absolutely amazing but was one of the worst fps ever. The bad guys were boring, the story was dire, the levels were terribly designed and it almost put me to sleep with it's unoriginality. And the blob gun was brutal and a complete joke! After this game it seems to me that Epic make great engines but have absolutely no game designer talent on their team. A bit like ID and John Carmack.

tHE vAGGABOND

unless microsoft have an exclusive deal with them

Microsoft own them ffs! They can do what they want! Look at the XBox marketing, its all "XBox Exclusive.." They want games on the XBox that you cant get anywhere else..

but was one of the worst fps ever

Gotta disagree, not only did it sell amazingly well - but in its day it was ground breaking and plain amazing. I think tho you may be thinking about Unreal Tournament, and not Unreal. Unreal 2 and Unreal Tournament 2 are different games. UT did do quite well and a fair few people like it a lot. Like all multiplayer FPS games, you either love them or hate them...

A bit like ID and John Carmack.

ROFL! Cos ID have never made a good game or anything!

Wolf 3D, Doom Series, Quake Series etc etc

All ground breaking in thier day. FFS Doom changed PC gaming forever. You could say it kinda invented it, if nothing else it was the spur that Microsoft saw that PC gaming was big business and they put bg Money behind DirectX and getting Windows 95 ready as a Gaming friendly platform. Get a clue pe0n!

Retr0gamer

Why am I forever dealing with saps like vaggabond. Firstly Sony own psygnosis but psygnosis still make games for other platforms (remember wipeout for sega saturn). Why can't it be the same with bungie and microsoft.
Yes Unreal had a groundbreaking game engine and graphics but the single player was absolutely crap. I don't think like pc gamer so good graphics don't make a great game. Can any one say they actually enjoyed the game after they got over the graphics. And i like UT even if it's not very imaginative.
Lastly ID have made some great games but unfortunately they stopped when Romero left. Ever since then the games have all been great engines, brown textures and fairly boring. I never liked Quake2 and while Quake 3 is a blast the rocket launcher and railgun still own every other weapon.

tHE vAGGABOND

You miss the point, while there are loads of examples of companies making games for different platforms this is different. Microsoft want games to be released only on the XBox, and at the very least a decient lead time of about a year (or so) before it gets released anywhere else..

I dont think Bungee will bother with a PC release that sells feck alll (PC games dont sell that much in reality) and get's panned as a sub-standard game...

I could be wrong of course, only MS and Bungee know..

but the single player was absolutely crap

Gotta disagree. I played through it again a few months ago and still liked it. I wish more games had the 'different' story driven gameplay like it had. To be fair, take it in the context of its time - what is it 8, 10 years ago now. It totally blew me away the first time I played it.

if it's not very imaginative

I disagree again. You can play it on and off line plain old DM and CTF but there is much more to the game, game styles like Domination and the free Bonus packs and the runes and that kind of stuff. Just cos you did not play the different elements does not mean others did not and that they are crap as you dont like them..

astrofool

the PC world isn't really the same as the console world, remember Microsoft make Windows XP, which will be by FAR their biggest money getter this year, Nvidia who are microsoft's partner in the XBox project will continue to make new graphics boards that make the xbox look old.

PC games aren't really a threat to console games, markets are quite seperated, and different types of game sell in each, 4 player games don't work on pc's (unless online), RTS/Strategy games don't really work on console.

It's more a case of whether they'll be bothered to make them for the pc, trying to get it working with different graphics cards, sound cards, slow old machines etc.

Unreal was an excellent game, actually had a fairly original story, and some bits were lovely, like coming across a dead body with a message left saying "if we can only survive through the night..".

Lemming

Originally posted by tHE vAGGABOND
You miss the point, while there are loads of examples of companies making games for different platforms this is different. Microsoft want games to be released only on the XBox, and at the very least a decient lead time of about a year (or so) before it gets released anywhere else..

Well, I do believe it's a lead time of at least 6 months that M$ want on HALO if at all. The press news from M$ and Bungjee is also conflicting, with M$ saying HALO is for XBOX whereas Bungjee keep iterating their intention to release HALO on PC. And since the XBOX version is more or less a port from a PC version in progress, I don't think we need worry too much about porting issues for a PC release.

I dont think Bungee will bother with a PC release that sells feck alll (PC games dont sell that much in reality) and get's panned as a sub-standard game...

/SNORTS

Erm ... HALO was getting a LOT of interest from the PC community long before X-Weener reared its wannabe head. So from that perspective alone uit has a pre-built market ready to buy.

Secondly, which market is volatile and which is constant? Console or PC? The answer is Console. You can't upgrade a console. it just fades into obscurity. The PC games market is constant.]

