Interview with Halo2 programmer

donttalk battlegroundHalo · Sat May 17, 2003 2:26 pm

if cooperative play is possible. Will it only be per x-box or over multiple xboxes. For instance multi player can be played with 16 players but, you can play a 4 player mulitplayer game with 4 xboxes will the same be possible with cooperative play in halo 2?

Silent_Assassin · Post by **Silent_Assassin** » Sat May 17, 2003 2:41 pm

When Xbox first hit the scene, and Halo was released, Bungie was considered to be MS' biggest or at least most important developer. Now that MS has acquired Rare, do you guys at Bungie feel like there is some competitive feelings towards them at all? Do you guys feel like you need to show them up?

Apollo · Post by **Apollo** » Sat May 17, 2003 2:47 pm

for Greg the Halo2 programmer:

#1)The light sword needs to be in Halo 2; usable by Master Chief. I think that the vast majority of Halo fans want to see this.
#2) The music in multiplayer is almost non-existant. Can Halo 2 please incorporate user-importable soundtracks for multiplayer, much in the same way the Tony Hawk Skater games allow the user-imported
cd soundtracks to be played while playing the game.
#3) Master Chief's visor reflection-map needs to be real-time. It looked sooo much better in the announcement trailer than the E3 trailer.
#4) Halo 2 needs to incorporate a flame thrower. I think this weapon was in development for the original Halo at one point and it would be nice if Halo 2 saw the incorporation of a flame thrower for Master Chief.

Silent_Assassin · Post by **Silent_Assassin** » Sat May 17, 2003 3:01 pm

A couple of weeks ago, the Official Xbox Magazine ran a HUGE article on Halo 2. Mike Salmon, the editor of the OXM, asked the sound department how the bullets sounded underwater, and the sound team responded with "awesome". Can you talk at all about the use of water in Halo 2?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat May 17, 2003 3:31 pm

Hi, first timer here.

Im curious to know if you had a chance to see the half life2 demo videos?
Can we expect a similar level of interactivity in halo2?

Post by **BreakmanX** » Sat May 17, 2003 4:35 pm

Thanks for all the questions. The show is uploading right now, so you'll be able to hear it without hickups soon.

Really sorry about that. We're working on fixing that for next week.

Majin_Boo · Post by **Majin_Boo** » Sat May 17, 2003 5:21 pm

What do you think of the E3 demo compared to what you hope to achieve for the final game?

There have been many concerns regarding the lighting and textures used in the E3 demo. Will they be improved, and what did you think about it?

Half-Life 2 (HL2) has become a big talk in many forums and have been compared a lot with Halo 2. How do you think Halo 2 compares to HL2?

How deep will the interaction with the environments go? Like what level of interaction can we expect?

Evilmagicpirate · Post by **Evilmagicpirate** » Sat May 17, 2003 5:42 pm

20 min ETA on the MP3 Upload.

Break had the shoutcast system broadcasting from his PC, and that was eating all his bandwidth he needed to upload the MP3 with. He has now temperarilly disabled Shoutcast until the mp3 is uploaded to his new server.

I'll post again soon when it is up.

Grundy · Post by **Grundy** » Sat May 17, 2003 6:04 pm

I didn't get a chance to ask this, and i doubt you would comment on it, but i was wondering if perhaps there will be a yellow banshee hidden somewhere in halo 2 as an easter egg. I really don't want an answer but just for you to consider this when you make some easter eggs.

mighty bean · Post by **mighty bean** » Sun May 18, 2003 1:51 pm

Man was I nervous! Did I say at one point that my home computer was a 300Mhz Pentium IV? *sigh*

Thanks for all the questions & interest in Halo2. My audio link was pretty spotty during the show so I couldn't hear all the questions. Hopefully you guys got the answers you were looking for.

Here is some feedback to the questions that came up in the forum:

First of all, to any question regarding Multiplayer, I'm afraid the answer is a big fat 'no comment'. Other than letting everyone know that Halo2 will be an Xbox Live title, we don't have any details to disclose right now. The same applies to downloadable content. The big news of the show was that HaloPC and HaloMac contain new multiplayer maps, weapons and vehicles. Players will be able to compete in glorious 1600x1200 resolution, and PC and Mac players will be able to face off against each other online. (I’m rootin’ for the PC players)

Q: “what’s up with the Mac version of Halo(1)?”
A: The Mac version is progressing along side the PC version. Both are due to release at the same time with identical content.

Q: "There have been many concerns regarding the lighting and textures used in the E3 demo. Will they be improved, and what did you think about it?"
A: I haven't heard any concerns about the E3 demo so far. I'm really happy with the look we've been able to achieve on the Xbox, and we've gotten nothing but positive feedback from the folks who saw it live at E3.

Q: "What do you think of the E3 demo compared to what you hope to achieve for the final game?"
A: I'm really proud of the demo. I was very impressed by the team I work with at Bungie and their desire to bring something to E3 which was live and in-game. As far as changes for the final game, I can only speak about my own responsibility which is the animation system. I think we can still do more to provide smoother animation playback, and I will definitely be getting rid of the flappy-jaw lip syncing!

Q: “Half-Life 2 (HL2) has become a big talk in many forums and have been compared a lot with Halo 2. How do you think Halo 2 compares to HL2?”
A: Valve has done an awesome job on Half Life 2. I saw their demo videos at E3, which go into a bit more detail then they have released on the internet. I was thoroughly impressed. I’m not sure it’s fair to compare the two titles side-by-side since we are on very different hardware platforms. The important thing is that both games are going to tell an engaging story with rich detail and immersion.

Q: (paraphrasing) “You should have a [flamethrower][reflective visor][yellow banshee][etc..] in Halo2.
A: I completely agree. I’m sure the designers are going to wrestle with these decisions as well. I’ve got a few wish-list items of my own that I intend to fight for

We’ve always listened to the fans (that’s why the banshees are now available in HaloPC multiplayer) and will certainly consider all suggestions.

Q: “What games, web sites, etc are you into lately”
A: This question came up during the show, but I don’t think I answered it very well. Apart from BreakmanX, I visit Flipcode, BluesNews, SlashDot and IGN pretty regularly. I had to push games aside while gearing up for E3, so it’s been a few weeks since I played anything. I have a stack of OXM demos disks to check out, as well as copies of Dungeon Siege, Age of Empires 2 & Age of Mythology that I haven’t even had the chance to open yet. I’m also looking forward to spending more time on Xbox Live now that the pressures of E3 and finishing my book are out of the way.

Thanks again for all the questions!
-greg

Evilmagicpirate · Post by **Evilmagicpirate** » Sun May 18, 2003 4:44 pm

Great interview, many Kudos to both Greg and Break.
The intreview brought so much traffic, that with-in 30 minutes of the MP3 becomming avaliable online, the site became inaccessable for about 12 hours. That was unexpected, but I'd say Break and Greg should be very flattered.

mighty bean wrote:copies of Dungeon Siege, Age of Empires 2 & Age of Mythology

Ironically, these are all games published by Microsoft.. Do you get a staff discount or something?

mighty bean · Post by **mighty bean** » Sun May 18, 2003 5:10 pm

Yeah, the titles waiting to be opened are all Microsoft titles. I picked them up at the company store. I'm not a complete company wonk, however. I'm still planning to spend more time with Wolfenstein, BF 1942 and my beloved GBA. On the Xbox my kids rule, so I'll be playing a lot of Blinx and Toe Jam as well.

Apollo · Post by **Apollo** » Sun May 18, 2003 8:02 pm

Mighty bean,

just echoing waht magicpirate and others have said: thanks again for that great interview. It was really nice of you to answer our questions. (he ones you were allowed to) and I think its even more admirable that you said you would take our suggestions and feedback from this forum "into the office." Thats just awesome that I feel like we, the fans, can have some input into a game like Halo 2.... however sall that input may be. Now, I'm realistic and I know that I don't expect all (or even any) of my ideas, concerns, and suggestions to be actually adressed and implimented into the final game, buit its still real cool your willing to consider the fans.

Sincerely,
Apollo
~typing as he chants 'yellow hog, light sword, yellow hog, light sword..."

RurouniQ · Post by **RurouniQ** » Mon May 19, 2003 10:29 am

Awesome interview, and this is coming from me, of all people.

I have to admit, Halo 2 does sound cool, and if it comes out on Mac, I'll buy it. I almost certainly will get Halo 1 when it does.
Just so you know, Greg, I have nothing against you or Bungie. Hell, I was one of original Marathon players when it came out; I still dig up Marathon Infinity every now and then. It's just Microsoft I can't stand. I just wish Apple had been smart enough to buy Bungie first...

And if Halo does have MP3 support when it comes out, I am SOOOO filling my Warthog's radio player with mariachi music.

Jack Burton · Post by **Jack Burton** » Mon May 19, 2003 1:36 pm

Conform. Buy an Xbox. No one will think less of you if you do.

Besides...Halo 2 will probably never see the light of day on Mac or PC until Halo 3 is about to come out, and that might not be until 2006 or 2007. So have fun complaining about MS!

And just so you know, neither myself, Break, or Sam will let you play Halo 2 on our xboxes when we get it. You'll have to go buy one if you want to play it.

-Jack

BreakmanX.com

Interview with Halo2 programmer

question

Question

Question

Question for programmer.

Halo 2 demo

Some more rambling...

Re: Some more rambling...

I admit it: I'm cheap.