Halo: The Master Chief Collection Is Coming to the PC

[sharknice]

I usually only play on Legendary in co-op. I stick to Heroic on PC when I'm by myself (Normal on consoles). I beat Reach on PC on Legendary by myself no problem, but Halo 1 Anniversary I had to give up on the 3rd level. THIS is the Legendary I remember. I was thinking Reach on Legendary was too easy. The old PC port of Halo 1 I beat a few different levels on Legendary (can't believe I did the fucking Library on that difficulty), but the whole game no fucking way.


And I don't think anyone will give a shit if it never comes to PC either. XB1 can keep that shit.


I was planning to do the same and wait for a sale, but a friend hooked me up for Christmas. The only Halo games I own prior to MCC was original Gearbox port of Halo 1, Halo ODST, and Halo Reach (I bought the special collector's edition cuz it was Bungie's last Halo game). A friend also sold me the X360 version of Halo 1 Anniversary for $10 some years ago (barely touched the the XB1 MCC version). All the other Halo games on console I have either borrowed or played with friends at their houses. Been through 'em all a few times (some many times) over the years, both the original versions and with XB1 MCC. I've been through Reach a ton of times on X360 both solo and co-op, but playing it on PC with mouse and keyboard was like I finally, TRULY played it for the first time. I said the same thing about Halo 2 using Project Cartographer (I did play the original PC port Halo 2 Vista back when it came out, but oh gawd please don't remind me about that shit). Looking forward to finally fucking playing Halo 3 and ODST with mouse and keyboard. Reach and ODST are the two games I've wanted to play with mouse and keyboard the most.

The trick to beating Halo CE on legendary is ammo conservation. If you hit a checkpoint with no ammo it can be impossible to beat and you have to restart the whole level.

 

[DrezKill]

DF took a look at the PC version of Halo 1 Anniversary: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/...-pc-the-master-chief-collection-tech-analysis
They made a good point about the audio in the Gearbox PC port being superior due to EAX. I still enjoy hardware-accelerated audio with the game on my current system using ALchemy and my X-Fi. "Also strange is that the original soundscape mode on PC seems to randomly insert shield or plasma pistol charge sounds at random. Hopefully both of these issues can be corrected." I also had an issue in my own playthrough where I destroyed a banshee and it crashed to the ground, but it was still emitting the sound it makes when it is flying.

Some selections from the article:
"...there's a problem in how SSAO scales, leaving vertical banding in all of the game's shadowed regions. I hope this is another aspect that can be fixed in due course to make the enhanced mode one step closer to perfection."

"Also, unlike Halo Reach, FPS interpolation and higher than 60fps frame-rates work properly this time around, but that does not mean that it is completely perfect. Plasma weapon effects such as the shots from stationary plasma turrets, plasma pistols and plasma rifles all update at 30fps no matter your chosen frame-rate target."

"This also applies to the update rate for the energy swords carried by Elites which can look really awkward as the arms move out of sync with the sword they are supposed to be carrying. Most surprising for me was that all of the cinematics in the game have animation rates tied to 30fps, while the camera in these cinematics moves at an uncapped frame-rate. So basically, the new port of Halo exhibits many of the same problems that Halo PC had all the way back in 2003. Perhaps this is done for reasons of syncing cutscene playback in coop play."

"These frame-rate problems for certain animations are somewhat surprising to me because the Chimera mod for the original 2003 PC release unlocks the frame-rate of animations and interpolates them, creating workarounds for this issue - so I'm curious as to why a new 2020 port has these issues when existing mods have been available for some time that cure 17-year-old limitations with the original port. Surely with all the time, money and resources available to 343 Industries, the firm should be able to match the efforts of the Halo community?"

"While it plays extremely well and offers new visuals and cooperative experiences we've never seen before on PC, the visual foundations for this release are still not right - something that's very important in preserving a genuine classic. The original Gearbox version of Halo from 2003 was released missing visual aspects found in the original Xbox version and the MCC version of Halo CEA on Xbox One and in this PC version inherit those problems. The issues are found right across the game and can really have a negative effect on the intended visuals. Transparencies and fog effects are often incorrectly delivered, textures and bump mapping effects can present poorly - and that's really just the tip of the iceberg."

"The thing is that these are issues that have been known about for a long time in the Halo community, problems that the community has actively sought to resolve via modding. Today you can download the Halo Restoration and have a version of the game on PC which does not have many of the visual problems that the Master Chief Collection has. And it's here where I really hope that the team behind this new Halo CEA port can perhaps draw some inspiration from the community and work to address these issues once and for all. It's all about preservation: Halo as a game deserves to look as art-correct as possible with Bungie's original design, as it is a timelessly gorgeous game. Its extensive use of effects, bump mapping, and other DirectX 8 trickery made it such a stand-out title back in the day and really, the official 343 port should hold up and continue this proud legacy."