BUT .. I think astrofool said it best.

I could be wrong of course, only MS and Bungee know..

Indeed, but since both companies are singing off different hymn sheets this will be an interesting one to follow.

po0k

Everyone and their goldfish knows that game development stopped at Computer Space on the PDP-1
That's Retro gaming

Shinji

Why am I forever dealing with saps like vaggabond.

I don't know, maybe because you post inaccurate tripe and then saps come along and disagee with it? Perhaps if you didn't post tripe, the saps wouldn't argue with you?

Firstly Sony own psygnosis but psygnosis still make games for other platforms (remember wipeout for sega saturn).

Hey, guess what - Sony didn't own Psygnosis at the time. Psygnosis became SCEE Studio Liverpool when Sony absorbed them - anything released under the Psygnosis label was prior to the purchase.

Psygnosis/SCEE Liverpool most certainly do not still make games for other platforms.



For what it's worth I thought Unreal was an amazing game; breath-taking graphically but also in terms of what it sought to do with the single-player game. I loved the pacing, the way that little sub-plots built up and then collapsed, and the fact that every level presented something new and breathtaking rather than shoving all the impressive stuff at the start of the game. Turning the corner and seeing the Sunspire for the first time is one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had in a first-person game.



(Oh, and on the Halo thing.... It's worth noting that MS don't consider the PC to be included when they say "exclusive" - they're referring to console exclusivity. However, I'd still be surprised to see Halo on PC... PC games don't sell that much, and making Halo work as a PC FPS game would be bloody difficult. Imagine Goldeneye or Perfect Dark on the PC; neither of them would have worked, and Halo is the same story, it'd require a rethink from the ground up. I suspect that Bungie is more keen to get cracking on Halo 2....)

tHE vAGGABOND

holy crap!

Did shinji just agree with me....

/me faints!

Praetorian

Halo is fantastic.

If Microsoft have their way, the PC version will not be superior. Dont forget ... people are buying the over priced Xbox because of this fantastic game.

po0k

I haven't yet had a chance to play Halo, but from the intro video I say on the demo disc my first impression was not good.
The intro video (rendered in realtime with the engine) lagged.
For a demo that is a serious flaw. There is a slim possibility it was an abberation caused by a framerate-TVrefreshrate issue, but I doubt it.
I certainly hope there's more to it then six levels (or was it 3 actual maps, each played twice? )

Retr0gamer

I think that there could be a lot of money to be made out of halo if it got a pc release. They definitely won't make a loss and nobody complains about getting some money. Microsoft will probably trying to get it as a totally exclusive xbox game and not a console exclusive since it's done so bad in Japan and not too well in Europe. I don't think bungie will want that. We just have to wait and see.
Yes Unreal is graphically superb but i think it was a dire game the story sucked. Am i the only one who hasn't been brainwashed by nice graphics and pc gamer.

Shinji

Yes Unreal is graphically superb but i think it was a dire game the story sucked.

Okay, lemme see. I played Unreal just after I got my Voodoo2 cards, so that places it just after Q2 came out iirc.

Care to tell me which FPS games had better single-player games before it, or even in the year immediately after it? Bearing in mind that this was *significantly* ahead of Half-Life....

Lemming

Originally posted by Shinji


Okay, lemme see. I played Unreal just after I got my Voodoo2 cards, so that places it just after Q2 came out iirc.

Care to tell me which FPS games had better single-player games before it, or even in the year immediately after it? Bearing in mind that this was *significantly* ahead of Half-Life....

It's all moot, since HL came out and p*ssed all over EVERYTHING in existence.

And even with its out of date engine at this point, it still p*sses over most new games out there in terms of story and gameplay

Chubby

I think that there could be a lot of money to be made out of halo if it got a pc release. They definitely won't make a loss and nobody complains about getting some money. Microsoft will probably trying to get it as a totally exclusive xbox game and not a console exclusive since it's done so bad in Japan and not too well in Europe. I don't think bungie will want that.

I am not sure you grasp on to the reasons why Microsoft would want to have Halo as an exclusive X-Box title, at least for now. X-Boxes are not selling well but Halo is one of the main reason why they are shifting the console at all at the moment. There's a guy here who bought an x-box just to play it and gets endless hours of slagging for paying 500 euros for a game

Yes Unreal is graphically superb but i think it was a dire game the story sucked. Am i the only one who hasn't been brainwashed by nice graphics and pc gamer.

