Halo 2-tråden

[b-duvaland]

Her kan man poste nyheter om Halo 2, etterhvert som de kommer. (Screenshots, utgivelsesdato, nyheter mm.)

 

Jeg snappet opp noe info på http://www.xboxworld.nl, som hadde linket til en side hos teamxbox.

 

"

Halo 2 is a lot like Halo 1, only it's Halo 1 on fire, going 130 miles per hour through a hospital zone, being chased by helicopters and ninjas," said Jason Jones, Bungie Studios head. "And the ninjas are all on fire, too." That’s how the lead designer of Halo 1 describes its successor.

"

 

"

One of the biggest advances in HALO 2 will be the new graphics engine. A radical change in the rendering philosophy makes possible -- as the teaser trailer probed, real-time graphics that are almost undistinguishable from pre-calculated rendering. To better understand why HALO 2 looks as good as DOOM III, the other benchmark in real-time graphics, you have to first understand the change in the rendering method.

"

 

"

As an example on the new gameplay elements, imagine the following situation: You are walking down a corridor, look around a corner in MGS style and realize that the next room is full of Covenants. There are some lights, so you decide to shoot them, turning off all the lighting in the room. You switch to the sniper rifle and with night vision on, you start killing them one by one. Well, it won’t be that easy probably, since Bungie promises a great improvement in A.I. Covenants will be smarter and using the interactivity of the world they’ll be capable of manipulating the environment while attacking you. The Master Chief will also be able to interact with the environment, like using objects as cover or real-world physics to kill the enemies.

"

 

Noen nye biler i 2'ern:

http://www.teamxbox.com/images/dailyposts/...lo2/warthog.jpg

 

 

Hele artikkelen:

http://www.teamxbox.com/content.php?id=395&p=0 (den er på 3 sider, meget bra lesning).

 

[ Denne Melding var redigert av: TST på 2002-11-01 09:06 ]

[TST]

Og som vanlig (som vi tydeligvis aldri kan gjenta nok) poster man ikke bilder rett i innlegget.

[Ratatosk]

Jeg har snappa opp at det blir også en Buggy bike (en slags motorsykkel med fire hjul) og en Covenant hovercraft kalt Shadow å kjøre i tilegg til de transportene som er vist i inlegget over.

 

"Cortana and the Master Chief must defend humanity's last stronghold and then take the fight back to the Covenant, attacking the source of their power deep inside the Covenant world."

 

Det er snakk om to nye raser, Prophets og Brutes. Prophets er den ene delen av pakten mellom Prophets og Elites.

 

"The Covenant is named for the pact binding its two primary races, the Elites and the Prophets. The Elites form the backbone of the Covenant millitary and the Prophets are the Covenant's political and spiritual leadership. Much of the game will focus on the relationship between these two races and on the hidden motives for their attacks against humanity."

 

The Prophets farter rundt i antigravitasjons stoler og har unike hodeplagg som gjør at man kan kjenne igjen hvert enkelt individ.

 

Brutes vet jeg ikke så mye om, men de ser ut som høye Grunts, standard kanonfôr altså.

 

Av nye våpen blir det en kraftig sub-machine gun som bruker patronløs ammunisjon og sniperscope gun, en blanding mellom sniper rifle og assault rifle.

 

Det vil bli mere utendørs områder og større skala på "battles".

 

Det vil antageligvis ikke bli bots i oppfølgeren heller :sad:

 

"The main focus of our multiplayer efforts on Halo 2 is the squad-oriented, two-team online game. It will feature Human Spartans versus Covenant Elites and will attempt to capture the oneplayer Halo experience in an online setting. Instead of the gametypes of Halo, the online game will be a real battle with real objectives, supporting events such as airstrikes and lots of carnage."

 

Multiplayer delen vil være tilgjengelig gjennon Xbox Live.

[Amped]

Quote:

Den 2002-11-01 13:05, skrev Ratatosk: Multiplayer delen vil være tilgjengelig gjennon Xbox Live.

 

hmmm... nå blir jeg jo helt 100% nødt til å få tak i live når det kommer da... er jo nødt til å ha multiplayer!

 

men forsto jeg deg rett? ...i multiplayer, er det slik at det ene teamet en art, og det andre teamet en annen art?

 

...ellers bra info ratatosk! :wink:

[b-duvaland]

Det virker sånn...

