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[tedtropy]

Believe me, I Googled the question first but just couldn't find a clear-cut answer. I realize that Halo 2 supports widescreen and I know that it is enabled on my XBox and within Halo 2, but whenever I switch my TV to 16:9 mode I notice things like the aiming reticule isn't a symmetrical circle, but is rather stretched at the sides some. Even when I tell my TV to "auto-sense" what mode it is, it tries to display the game in 4:3 format. Is Bungie just cheating a widescreen mode by vertically/horizontally compressing the image? Thanks.

 

[IJoel]

Yes.

The initial version had some window size issues that were fixed with the first patch, but Halo 2 supported 16:9 from the beginning.

 

[Timen]

Q

Does Halo 2 support HDTV resolutions like 720p or 1080i?
A

In addition to supporting normal television resolutions, Halo 2 will run in 480p resolution when connected to an HDTV. It does not run in 720p or 1080i, but will support 16:9 widescreen modes with a vertical split screen mode for cooperative play.

from Bungie

 

[Snookie]

I have to put my tv in a different mode in order for it to take up the whole screen.

 

[Shompola]

I get true widescreen on my TV.

 

[tedtropy]

When I throw my TV into 16:9 mode, the game looks fine, I'm just curious why the aiming reticule wouldn't be geometrically accurate, yet it is when I switch it to 4:3 mode. I know the game is running in widescreen mode, as I get the vertical split screen during same-system deathmatches, but the reticule looks far more accurate when I throw it into 4:3. I've done geometry tests by other means on the set, so I'm reasonably certain it's not the TV causing this. It just gives me the impression that the 4:3 resolution is being streteched rather than the game running in an actual 16:9 resolution. Or maybe I'm just mixed up on what widescreen actually means.

 

[IJoel]

When I throw my TV into 16:9 mode, the game looks fine, I'm just curious why the aiming reticule wouldn't be geometrically accurate, yet it is when I switch it to 4:3 mode. I know the game is running in widescreen mode, as I get the vertical split screen during same-system deathmatches, but the reticule looks far more accurate when I throw it into 4:3. I've done geometry tests by other means on the set, so I'm reasonably certain it's not the TV causing this. It just gives me the impression that the 4:3 resolution is being streteched rather than the game running in an actual 16:9 resolution. Or maybe I'm just mixed up on what widescreen actually means.

Do you have your Xbox set to display in widescreen?

 

[mosaic]

Probably because the HUD graphics are bitmaps drawn at 4:3 aspect, and not 3D polys and texturemaps generated by the game engine. That's my guess anyway.

 

[vatstep]

Nope, you're right, Halo 2 has a stretched HUD like 95% of 16:9 games. In my book, that's not true 16:9. From what I've heard, the only 16:9 Xbox games WITHOUT a stretched hud are Ninja Gaiden, Panzer Dragoon Orta and Spikeout (ha). There might be a few others.

 

[Yusaku]

Many games have the UI stretched in 16:9 mode, Halo 2 included.

 

[dark10x]

The game does run in 16:9, however, the HUD does not change. They did not provide a "16:9" version of the HUD, and you end up with stretched HUD elements as a result.

That's an oversight on Bungie's part and there is nothing that can be done...however the actual game will be 16:9.

 

[scarybore]

Do you mean the 3D elements look fine but the 2D elements such as the HUD look stretched?

Personally thats one of the reasons I still play games on my 4:3 TV rather than on my widescreen one as it just looks too nasty to me, should change with the 360 since everything will be in widescreen by default.

 

[Timan]

Might be wrong, but I believe multiplayer is stretched, where as in single player it is not. Because widescreen users would be seeing more on screen than a person with a standard tv set. (FOV? i think its called).

 

[dark10x]

Might be wrong, but I believe multiplayer is stretched, where as in single player it is not. Because widescreen users would be seeing more on screen than a person with a standard tv set. (FOV? i think its called).

No, it's not. In 16:9 mode, the screen splits vertically rather than horizontally.