Unreal was a fantastic game and ahead of it's time. Yes it was pretty and that and Quake2 was the reason I invested in my 1st 3d accelerator (voodoo2) but that wasn't why it was good. Most of the people who hated Unreal because it "felt" wrong (also the same excuse for hating Quake2), that is, it's not using the Quake engine physics they learned to love and familiarise themselves with for the previous 2 years.

It had huge, inventive outdoor levels at the time which are much better than anything that came out for years. I remember I was particularly impressed by the AI of some of the monsters who didn't just rush you with guns blazing but did a great job of dodge your shots and made you work for a kill. You might not have liked the game but that doesn't make the game dire or the story sucked and as you can see and as you can see, plenty of people disagree with you.

Retr0gamer

Well i much prefered Duke Nukem and Doom. They were both fun and i still love Duke and Doom, both are true classics. The story is tripe, if i remember it was just save the fluffy guys from the bad guys. Sure there wasn't much story in fps at the time but the story couldn't compete with other games at the time. It was around the time of Grandia, FFVII, Policenauts and some of the RTS and space combat games. You have to admit it didn't play too well. I get a lend of copy off some one and play it again and then tell u what i think of it.
Speaking of half-life i was reading an old pc gamer magazine that had a big feature on the new fps coming out. Unreal got a whole page as did Prey, Sin got half a page of concept sketches and Quake 2 got a half page as well. And in the corner with only two tiny screen shots and a paragraph about it was Half-life. I thought it was quite funny.
Oh almost forgot. The blob gun. What were Epic thinking at the time . It was useless . u killed your self with it more than the bad guys. it was rubbish.

po0k

In fairness, System Shock mopped the floor with their still-drooling corpses. Was waaay ahead of its time. had leaning, in-game-games, Cyb0rSpaece, lazers and zombies (there-by 0wning Res Evil while it was sstill in the womb).

flame on

Retr0gamer

I'd like to play system shock but can't find a copy. I meant that bungie would make a lot of money out of a pc release not microsoft who probably only get a small percentage.

tHE vAGGABOND

no one bought System Shock tho (millions warezd it) and the developer went out of business a while after..

Retr0gamer

It's sad when something like that happens.Something extaordinary comes out and gets ignored because a big name pile of crap (*cough* Fifa) comes out about the same time.

Hobbes

Originally posted by tHE vAGGABOND
personally I dont think we will see Halo for the PC..

The game itself would need *a lot* of work to come even close to being a good PC FPS type games. Why release a crap conversion, like they did with the original Metal Gear Solid PC version for example...

I think/hope they will spend that time deveoping Halo 2 for the XBox or something like that..

you won't see HALO for the PC, or if you do it will be a long long way away.

But it won't be for the reason you mention. HALO originally started out being dual developed for the MAC + PC. Then MS bought it out and said it would be XBOX only. Then thousands of people threatend to boycott Bungie and XBOX (something like 87,000+ signature) so MS said "oh yea we will release it for the PC".

But don't hold your breath.

Oh and if they do release it, it will more then likely be crap. After all what's the point of releasing a game which would compete with a console your trying to sell?

Hobbes

Originally posted by tHE vAGGABOND
no one bought System Shock tho (millions warezd it) and the developer went out of business a while after..

so why do I have System Shock II?

CodeMonkey

Originally posted by Hobbes


so why do I have System Shock II?

He meant System Shock 2 and Looking Glass Studios being closed down whoever owned it.

Spiffing

The last two posts (not including this one) don't make sense. What he means is the first System Shock.

po0k

Hobbes makes sense.
www.the-underdogs.org or some variation on that url (maybe withour the huyphen) have the 12meg floppy version and the 120meg CDROM version as abandonware.
I got the demo and actaully went into smyth's to buy the game but they told me they'd never heard of it.
I asked her to do a check and she said it was out of publishing/print/whatever
ThiefIII would've been class.
I have what I think is a news snippet about thief from PCGamer issue 50 at home, also has very early screenshots and sketchy info on what looks suspiciously like Shogo:MAD.......msut scan em and post links...

Swifty

I've been told again and again how great Sytem Shock II is but I can't find a damn copy. Someone mentioned something about it being in a '2-game pack' along with another Looking Glass game like Thief II or something.

tHE vAGGABOND

indeed..

system shock 2, £19 on amazon.co.uk

a tenner on Gameplay.com

Spiffing

Originally posted by SyxPak
Hobbes makes sense.

He's talking about System Shock 2 while the other blokes talking about System Shock 1...I think

CodeMonkey

When vagga said millions warezed System Shock and then the developer ran of of business, he was talking about System Shock 2. Hobbes thought he was talking about SS1 so asked how he was able to get SS2 etc. Oh nevermind...

Spiffing

Er..