 

Man kan jo selvsagt spille vanlig deathmatch også, og vanlige teams, har iallefall hatt mange morro kamper i halo 1 slik :wink:

[Jc-g]

Ok, jeg tenkte jeg kunne være litt snill og dele den beste (og lengste) forhåndsomtalen av Halo 2 med dere. Den kommmer fra http://www.gamingworldx.com/xbox/Halo2.shtml

så har jeg ikke gjort noe ulovelig.

 

Enjoy

 

Halo 2 Preview

 

Ask anyone in the industry if they expected Halo to have the impact it did when the Xbox launched last year. Unless they are liars, they'll all have the exact same answer: No. Sure, it looked pretty good - great in fact - but a game that obviously comes from PC roots succeeding in the console marketplace? Unheard of. Thing is, Halo did just that.

 

In fact, one might say that it was Halo that single-handedly saved the Xbox from a certain early doom. Microsoft had their killer app, even if Dead or Alive 3 wasn't exactly the greatest fighting game ever made, like many expected. And Halo is a PC game. A PC game with PC looks, PC play mechanics, and even PC concepts. And it made it in the finicky console world. Halo was a miracle worker.

 

So, it's no mystery why Halo became the top-selling Xbox game. Even today, it is the only game in the Xbox library that PS2 and GameCube owners would love to have for their own. Well, that and maybe DOA Extreme Beach Volleyball ('cause boobies are good). It's been a long time since gamers were blessed with such a polished product. The story mode was cool, and co-op play was cooler. The controls were tight, and multi-player was a blast (still is). Players could even customize their own multi-player games! And the main game was enthralling, with the visuals, sound, and story coming together perfectly.

 

It's obvious that with Halo, Bungie and Microsoft realized that they have themselves a killer franchise on their hands, and by not exploiting it; they'd be officially retarded. But Bungie isn't out to simply cash in on Halo's success. Instead, they plan to make their true vision that they always had for Halo become a reality.

 

Bringing You Up to Date (So You Don't Get Confused)

 

When we last saw Master Chief, he was destroying Alpha Halo, an artificial planet that was actually a weapon of mass destruction and one that the Covenant wanted so badly. But if you paid attention to the story, you'll know that Alpha Halo isn't the only Halo in existence; there are others.

 

A small amount of time passes after the incident, where Master Chief and his female A.I. construct Cortana return to Earth to find it under attack. The alien alliance has obliterated all other human colonies except for Earth. Though the Covenant attack will come to a halt, it's clear that Master Chief has got some work to do, and that won't be merely backing up the humans' forces, but to travel deep into Covenant territory to stop their plans. Cool, huh?

 

Hey, there is one thing we should be really clear about before going any further. Xbox owners will not see this game until the Winter of 2003, so by getting too excited now, you're just torturing yourself more. So just stop it.

 

Looks Matter (Especially Here)

 

Halo was a good-looking game. You know it. We know it. Thanks to Precederal Texturing, objects got crisper the closer you got; a really cool effect that isn't used nearly enough in games today (though all consoles can do it). Halo was easily one of the better-looking Xbox games.

Halo 2 easily eclipses its predecessor, even at this early stage. What you might find surprising is that believe it or not, Master Chief is actually made up of less polys than he was in the first Halo. Bungie concluded that with less polygons floating around, more enemies and comrades can be onscreen at once (more on that later). So, how then can Halo 2 look better than the original game? All is revealed below.

 

The single biggest effect that Bungie is utilizing for Halo 2 is called bump mapping. Again, every current console can do it, but bump mapping is something of an Xbox strength. Bungie is using bump maps all throughout Halo 2, and the level of detail is simply breathtaking.

 

Bump mapping is a visual process where a map of 3-D objects overlay the texture itself, giving it all the detail it could possibly need. Three times the polygons would be needed to accomplish what bump mapping does, and this is all possible without the Xbox taking a performance hit. Not one drop in the framerate. Bump mapping has been the one integral tool used by Bungie for Halo 2, and the result is beautiful. In comparison, only the environments and buildings were bump mapped in Halo 1.