 

[sharknice]

DF took a look at the PC version of Halo 1 Anniversary: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/...-pc-the-master-chief-collection-tech-analysis
They made a good point about the audio in the Gearbox PC port being superior due to EAX. I still enjoy hardware-accelerated audio with the game on my current system using ALchemy and my X-Fi. "Also strange is that the original soundscape mode on PC seems to randomly insert shield or plasma pistol charge sounds at random. Hopefully both of these issues can be corrected." I also had an issue in my own playthrough where I destroyed a banshee and it crashed to the ground, but it was still emitting the sound it makes when it is flying.

Some selections from the article:
"...there's a problem in how SSAO scales, leaving vertical banding in all of the game's shadowed regions. I hope this is another aspect that can be fixed in due course to make the enhanced mode one step closer to perfection."

"Also, unlike Halo Reach, FPS interpolation and higher than 60fps frame-rates work properly this time around, but that does not mean that it is completely perfect. Plasma weapon effects such as the shots from stationary plasma turrets, plasma pistols and plasma rifles all update at 30fps no matter your chosen frame-rate target."

"This also applies to the update rate for the energy swords carried by Elites which can look really awkward as the arms move out of sync with the sword they are supposed to be carrying. Most surprising for me was that all of the cinematics in the game have animation rates tied to 30fps, while the camera in these cinematics moves at an uncapped frame-rate. So basically, the new port of Halo exhibits many of the same problems that Halo PC had all the way back in 2003. Perhaps this is done for reasons of syncing cutscene playback in coop play."

"These frame-rate problems for certain animations are somewhat surprising to me because the Chimera mod for the original 2003 PC release unlocks the frame-rate of animations and interpolates them, creating workarounds for this issue - so I'm curious as to why a new 2020 port has these issues when existing mods have been available for some time that cure 17-year-old limitations with the original port. Surely with all the time, money and resources available to 343 Industries, the firm should be able to match the efforts of the Halo community?"

"While it plays extremely well and offers new visuals and cooperative experiences we've never seen before on PC, the visual foundations for this release are still not right - something that's very important in preserving a genuine classic. The original Gearbox version of Halo from 2003 was released missing visual aspects found in the original Xbox version and the MCC version of Halo CEA on Xbox One and in this PC version inherit those problems. The issues are found right across the game and can really have a negative effect on the intended visuals. Transparencies and fog effects are often incorrectly delivered, textures and bump mapping effects can present poorly - and that's really just the tip of the iceberg."

"The thing is that these are issues that have been known about for a long time in the Halo community, problems that the community has actively sought to resolve via modding. Today you can download the Halo Restoration and have a version of the game on PC which does not have many of the visual problems that the Master Chief Collection has. And it's here where I really hope that the team behind this new Halo CEA port can perhaps draw some inspiration from the community and work to address these issues once and for all. It's all about preservation: Halo as a game deserves to look as art-correct as possible with Bungie's original design, as it is a timelessly gorgeous game. Its extensive use of effects, bump mapping, and other DirectX 8 trickery made it such a stand-out title back in the day and really, the official 343 port should hold up and continue this proud legacy."

I doubt 343 will fix any of this. They either don't know or don't care because it isn't going to have a significant effect on sales.
I just hope it's possible for the modding community to fix it.
There also are a lot of issues with multiplayer that are significant to competitive play that make it a no-go for the competitive community still playing original xbox version.

 

[defaultluser]

I'm not paying more than twenty bucks for this Hot Mess. It took them two years after release to fix the biggest game-breaking issues, and it's still not completely fixed.

 

[Flogger23m]

I'm not paying more than twenty bucks for this Hot Mess. It took them two years after release to fix the biggest game-breaking issues, and it's still not completely fixed.

Reach audio is completely screwed up still. Just finished it this weekend, first time playing that game.

Also forgot how terrible Halo 1 was. It was fairly terrible for a early 2000s game and hasn't aged well. Horrific navigation, AI, map design, zero feel to anything, no quick saves, broken save system in general. I'd probably give it a 2/10 if the graphics were more modern. For its time, probably close to a 4-5/10. For some reason this got rave reviews upon release but it certainly didn't deserve it.

This version has some other minor bugs as well. Randomly you'll hear you gun shooting occasionally. With luck, the rest of the games will be better. Will probably skip 2 and just wait for 3 but I forgot the story, will likely just read up on it and hope 3 is more along the lines of Reach.

 

[Derangel]

Reach audio is completely screwed up still. Just finished it this weekend, first time playing that game.

Also forgot how terrible Halo 1 was. It was fairly terrible for a early 2000s game and hasn't aged well. Horrific navigation, AI, map design, zero feel to anything, no quick saves, broken save system in general. I'd probably give it a 2/10 if the graphics were more modern. For its time, probably close to a 4-5/10. For some reason this got rave reviews upon release but it certainly didn't deserve it.

