Carth Onassi Posted January 26, 2003 Share Posted January 26, 2003 I think the graphics on the pc version are going to need to be a little bit downgraded so that they can get the game to more people. Like the people that don't have a really awesome graphics card. If the Xbox and the Pc versions look identical or if the PC's got better graphics i will be very impressed. The PC version will probably have one thing that all the people on xbox wanted a connection to the internet so they can play online. That is one of the things i here people taking about a lot of the time, on lots of web sites and in mags "There's no internet support". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Com Raven Posted January 26, 2003 Share Posted January 26, 2003 Yeah Notion, nov 15th is my bet too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth_Rive Posted January 26, 2003 Share Posted January 26, 2003 Originally posted by Carth Onassi I think the graphics on the pc version are going to need to be a little bit downgraded so that they can get the game to more people. Like the people that don't have a really awesome graphics card. It should have a detail-level settings option menu, so that a wider range of people can play it, so you can have 640x480, low-poly models, low-res textures, etc, right on up to 1600x1200 (I imagine) with higher-poly models, high-res textures, maybe even some bump-mapping? (pleasehavebumpmappingpleasehavebumpmappingpleasehavebumpmappingpleasehavebumpmapping...) Oh, and two reasons why Bungie aren't directly involved with the PC version of Halo. 1) Bungie was originally a Mac game company, and didn't make games for IBM-compatibles (now known as "windows-machines", or PC's ), so perhaps they had some technical reasons for not working on the PC version. 2)Bungie are now Microsoft's bitch. They have to do whatever they tell them to. Which is a shame, no-one should have to go through that kind of bureacracy. It's odd that it's being delayed so much, surely it's just a case of importing the models, sounds, textures, and coding into a converted PC game engine and just adjusting the programming into PC code? I think it's actually Microsoft holding back the release date as long as possible because they've been ordered by some higher power to release it on the PC as well apprently. Am I the only one in the whole world that thought Halo was just mediocre, and that the X-Box is nothing special? Sure, it's better than the DC and PS2 in terms of graphical capabilities, but load up halo and check out the graphics there, then load up Rogue Leader on the GameCube and drool in awe... You're all under Microsoft's spell! Run for yor lives! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aerothorn Posted January 26, 2003 Share Posted January 26, 2003 Darth Riva, I'm feeling nice today, so I won't shoot down any "Microsoft is evil" conspiracy theories(Yes, I know you wern't saying that). Are you the only one who thought Halo was nothing special? No. Many people feel that way. Your a minority though. I thought it was close to perfection. I can sympathize, though- everyone is going crazy over Metroid Prime and its purly average, in my opinions. Let me make some things straight, though: 1. Its not a new game. Its Halo, on PC- They'll probably change almost nothing in single player. 2. Microsoft is not purposly pushing it back. People like to think Microsoft is doing "evil" things because its fun having a giant company to hate, but Microsoft makes most of its profit on PCs, remember. Its being pushed back to make it as good as possible. I feel sorry for developers- if it gets pushed back, people whine about it. If it isn't pushed back and is released all buggy, people whine about it. Its a no win situation. Be happy they aren't rushing it. 3. Someone said "Maybe Bungie is more used to Macs" or something. Yes, they were originally a Mac company, but Halo was always meant for PC- when they first showed it at the Mac expo, they had only just had the Mac version caught up to the PC version- PC was the priority. 4. No, Bungie is not being pushed around by Microsoft- I know the guys at Bungie and have talked to them about it. First off, they are quite happy with their relationship with Microsoft(In the words of Mordia "All I know is when we were bought out, my paycheck doubled."). Second off, Microsoft is not interfereing with their development process- Microsoft didn't get where they are today by trying to piss of their allies, and the realize that the game will be best if Bungie takes their time with it- Microsoft would much rather have it be a little late then have it rushed and come out horrible, making Halo 3 sell that much worse. Microsoft provides them with tons of support, helping with Xbox Live intergration, staff, fancy computers, etc. 5. Gearbox is