 

[Minotauro]

Do you have your Xbox set to display in widescreen?

Yeah, that would be my question as well. The reticle seems perfectly round on my TV.

 

[Ryck]

I thought the same thing...what I did was I switched my tv to 4:3 mode and left the Xbox on 16:9 when I booted up halo 2 the picture was stretched vertically.(not the hud that looked perfect) but there was noticable vertical stretching on the guns and everythign else. So to answer your question, yes and no.

 

[Bebpo]

Wierd. My Japanese Halo 2 only runs in 4:3 at 480p. I have my dashboard set on 16:9 and all the on switches flipped for 480p/720p/1080i and all the other widescreen games work fine but when I tested Halo 2 it was 4:3 only.

 

[Dr.Guru of Peru]

I know for my other Xbox games that run in widescreen, whenever I put it in twin view the screen size is 16:9 for the view with the game on. In Halo 2 when I put it in twin view its running in 4:3.

 

[tedtropy]

Nope, you're right, Halo 2 has a stretched HUD like 95% of 16:9 games. In my book, that's not true 16:9. From what I've heard, the only 16:9 Xbox games WITHOUT a stretched hud are Ninja Gaiden, Panzer Dragoon Orta and Spikeout (ha). There might be a few others.

Ah, yeah, that would definitely explain it, because the rest of the game looks properly proportioned. That's a pretty lazy lacking, especially for such a title. I wonder if they'll patch that.

 

[tedtropy]

Do you have your Xbox set to display in widescreen?

Yes, with all the HD modes enabled.

 

[Shompola]

btw turn off these auto modes.. it will save you a lot of headache.. I learned to switch it off 3 years after my purchase heh.

 

[scarybore]

For the benefit of those that don't have a clue about this issue we are talking about, heres a quick comparison courtesy of my xbox's frame buffer;



This is what you should be seeing providing you hare using the normal (4:3) TV setting in the Xbox TV settings menu. 3D looks fine, HUD looks fine.



Heres a unaltered capture of whats being sent out of your xbox when you are in Widescreen (16:9). Notice that the 2D looks fine, but the 3D elements look horizontally squashed. This is because the TV takes the anamorphic signal and stretches it horizontally to fill your screen. However when it does this, the 3D elements look fine but because the HUD has not been taken into consideration and so wasnt horizontally squashed like the 3D, it become stretched and looks like the following image.

 

[tedtropy]

Heres a unaltered capture of whats being sent out of your xbox when you are in Widescreen (16:9). Notice that the 2D looks fine, but the 3D elements look horizontally squashed. This is because the TV takes the anamorphic signal and stretches it horizontally to fill your screen. However when it does this, the 3D elements look fine but because the HUD has not been taken into consideration and so wasnt horizontally squashed like the 3D, it become stretched and looks like the following image.

Yep. Your description and screenshot are exactly what I'm experiencing.

 

[DCharlie]

same here - great question, been meaning to ask it for a while. I thought i was going nuts. Also, the fonts looks like total ass as well.

 

[vatstep]

This is one thing that I'm concerned about for next-gen. Now, at least for X360 and PS3, all games should be 16:9. Are HUD elements going to start being designed with 16:9 in mind as well? That would result in everything looking natural for people with widescreen TVs, but then people using 4:3 TVs would get a "smushed" HUD. Developers could certainly throw in independent HUD graphics depending on which rez will be used, but I doubt that'll happen. I just wonder who they'll cater to.

I'm also wondering what people with 4:3 TVs will be able to choose from otherwise: scaled, cropped, or letterboxed output? Letterboxed would obviously be the best and most faithful, but I wouldn't want to see the uproar from the casual crowd if it happens.."WTF, BLACK BARS, DO I NEED THE FULLSCREEN VERSION OR SOMETHING"

 

[Bebpo]

Wait, so if the game is really 16:9 but the circle shot thingy on the HUD is stretched does that mean the shot pointer thingy doesn't accurately reflect where you are shooting?