This version has some other minor bugs as well. Randomly you'll hear you gun shooting occasionally. With luck, the rest of the games will be better. Will probably skip 2 and just wait for 3 but I forgot the story, will likely just read up on it and hope 3 is more along the lines of Reach.

What? Halo CE had some of the best enemy AI for its time. I’d argue it’s still better than some shooters today. Ally AI is dumber than a box of rocks, but that’s par for the course. I very much disagree with everything else as well. I loved Halo on release and while it has not aged super well in some areas, I still find it rather fun.

 

[Flogger23m]

What? Halo CE had some of the best enemy AI for its time. I’d argue it’s still better than some shooters today. Ally AI is dumber than a box of rocks, but that’s par for the course. I very much disagree with everything else as well. I loved Halo on release and while it has not aged super well in some areas, I still find it rather fun.

If running into your face is your idea of good AI (even for the early 2000s) just to adsorb 30-50 shots to the face in a one way corridor then good for you. Even the last mission is bugged in this. Can't blow up these vent cores with grenades like you're supposed to. Oh well, was a boring game anyways. Was bad way back when, and these issues only remind me why it sucked. First 3-4 missions are nice, then the rest of the game is literally copy/pasted crap that show cases all the terrible flaws.

 

[M76]

What? Halo CE had some of the best enemy AI for its time.

Good for its time doesn't mean still holds up today. As I remember it was just very difficult with ridicilous dodge ability. Which was better than others that still only had enemies rushing you in a straight line.

 

[Armenius]

3, ODST, and 4. 5 isn't part of MCC and 343 have said they currently don't have plans to port it. They have two studios working on multiple games at a time. They were doing Reach and CEA at the same time. When Reach was done that studio went on to work on 2. Now that CEA is out that studio will go on to working on 3.

5 is hot garbage, anyway. No big loss.

 

[DrezKill]

Can't blow up these vent cores with grenades like you're supposed to.

Easier to use rocket launcher. Stand about level with the vents and fire when the vents open. It was always weird trying to get it to work with grenades.

 

[sharknice]

There are a lot of subtle things the Halo CE AI does that plebian brains don't notice and most modern games don't even do. If you don't like it ur dumb.

The enemies actually have different personalities.
Each species behaves differently, each rank within that species behaves differently, each individual of the same type even has different behaviors, and they behave differently depending on the other enemies they are with. This makes the core gameplay much more fun and interesting compared to basically every other FPS including the newest Halo games.

For example there is typically a leader within a group of enemies. Take out the leader and the rest will scatter and stop working together.
Tag a low tier grunt with a plasma grenade and it runs to its allies yelling "get it off", but tag an elite and it tries to hug you. There are tons of different fun interactions like that.

 

[Derangel]

If running into your face is your idea of good AI (even for the early 2000s) just to adsorb 30-50 shots to the face in a one way corridor then good for you. Even the last mission is bugged in this. Can't blow up these vent cores with grenades like you're supposed to. Oh well, was a boring game anyways. Was bad way back when, and these issues only remind me why it sucked. First 3-4 missions are nice, then the rest of the game is literally copy/pasted crap that show cases all the terrible flaws.

You couldn't be more wrong about Halo CE's AI. They don't "run into your face". Well, some do, but it depends on the type. Enemies will lead you into ambushes, they will try to disengage and find better angles to attack from, they'll hide behind cover, they dodge out of the way of shots, enemies with shields will run and hide once their shield is taken out while waiting for the shield to recharge, some enemies have a "panic" state that will cause them to flee, Grunts will drop their weapons and run when they're the only enemies left, each enemy type reacts differently to different weapons, every enemy uses their unique strengths to their advantage, stealth enemies actually try to hide and ambush you, enemies will try to use height to their advantage, and several other things I'm not even mentioning. The enemy AI in CE was revolutionary and it took YEARS before any other FPS game even came close to matching it.

It's fine not to like the game, but let's not lie about the things it does well.

Good for its time doesn't mean still holds up today. As I remember it was just very difficult with ridicilous dodge ability. Which was better than others that still only had enemies rushing you in a straight line.

Not even close to what it was and CE's AI still holds up today.

 

[M76]

Not even close to what it was and CE's AI still holds up today.

Like I'm supposed to remember every aspect of it from 20 years ago, LOL. And from what you describe ridiculous dodge ability was spot on. I'm sorry that's the only thing that left a lasting impression on me.

 

[Derangel]

Like I'm supposed to remember every aspect of it from 20 years ago, LOL. And from what you describe ridiculous dodge ability was spot on. I'm sorry that's the only thing that left a lasting impression on me.

It's mostly the Elites that are overly dodgy bastards. None of the other enemies dodge that much (or at all in some cases).