doing it because Bungie asked Gearbox to do it. And no, Gearbox doesn't get to run rampant with their franchise, Bungie is working closely with them. If you want more answers, ask Marty (Go to the seventh column and post in the Marty Army's Q&A). I think they hired Gearbox because Bungie is a very small studio- they're growing, but they aren't Lucasarts or anything, and this is probably the first time where they've been working on more then one game at once. 6. I'll kick all your butts at Halo multiplayer:P Oh ya, and yes, Rogue Leader looked very nice, but it was because of the game style, less models and such. Halo 2 will look much better, trust me- it rivals Doom 3 in visuals, and certainly looks nicer then KoTOR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Com Raven Posted January 26, 2003 Share Posted January 26, 2003 You know, that's pretty much bs there... If you don't know how MS handles things, better don't talk about it... Fact is, they treat their studios much better than EA or Vivendi does... And Rogue LEader looks very good, but Xbox looks better... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aerothorn Posted January 27, 2003 Share Posted January 27, 2003 Raven, was that post targeted at me, or Riva? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Com Raven Posted January 27, 2003 Share Posted January 27, 2003 At Rive Your post wasn't there when I clicked on reply Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth_Rive Posted January 28, 2003 Share Posted January 28, 2003 My sincerest apologies to Aerothorn and Com Raven, I was going on "horror stories" about Microsoft that I thought everyone had heard and knew. In spite of this, I still don't like them though, because of their shrewd business tactics. But that's another discussion altogether. Aerothorn, how much can you tell us / find out about the technical side of things as far as Halo II and the PC version of Halo I is concerned? Are they planning to use bump-mapping at all? Do you know of any major changes to the story? Will Gearbox be releasing an SDK with it or afterwards? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Com Raven Posted January 28, 2003 Share Posted January 28, 2003 Yeah, see, that's the prob, most people things MS is the same lime Microsoft Gamne Studios... Fact though is, that most studios love working for MS, as they get all the support and QA you can dream off... I mean look at it this way: Almost all MS games that should have been released last fall were pushed back! Why? Cause MS wants it's studios to make great games... And Bungie also did Myth 1 and 2 on pc... Halo 2 uses bump-mapping all over the place... in fact, Master Chief in Halo 2 has a lot less polygons than in one? So why does he look beter? Bump-mapping Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Com Raven Posted January 28, 2003 Share Posted January 28, 2003 Also, two more things: Among the 100 companies in america people love to work for the most, MS is 20... No other gaming company is in Top 100... And there's this bit: "Delahaye announced today the results of the 2002 Media Reputation Index, an annual assessment of how news coverage affects corporate reputation. To the surprise of many technology was the strongest of all sectors in 2002, with Microsoft getting the #1 place. In simple words, Microsoft has the best reputation among the largest American companies." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aerothorn Posted January 29, 2003 Share Posted January 29, 2003 Sorry, didn't mean to make that post sound mean, Rive. Anyway, as Com said, they actually have a good reputation among people in the buisness, but most of the public doesn't like them simply cause they are rich and they don't like them. And its fine to not like their buisness tactics. But what a lot of people don't realize is Microsoft does not use worse buisness tactics then anyone else- Microsoft just gets more publicity about their tactics. Of Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft, I actually think Microsoft is the best ethiclly. Nintendo did that whole "Manipulating market prices" thing, and Microsoft never did anything like that. As for sony, you remember what they did to Bleem? Bleem was a program that could emulate PSX games. Sony didn't like it, they took it to court, but the judge said it was legal. Sony took it to court again, they said it was legal again. Repeat. Sony, realizeing they couldn't win in court, told game stores "Either take Bleem off your shelves or we won't supply PSX products to you" so they did, and that, combined with the huge legal fees, made Bleem go out of buisness. I'm not a Microsoft fanboy or anything, but my parents worked for Microsoft, so I got an inside look at the company. And let me tell you, the reasons people like working for