 

Light and shadow effects also play a major role, and is perhaps even more stunning than the bump maps. A real-time light and shadow engine has been incorporated for stunning results, and is even integrated into the gameplay. At times, you'll be fighting in the dark, and the illumination from your firearm will light up the area, and light sources reflect off the character models and you realistically. It's truly a sight to behold. Other standouts have to be the shadows, and how they realistically stretch and compress according to the direction of the light source and a character model's current position.

 

And speaking of shadows, a new effect in Halo 2 will be "self-shadowing"; a process in which shadows reflect off of you instead of another object in real-time. For instance, your helmet will create a shadow in the neck area, while certain guns you carry will reflect a real-time shadow onto your body somewhere, depending on position. And the shadows will distort and change position to the light source accordingly. Now picture every model onscreen having this effect added. Stunning.

 

But it's not just effects and illusions that have been fully revamped. The details in the graphics have become more complex as well. Master Chief now has his own individual fingers now. And, like you can probably guess, they can each move independently. The body armor that Master Chief wears is also changing with movement. Increased realism is the goal while Master Chief is in movement, and of course, Bungie succeeded in the task. And not only are the Chief's looks much more attractive (that doesn't sound right, does it?), so are all the other models in the game. Even your marine comrades carry different types of backpacks and other equipment associated with the type of infantry they fall under.

 

As for the environments, expect fully bump mapped, well-designed levels that look at least as good as those in Halo 1. More detail abound, the somewhat bare levels of the first Halo are no more. Many more objects littering the grounds are already evident. And are you ready for this? The environments are now destructible! Maybe not to the degree of Red Faction's Geo-Mod technology, but more than enough to satisfy. Windows will burst, walls and floors will explode, and much, much more.

 

Gameplay elements are involved with the settings this time around too. Master Chief can shoot out the lights, and conceal himself in the dark. Seeing it in action looks sweet, and though Bungie aren't trying to make Halo 2 a Metal Gear Solid or Splinter Cell clone (Bungie are adamant about not changing their action-heavy winning formula), Master Chief will be able to use the darkened areas to conceal himself for an advantage over the Covenant.

 

Think It Over

 

If you thought that the A.I. in Halo was intelligent, you haven't seen anything yet. Halo 2 will have one hell of a smart A.I. system, and that goes for the marines, the enemies, and the whole enchilada.

 

This time through, Marines actually help one another. They really help each other out, all in real-time, rather than being scripted to do so. They call for backup, travel in small groups, and listen to their leader by only attacking on command. It's true that especially in the first couple of levels of Halo, you really felt like you were a part of a war. The atmosphere was intense. Well, in Halo 2, the experience will be ten-fold, thanks in large part to your thinking allies. If one or more of your men are pinned, they can call for the help of a vehicle. Your men can even take cover -- again, without being told by the game to do so (like in scripting). And though your troops were chatty in the original Halo, in Halo 2, they will be saying a ton of new things, and much more often (one of our favorite aspects of Halo 1). The effect is astonishing, and is a true definition for impressive.

 

But your enemies will be smarter too. They will search in groups to take you out, scout ahead in situations where they suspect you are hidden somewhere, and they do lots of new animations too; ones that actually help them, like climbing walls of buildings and pillars. Many of your enemies will appear much more beast-like in nature, and as such, have the cunning of an animal. If you've mastered Halo, you'll have to re-think your strategy for Halo 2.

 

Move Over

 

No sequel would be complete without an arsenal of new moves, and Halo 2 is no different. Many of the new moves are somewhat "borrowed" in the sense that we just recently started to see these ideas used in games.

 

Peering around corners is an animation meant to both look cool and be actually functional, and though it seems like almost every game is including this Metal Gear Solid-lent animation. Used more for scouting the area than anything else, the move could come in real handy, seeing as in Halo 1, if you saw your enemies, they have already seen you (unless you were gripping a sniper rifle). Master Chief can also lean over ledges to see what's directly below. Chief can't shoot or throw any grenades at all when doing this, but the enemy can't harm Chief either.

 

Master Chief is still pretty much the same guy you knew from Halo. He's not anymore super-human than he was in the first game. He's not a traveling arsenal, and he doesn't transform into a spaceship. He carries only two weapons at a time, just like in the original game. However, Master Chief did learn a few new tricks, and there are two particularly effective ones that change things a bit on the battlefield.