 

[Nos_G]

Vertical split screen on widescreen mode is sooo stupid... and bungie won't even implement an in-game toggle to make it horizontal.

You have to manually put your xbox in 4:3 mode to get the horizontal split.

:\

Lame.

 

[tedtropy]

Vertical split screen on widescreen mode is sooo stupid... and bungie won't even implement an in-game toggle to make it horizontal.

You have to manually put your xbox in 4:3 mode to get the horizontal split.

:\

Lame.

Eh, I can kind of understand it. One guy on side of the screen, one side on the other so both players aren't cutting into each other's postage stamp. It does take some getting used to though.

 

[Yusaku]

Eh, I can kind of understand it. One guy on side of the screen, one side on the other so both players aren't cutting into each other's postage stamp. It does take some getting used to though.

But you have almost no peripheral vision.

 

[dark10x]

This is one thing that I'm concerned about for next-gen. Now, at least for X360 and PS3, all games should be 16:9. Are HUD elements going to start being designed with 16:9 in mind as well? That would result in everything looking natural for people with widescreen TVs, but then people using 4:3 TVs would get a "smushed" HUD. Developers could certainly throw in independent HUD graphics depending on which rez will be used, but I doubt that'll happen. I just wonder who they'll cater to.

I'm also wondering what people with 4:3 TVs will be able to choose from otherwise: scaled, cropped, or letterboxed output? Letterboxed would obviously be the best and most faithful, but I wouldn't want to see the uproar from the casual crowd if it happens.."WTF, BLACK BARS, DO I NEED THE FULLSCREEN VERSION OR SOMETHING"

The standard for next-gen is 16:9 and all 4:3 TVs will display the image with black bars on the top and bottom.

 

[tedtropy]

The standard for next-gen is 16:9 and all 4:3 TVs will display the image with black bars on the top and bottom.

Kind of odd considering that most people out there will still be using 4:3 TVs on their next-gen consoles. We need to see true resolutions for both modes.

 

[Sp3eD]

Maybe I have heard wrong, but I have been told that the Xbox also has some problems putting some TV's into widescreen view. My Sony XBR960 will always be in full mode when on the dashboard, yet change to the wide zoom (the mode I tell it to default in case of no 16:9 signal) whenever it loads up the game. I have to manually switch to full mode in order to get the true widescreen. On a Toshiba HF80 I tried out before, the Xbox put everything I threw at it into Full true widescreen (In fact when I throw the TV into split screen, Halo 2 was 16:9 and on my Sony it was 4:3). Maybe it is just a jab at Sony TV owners :lol

 

[Yusaku]

The standard for next-gen is 16:9 and all 4:3 TVs will display the image with black bars on the top and bottom.

You can hardly say that with any authority. Another option would be to display the 1280x720 framebuffer cropped to 4:3, keeping all UI elements in the 4:3 area. This is pretty much how broadcast TV is adopting HDTV (except for Conan O'Brien). I doubt MS would adopt such a progressive point of view when they're not even supporting HDMI/DVI.

Playing games letterboxed will probably piss off a lot of people, especially people with small TVs.

 

[Yusaku]

Maybe I have heard wrong, but I have been told that the Xbox also has some problems putting some TV's into widescreen view. My Sony XBR960 will always be in full mode when on the dashboard, yet change to the wide zoom (the mode I tell it to default in case of no 16:9 signal) whenever it loads up the game. I have to manually switch to full mode in order to get the true widescreen. On a Toshiba HF80 I tried out before, the Xbox put everything I threw at it into Full true widescreen (In fact when I throw the TV into split screen, Halo 2 was 16:9 and on my Sony it was 4:3). Maybe it is just a jab at Sony TV owners :lol

Your Xbox cannot "put a TV into widescreen view". 480p is a 4:3 image, and 720p/1080i is a 16:9. Your TV has no way of knowing if a 480p image is anamorphic widescreen, and no device has any way of telling the TV if it is or not.

What you're talking about is TV's making assumptions about the aspect ratio based on the resolution (4:3 for 480i/p, 16:9 for 720p/1080i).