them is they treat their employees NICE(Its one reason why Microsoft is so productive: Happy employees are hard working employees). I went to work with my Mom on days I was sick, and it was really cool. They have this HUGE cafeteria with a billion different resteraunts, from burgers to chinese food to mexican to ice cream. They have TONS of employee benefits- every kind of health, dental, and any other kind of insurance you can imagine. You also get to go to the Company Store and get products dirt cheap(We're Alumni, so we still can!). They also hold tons of special events for employees- just the other day Bruce Campbell (The star of the Evil Dead series) had a book signing and other stuff thing at Microsoft. Yes, some of their buisness tactics can be harsh, but if Microsoft decided to give it competitors big happy hugs, they would be destroyed, and someone who was probably worse would take their place, so you really can't fault em for it- hate the game, not the player. And most companies do things just as bad or worse- its just MIcrosoft is under watch more often so everything they do gets reported. And the reason they are so respected is that they always keep their word and treat customers well. For instance, when EA released Global Ops and it didn't sell well, they abandoned it and never finished patching. When, say, Crimson Skies didn't sell well for Microsoft, they fully patched it, kept updating the site, and even hired a bunch of authors to write short stories on it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth_Rive Posted January 29, 2003 Share Posted January 29, 2003 Com Raven - yeah, I know about Halo II having all the bump-mapping, saw it in Edge magazine a few months back. *drools* What I wanted to know was whether Gearbox would inlude bump-mapping in the PC release of Halo I - my friend tells me that there was some in the X-Box version, and he spend ages playing with his torch on it... Lol. So it just got me thinking, that if the coding for it is actually there available in the game, I just wondered if they'd exploit it n the PC version, bearing in mind that PC processors have reached the 3Ghz mark, the graphics cards are at least twice as good at the GeForce 2's that the X-Box has, and they can handle far more RAM as well, so it only seems logical. Written by Com Raven ...with Microsoft getting the #1 place. In simple words, Microsoft has the best reputation among the largest American companies. I know this sounds like it's going back to the whole "conspiracy theory" stuff, but you do have to bear in mind that there is a lot of money exchanging hands in the opinions market. Publishers pay off magazines and websites daily for decent reviews of an otherwise shoddy product, and are asked to look the other way when faults are found. I actually know someone that writes freelance for many games magazines in the UK, and has actually had his scored altered, the reviews edited and the bad points cut out by the timne it reached publication... So at the same time, you must know that Microsoft is the world's richest corporation, and money is basically no object, so there's colossal potential for a bit of "cash for votes" there in the awards voting arena... Aerothorn - don't worry, the post wasn't mean at all, it was very informative, and a bit of an eye-opener. But don't get me wrong - I don't dislike Microsoft for the simple fact that "it's fashionable to not like large wealthy organisations". One of the particular stories that I was referring to was almost identical to Sony's battle with "Bleem!"; it played a part in Netscape's falling popularity. The story (which I believe was on the news a few years back now) told how Microsoft felt threatened by the presence Netscape Navigator (for some bizarre reason), and tried to buy them out, to which they refuesed, then they asked for a merger, and they said no again, until Microsoft was so annoyed with Netscape that they sent them an e-mail (that was later leaked to the media) saying simply: We'll either buy you or bury you. There's also the fact that, although the company prides itself on the quality of its products, it has the gall to release version after version of Windows that so obviously isn't as thoroughly tested as it should have been, and then as the gall to ask customers without internet access to pay for patches to cover up these mistakes, and invariably, without fail, creates more. Now I know that no-ones perfect, but if I'm going to spend £150 on a copy of an O/S that is essentially controlling what I can do with my PC, I'd want it a little better thanwhat they've been churning out. I'm sorry, but not one of you can tell me that your PC has never crashed. With the advanced level of programmers that they're hiring today, these sort of mistakes should not be happening, or at least should be fewer and further between. My apologies if that refers to either or your parents, Aerothorn. As for games not being finished because a publisher either can't be bothered with it any more or can't afford to pay for programmers to produce updates, look at Interplay with "Fallout Tactics". The game has been on the market now for several years, and still it lies unfinished. To be fair to them, they did the same with "Star Trek: StarFleet Command II" games, but after about six months and several patches, the game was actually finished. So I can understand exactly what you're saying. All I'm saying is that a company that size has a gigantic amount of power behind it, so don't take everything at face value. I don't mean suspect every employee of being a spy or a merecnary, or expect to find their employees rooting through your PC next time you log on. I just mean think about the possibilities, and be extra vigilant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aerothorn Posted January 29, 2003 Share Posted January 29, 2003 Nah, trust me, Microsoft doesn't pay out for the polls. Oh, sure, they could, but it really doesn't get them anywhere. A good review of a product is different then a good review of a company- Microsoft didn't get where they are by throwing money away like that. And my advice about Windows is if you don't like it, don't use it. As for paying for patches, I dunno what they do in England, but here patches are free. Or you said people without net connections. You mean to have, like, cds mailed to them? Well I think practiclly everyone has a net connection, and I'm sure they don't make a profit off of that, it costs money to mail CDs. As for that e-mail, yes, that was nasty, and more importanly it was damn stupid of Microsoft, but one person sent that e-mail, not the whole company. Besides, e-mails like that go around between companies every day- Microsoft just got more publicity for it. Some people say they got where they are by using nasty buisness tactics, but the fact is, they got there for 3 reasons: 1. Luck. 2. Good buisness tactics, but, most importantly, 3. Because people liked their product. Windows didn't get so sucessful cause MIcrosoft made people buy it, it got there because it was preferred to Macintosh. If people liked Macs better they would be dominant. Still I don't mind you or anyone disliking Microsoft. The only thing that steams me is when people use Microsoft and Bill Gates interchangibly. People at Gamefaqs are like "Bill Gates thinks that with this Xbox game blah blah blah...". Well Bill Gates has a company with about 25 million employees(I dunno if thats the real number but its many millions) and he doesn't do everything himself. Bill Gates CERTAINLY has bigger things to do then run the Xbox games division. Hell hes not even CEO or President of Microsoft. Hes Chief Technology Officer and Chairman of the board or something. While thats my rant for today. Me sleepy now. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth_Rive Posted January 29, 2003 Share Posted January 29, 2003 But that's just my point, Aerothorn - Microsoft could get anywhere or do anything with that kind of money. Notice how, for example, they're still one giant company instead of three smaller ones after the Monopoly Commission investigated them... ? But I agree with everything else you're saying. Oh, except for the bit about not using Windows. In the modern computing world, there's practically no choice. Every new system bought my Joe Public comes pre-installed with Windows of some description. And for the rest of us who can format and reinstall for ourselves, what are the alternatives? There's Mac O/S, O/S2 Warp (i it even exists any more...), Linux, Unix, MS-DOS, but beyond that, what, BBC BASIC? The fact is that if you want the latest games releases, you have to stick with Windows, maybe Mac O/S if you don't mind waiting a little longer to get the titles. But when was the last time you saw the RedHat Linux version of "Max Payne" for example? And the other O/Ses ( what's the plural for that abbreviation anyway? ) simply don't get the software releases that Windows does. Mac O/S comes close, but I'm not going to go out and but a new machine just so that I can use a different O/S. Just can't afford it. Something else that's started playing on my mind a little is why are there not more O/Ses? There are thousands of talented programmers with ideas of their own, I'm pretty sure some of them must be working on an O/S of their own? So why are there not more O/Ses? They're probably being bought up and having their software integrated into the existing ones. *has a flashback to the movie "AntiTrust" * Mmmmm.... Rachael Leigh Cook...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aerothorn Posted January 29, 2003 Share Posted January 29, 2003 Are you suggesting Microsoft bribed the people in the Antitrust case? They might of if they could get away with it, but they wouldn't, its too large a risk- if they were caught they'd be screwed. And one thing a lot of people don't get is that its not illegal to be a monopoly- its perfectly legal to be a monopoly(Sorry for any typos, typing this on school computer with sticky keyboard). Its just illegal to abuse your monopoly. Ya, I understand what your saying about windows, though I still prefer it to Mac. Microsoft could be doing a lot worse- they ARE constantly working to improve it, when they could sit back and make you use it anyway. That why they have that "Send error report" thing, so it can know whats wrong and fix it. Personally I love Windows XP- its fast, its stable(I haven't had any bugs related to the OS yet) and it has features up the wazoo. Microsoft is also extremely important to the economy- they are the second largest employer(after Boeing, and Boeing is doing all the layoffs so they could be largest now) in Washington, and if Microsoft went byebye, we'd be even more screwed- Seattle has been hit harder then anyone by the economic downturn and we don't need it worse. Also, Microsoft is the number one donater to charity year after year, so look at the bright side- a chunk of all that wealth they are making is going to medical and education programs in Africa and such. Some such programs run entirely on Microsoft money. Or maybe I'm just biased because the company store kicks ass;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Glorfindel Posted January 31, 2003 Author Share Posted January 31, 2003 How did u get access to the Microsoft store? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aerothorn Posted February 4, 2003 Share Posted February 4, 2003 Well my parents worked at Microsoft when I was younger, my mom was head of Marketing for Children's Software (Magic School Bus and such) and my dad was an editor at Microsoft Press. When they left they joined an Alumni club that has a bunch of benefits, one of which is continued access to the company store. While you get access to the hardware, software and PC and Xbox games they make, you also get access to a bunch of merchandise, DK books, some other stuff. Everything from Xbox watches to Microsoft sparkle lava lamp things(Which I own and is super cool, plays patterns on the wall.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Glorfindel Posted February 5, 2003 Author Share Posted February 5, 2003 Originally posted by Aerothorn Well my parents worked at Microsoft when I was younger, my mom was head of Marketing for Children's Software (Magic School Bus and such) and my dad was an editor at Microsoft Press. When they left they joined an Alumni club that has a bunch of benefits, one of which is continued access to the company store. While you get access to the hardware, software and PC and Xbox games they make, you also get access to a bunch of merchandise, DK books, some other stuff. Everything from Xbox watches to Microsoft sparkle lava lamp things(Which I own and is super cool, plays patterns on the wall.) Thats bloody cool. Do they have MS Shoelaces? jk Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth_Rive Posted February 5, 2003 Share Posted February 5, 2003 Heehee. Bet you put them into the holes in the shoes and a BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death) comes up and says, "Error. Incompatibility issues with Kernel32.shoe. Please reinstall drivers or contact lace manufacturers." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aerothorn Posted February 6, 2003 Share Posted February 6, 2003 Uh....I don't get it. And I think Microsoft shoelaces would be a little excessive. Besides, who actually buys shoelaces? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Glorfindel Posted February 6, 2003 Author Share Posted February 6, 2003 I buy shoelaces when my other shoelaces are worn out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth_Rive Posted February 6, 2003 Share Posted February 6, 2003 You can't see me right now, but I'm rubbing my temples.... My humour is wasted on these people.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Simpson Posted February 6, 2003 Share Posted February 6, 2003 If it makes you feel any better, I got it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth_Rive Posted February 6, 2003 Share Posted February 6, 2003 Well thank f**k for that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aerothorn Posted February 7, 2003 Share Posted February 7, 2003 It's called Asperger's Syndrome. I'm autistic. Its not my fault if I can't tell when people are joking. Its impossible to tell online. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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