 

The first is a sprint. For the first time, Master Chief will be able to move faster than a snail. Admit it, if Halo were a car, it'd get around faster in reverse. Not that it affected gameplay a whole lot, but it was generally a lot slower than other FPSs. While the framerate won't change for the most part, the new sprint move will allow Master Chief to put away his weapon, and double his running speed for a period. This is a big addition, because now when five elites are plugging you, you'll be able to get away from them instead of swallowing bullets all the time. Nice.

 

The second, and perhaps more important biggie in the new moves department, is the ability to combo your melee attacks. While this pretty much insists that enemies will more easily tolerate your melee attacks, it also makes you a bit stronger, and of course, look much cooler while doing it. Unfortunately for you, your enemies can combo as well, and there are even a few enemies that are equipped for it. Watching your back during melee is much more crucial in Halo 2.

 

New Covenant Recruits

 

Most, if not all of Halo's enemies will make a return, but one thing that is for sure, there will be a new face or two gracing the sequel. Revealed first are the Brutes. Think of meaner-looking Hunters, and you've got a pretty good idea of what Brutes are, and what they can do to you. We've seen these monsters, and they've got blades attached to their guns (these fellas are gonna kick your ass).

 

The Prophets play a bigger role when it comes to the story. See, the Covenant are made up of several alien races, brought together in an alliance by the Elites, and one other race: The Prophets. It is these beings that formed the Covenant with the Elites. These dudes move about on hovering chairs of sorts, and they are just as dangerous as any other race.

 

There are more races to be revealed, but as of now, Bungie is keeping mum.

 

Weapons of Destruction (AKA: Fun Toys)

 

Halo had a nice selection of weapons, but there could have been more. Worse, some of those weapons were all but useless in most situations. Remember the plasma pistol (a.k.a.: snot wad gun)? You'd deal more damage throwing toothbrushes. Sure, the sniper rifle worked great, and the shotgun was cool, but there were some stinkers too, and we would love to have some cool additions.

 

Bungie pleases us already with a few new toys, which we can introduce here. The first is the Battle Rifle, a modified Assault Rifle with a scope and is much more accurate. The only drawback is the slower rate of fire. At the opposite end of the spectrum, at least in a sense, is the SMG, a sub machine gun that has a very high rate of fire (naturally), but is very inaccurate. One cool detail of the SMG is the ability to see your ammo disappear as you fire, thanks to the clip attached to the side of the gun. Very cool.

 

GamingWorld X would love to see the flamethrower actually implemented into the game this time, Bungie! Sure, you can't tell us whether or not we'll get the very weapon you teased us with last time, can you? Hell no, your gonna keep your mouth shut about it. Fine. Be that way. We don't want a stupid flamethrower anyway (psst...we're lying, and we'll probably cry if we don't get one)!

One thing that Bungie is considering is the ability to manually detonate grenades. Imagine throwing down an explosive, and just patiently waiting for an enemy to walk on by, and BLAM! Splattered alien. Can you imagine how fun it will be in multi-player to wait until another player's corpse is laying about with their weapons not confiscated, and tossing a grenade among the pile and patiently waiting for a sucker -er...um...player to run up in anticipation on grabbing that needler and stash of grenades? Oh, the possibilities.

 

Get Outta My Dreams, and Into My Warthog (or I'll Blast You)

 

Like the vehicles in Halo? Yeah, they were pretty fun. You could commandeer them in both the story and in multi-player, and if you were particularly in driving them, you had an enormous advantage. Players will be pleased to know that Halo 2 will pack twice the vehicles.

 

The ATV looks hella-cool, and the four-wheel hell-raising machine is fast. It's unclear as to whether or not you can shoot with one-handed guns while riding them, though we certainly hope so.

 

Bungie is working on a moon buggy-type vehicle (there will be a mission based on a moon; in low-gravity conditions!), and there will be more flying vehicles as well, one being the Covenant Shadow. This slick-looking flying machine is one seater only, but has room for a gunner and two others to hang off the sides. Another addition is not only the return of the Warthog, but it's return in several different versions. There is your standard version from Halo 1, and three others, including jungle, snow, and troop carrier versions. The snow version looks coolest, resembling a half-track-type snowmobile (albeit a very big snowmobile). The troop carrier is simply a longer version of the standard Warthog, with a bigger space in back for transporting marines. The jungle version is decked out in military cammo, but otherwise, cosmetically resembles the standard Warthog.

 

The Next Evolution to Revolutionize

 

Now, of course, you'd expect Bungie to be taking Halo 2 to Xbox Live, and if you really think something like that, you’re absolutely correct. Bungie plans on the return of multi-player favorites like Slayer, Oddball, King of the Hill, and Capture the Flag, and may even add a few new games to boot. And if you think that's fun, wait until you hear what Bungie's got in store for those who are truly all about online!

 

You know that whole Marines vs. Covenant war? All that atmosphere and intensity as you and your allies fight along side one another against what seems sometimes to be impossible odds? Well, Bungie plans to recreate the experience online, where all beings within the game are players! That means that the Covenant will be playable! Army vs. army fighting a war similar to what you'd encounter in the core game, only everyone in the game are real people playing over the Internet through Xbox Live! Add the Xbox voice communicator for strategizing with your teammates, or trash talking during Slayer games. Tasty!

 

Bungie is aiming for 12 to 16 people online at once as the absolute minimum. Of course, we're hoping for many more, but we're sure that the good folks at Bungie are going to do everything they can to make our dreams come true.

 

Halo 2 Will be Fragging Awesome!

 

We all know that by now, and it isn't just hype, that Halo 2 is going to rock, and hopefully, by the time the title ships, everything on Xbox Live will be working perfectly, and we'll all be able to get our game on. Bungie refuses to simply update the game with a few new maps and multi-player games, and we couldn't be more appreciative because of it.

 

If you don't have an Xbox, Halo 2 will likely make you go out and buy one. A few million gamers bought into the first Halo, and now, going with Xbox Live, an all-new game with enhanced story and co-op modes, new multi-player frag fests, online wars, voice communication, and jaw-dropping visuals, it's clear that Bungie are out to claim the undisputed championship of the FPS. Unreal Championship and Timesplitters 2, beware.

 

Preview by Brendon Hivner

[Bralt]

Høres bra ut, men når var det dette spillet ville bli lansert? JULEN neste år! Etter Doom3 tror jeg ikke spillet vil bli så revolusjonerende:)

[Amped]

det stod at halo2 ville ha lik grafikk som doom 3...

da vil det jo være gameplayen som vil skille dem...

vent og se...

[Reborn]

hvor mye koster det ?

[b-duvaland]

Halo 2 ? Det kommer ikke før om 1 år (Juletider 2003), me jeg tipper rundt 500,- i Norge.

[Ratatosk]

Quote:

Den 2002-11-05 20:42, skrev Amped: i multiplayer, er det slik at det ene teamet en art, og det andre teamet en annen art?

 

 

Ja, det stemmer. Spartans mot Elites.

[StaBBer]

WOW!

 

Halo er det beste FPS-spillet jeg noen gang har spilt! Gleder meg som en liten unge på julaften til 2'eren! Får tårer i øynene av å tenke på hvor bra Halo var,og at det kommer en toer som skal være bedre enn originalen...

 

_________________

In X We Trust

 

[ Denne Melding var redigert av: StaBBer på 2002-11-07 17:25 ]

[b-duvaland]

Det kom ny artikkel om Halo2 5.nov på gamespot, men den var kun for medlemmer :sad: Får vente litt før den blir tilgjengelig for alle.

 

Her er en annen meget god en, hos gamingtarget,

 

http://www.gamerankings.com/itemrankings/l...reviewid=100629

 

Tatt fra artikkelen:

 

"The multiplayer aspect of Halo 2 will be expanded to support multiplayer games over Xbox Live. There will be plenty of original maps, with a stronger focus on outdoor, vehicle-based levels like the ever-popular Blood Gulch map from Halo"

 

Mao, de beste mappene fra 1'ern blir tatt vare på, og det blir flere utendørs brett med biler på, perfekt mao :smile:

 

"As I’ve already hinted at, Halo 2 is not simply an add-on to Halo, nor is it Halo 1.5. It’s a full-on sequel in every way we could have ever dreamt it to be, and with it will come drastic improvements to what still remains one of the greatest games ever made. The expectations for Halo 2 are undoubtedly high, but from what we’ve seen so far the game could very well surpass the original, which in itself is a lofty proposition. The release date is set, and Winter 2003 couldn’t possibly come sooner."

 

Jepp :smile: