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[Shishka]

I think it is pretty much the same. If anything it is slightly less the quality of Halo 3 itself.

It was in engine, yes. In fact, at E3 the year we debuted the trailer we gave some behind-the-scenes presentations that ran in realtime. The demonstrators stopped the demo and flew around the environment and gave the guests up close views of the Chief's armor. There was even some objects hidden behind the hill out of view of the cinematic camera that were placed to show off some of our shader techniques.

 

[Nutter]

It was in engine, yes. In fact, at E3 the year we debuted the trailer we gave some behind-the-scenes presentations that ran in realtime. The demonstrators stopped the demo and flew around the environment and gave the guests up close views of the Chief's armor. There was even some objects hidden behind the hill out of view of the cinematic camera that were placed to show off some of our shader techniques.

I do not remember but did you guys [bungie] say why it was changed[to the one in halo3 release]?

With that said. I have no doubt Reach will look great and that the engine will not change before release. Reasoning is that the first Trailer for H3 was a 1 Year and some months before release.. vs. Reach, which has its first in game showing less than a year before release.

 

[abacab driver]

Eh, if it's half as fake as the initial Halo 3 trailer, everyone will be eyegasming and posting smilie icons. ;D

Bungie always does that. They wow people with their WIP trailers and then the final game only comes out half as good looking. The first Halo 2 trailer for the Xbox looked like an early Xbox 360 game. Heck, his armor looks just as good as it was in Halo 3.

Pre emptive damage control is great for the soul.
The 12th is going to be a long night for the haters.

 

[Blueblur1]

The 12th is this Saturday, correct? Man, it felt like it crept on me real quickly. Sweet.

 

[Why For?]

I think it is pretty much the same. If anything it is slightly less the quality of Halo 3 itself.

I'm the same.

Almost EVERY game ever made ups the quality of cut-scenes, and this includes even the 'untouchable' Uncharted 1 and 2. The cut-scenes for those games are both in-engine, but still look better than the gameplay itself. Even if only by a bit.

I think considering everything the engine is doing, the actual game looks just as good as the reveal.

 

[GhaleonEB]

It was in engine, yes. In fact, at E3 the year we debuted the trailer we gave some behind-the-scenes presentations that ran in realtime. The demonstrators stopped the demo and flew around the environment and gave the guests up close views of the Chief's armor. There was even some objects hidden behind the hill out of view of the cinematic camera that were placed to show off some of our shader techniques.

Gamespot report of the demo: http://e3.gamespot.com/story.html?sid=6149725

Scroll to "Update".

I do not remember but did you guys [bungie] say why it was changed[to the one in halo3 release]?

The textures on the Chief, primarily. It's literally the same model as in the final game, but they swapped one that used concrete as a source texture for a hardened metal look.

 

[Kibbles]

Pre emptive damage control is great for the soul.
The 12th is going to be a long night for the haters.

Let's spice this thread up.


VGA - December 12th, 2009

 

[Plywood]

Pre emptive damage control is great for the soul.
The 12th is going to be a long night for the haters.

You know it, somebodies gotta defend Bungle.

The textures on the Chief, primarily. It's literally the same model as in the final game, but they swapped one that used concrete as a source texture for a hardened metal look.

I wish they didn't, was the reason because of the lighting?

 

[polyh3dron]

Warhawk shames it in terms of online integration. A stubborn dedication to Matchmaking and nothing else does not mean they are leading shit in online gaming. In some ways theyve actually achieved regressing it. ODST's online component was actually insultingly behind with not even Matchmaking for Firefight. I will admit theyre still at the top with drop-in Co-Op, but there it ends. Other games have far exceeded and bested it in the multiplayer space, no matter how much more popular it still proves.

Matchmaking >>>> taking an hour to browse through servers before finding a game with one tight knit team against a bunch of randoms.

 

[Everdred]

I'm the same.

Almost EVERY game ever made ups the quality of cut-scenes, and this includes even the 'untouchable' Uncharted 1 and 2. The cut-scenes for those games are both in-engine, but still look better than the gameplay itself. Even if only by a bit.

I think considering everything the engine is doing, the actual game looks just as good as the reveal.

Yep.

I also think that since people play so much more multiplayer than singleplayer that they tend to remember the game by how the multiplayer looks. When I go back and play singleplayer I am always surprised by how good it looks.

 

[Why For?]

Yep.

I also think that since people play so much more multiplayer than singleplayer that they tend to remember the game by how the multiplayer looks. When I go back and play singleplayer I am always surprised by how good it looks.

So true.

I played single player not long ago and I thought it looked really good. Yeah, it's not the same look of a Killzone, or even a Modern Warfare.

But it depends on what you look for.

The Halo 3 engine is doing a fair bit more 'behind the scenes' stuff than most other FPS', if not ALL other FPS' out there. And it does all that accounting for 4 player split screen, online co-op and a constant framerate.

 

[NullPointer]

It'd be nice if Reach had the IQ represented in Halo 3's screenshots - thats how I'd like to remember the game looking.

In game, Halo 3 looked pretty good for the most part, only getting dragged down when jaggies were ever-present (luckily not all the time) or you paid attention to the human character models. The Cortana level still looks amazing to me though, even if its the one level I can't really get the motivation to play again. That level and Floodgate more than any others got me to stop and take a moment to let the atmosphere and attention to detail flood my senses.

 

[Butane123]

I wish they didn't, was the reason because of the lighting?

If I remember correctly, it was because the artists didn't care for the texture at all. I heard that awhile ago, so I might be off.

I'll have to catch the preview sometime later that night since I probably won't be home for it.

 

[bigGIRLSblouse]

So true.

I played single player not long ago and I thought it looked really good. Yeah, it's not the same look of a Killzone, or even a Modern Warfare.

But it depends on what you look for.

The Halo 3 engine is doing a fair bit more 'behind the scenes' stuff than most other FPS', if not ALL other FPS' out there. And it does all that accounting for 4 player split screen, online co-op and a constant framerate.

Exactly... if people want Killzone 2 quality visuals then we will all need to give up online and offline co-op and forget about saved videos of the single player levels. That is what is so annoying about those that rip on the visuals of Halo 3, the game was pretty damn amazing when you think about everything it was doing under the hood.

 

[Shishka]

I do not remember but did you guys [bungie] say why it was changed[to the one in halo3 release]?

A combination of technical and preferential reasons, basically. Further, the trailer was more a trailer than a cinematic from the game, due to the early stage of development that particular mission was in when the trailer was made.

 

[Plywood]

A combination of technical and preferential reasons, basically. Further, the trailer was more a trailer than a cinematic from the game, due to the early stage of development that particular mission was in when the trailer was made.

Don't do that for Reach, man, I'm gonna buy your game anyway.

 

[TTG]

Exactly... if people want Killzone 2 quality visuals then we will all need to give up online and offline co-op and forget about saved videos of the single player levels. That is what is so annoying about those that rip on the visuals of Halo 3, the game was pretty damn amazing when you think about everything it was doing under the hood.

What a great technical assessment. :lol Can I trade in the incendiary granades and Forge for a Far Cry 2 level of visual fidelity?

 

[Slightly Live]

OP Update #3

Taken from Reaction Time: Bungie Reflects on Halo 3: ODST

G4: Has the positive reaction to Firefight solidified its appearance in future Bungie games?

LB: Well, it was pretty well received, which we're happy about. Will Firefight return in a future Bungie Halo game? Only time will tell.

G4: Has the focused development of ODST affected Bungie's approach to game development in the future? Has it had a tangible impact on Halo: Reach?

LB: I think ODST has affected Reach, and not only because there are people that have worked on both. In terms of development practices, I can already see some influences that crept over to Reach.

G4: Are there any hidden Easter eggs that readers still haven't found that you want to spoil here -- or at least point everyone in the right direction?

JS: Players recently found the last big one -- and egg that changes a certain piece of music our Composer, Marty O’Donnell, likes to hide in every Halo game into something much more…danceable. But there are always smaller treats to find. Folks looking forward to Halo: Reach would be wise to pay particular attention to the license plates on New Mombasa’s “Genet” coupes…

G4: Have we seen the last of the ODSTs?

JS: I can’t comment on any future plans for our ODSTs. But it would be a shame if we made a game about the planet Reach -- a place where Buck, the ODST’s squad leader, was known to be -- and not have him appear in some way shape or form…

 

[Striker]

Weren't they saying things like "That's real stuff out there", re: geometry, and some other guys were saying that's how Halo 3 will look. Just only expecting one thing, but to receive another. Meh.

EDIT

I hope they have us team with Marines rather than ODSTs. It would at least give a more classic feel.

 

[Why For?]

Exactly... if people want Killzone 2 quality visuals then we will all need to give up online and offline co-op and forget about saved videos of the single player levels. That is what is so annoying about those that rip on the visuals of Halo 3, the game was pretty damn amazing when you think about everything it was doing under the hood.

Let's not forget Forge.

The Halo 3 engine does a shitload people don't realise it does.

Even little things. Like the dead bodies that hang around and you can keep beating the fuck out of. Like the grunts air breathing apparatus that can still break and spill shit in the air after they're dead (and you've hit them again).

But I think on GAF, if a game doesn't have that 'realistic' or 'cinematic' look

Spoiler

or if it isn't a Sony exclusive

then it must look like shit.

 

[CrazedArabMan]

Going back and looking at the leaked screen shots and the gun models have me extra hyped, I just love how they looked so detailed even in those blurry shots.


<--- If you can't tell, I love making and looking at all gun models. Easily one of my favorite parts about games is seeing the different weapons and how detailed they are.

 

[Kibbles]

Going back and looking at the leaked screen shots and the gun models have me extra hyped, I just love how they looked so detailed even in those blurry shots.

This, it's too bad we aren't going to see any first person gameplay.

 

[clashfan]

Going back and looking at the leaked screen shots and the gun models have me extra hyped, I just love how they looked so detailed even in those blurry shots.

Yeah those gun models give us a little bit of hope of a major improvement in terms of graphics from Halo 3.

 

[CrazedArabMan]

This, it's too bad we aren't going to see any first person gameplay.

Unless they adopted the first person view for some of the cinematic parts like ODST which I hope they did.

 

[JdFoX187]

But I think on GAF, if a game doesn't have that 'realistic' or 'cinematic' look

Spoiler

or if it isn't a Sony exclusive

then it must look like shit.

Oh bullshit. You sound like an insecure fanboy screaming "bias" because someone calls it like they see it.

Halo 3 had great lighting and that was about it. The jaggies were downright ridiculous and unacceptable. Had there been at least 2x AA, then the game would look much better. You're honestly going to say "but we can smack the dead bodies around" as an excuse for subpar visuals compared to other games? Halo 3 is doing a lot, but that doesn't mean the game can't look leaps and bounds better and run at a steady framerate. And don't even get me started on Forge. No one should call that "revolutionary" or use it as a crutch for the graphics, especially considering FarCry 2 has a full map editor that does everything Forge does and then some.

 

[Domino Theory]

Why does Bungie continue to defend the E3 2006 trailer? What we saw in the E3 06 trailer is NOT what we have now in Halo 3, Chief's armor excluded and that's really not up for debate, lol.

Hell, we can even exclude everything about the trailer and everything about Halo 3 and look at it from a bare-bones perspective:

Trailer's content = 720p w/ at least 2xAA
Actual game = 640p w/no AA

But this is a near 2 1/2 year old discussion that's been beat to death.

What Bungie did right with ODST was have the reveal trailer not show anything regarding the game's visuals, just some of the game's assets (VISR, Silenced SMG, rainy and torn-up New Mombasa, etc.). Once ODST was fully unveiled at E3 2009, I was actually impressed with ODST's visuals despite being fed the CG trailer for MONTHS until E3 09.

But what they did even better with the Halo: Reach reveal trailer is not reveal anything AT ALL (aside from the logo). Just makes any official unveiling that much better and surprising.

Hell, I thought Halo: Reach looked amazing just from fucking cell phone alpha shots.

 

[Everdred]

Folks looking forward to Halo: Reach would be wise to pay particular attention to the license plates on New Mombasa’s “Genet” coupes…

Anyone know what that is?

 

[Butane123]

Anyone know what that is?

I'm actually loading it up to see what it is right now. I'll get a pic up in a few.

 

[gibonez]

I am just hoping they kept their amazing replay mode from Halo 3.

The halo 3 replay system is one of the few things that has impressed me this gen.

The only other thing to impress me is Red Faction Guerrillas Destruction.

 

[EazyB]

Anyone know what that is?

http://carnage.bungie.org/haloforum/halo.forum.pl?read=944044

KAH 343G_____343 Guilty Spark, Monitor of Alpha Halo
KBL 117J_____John-117, Blue Leader
KBM 101S_____Sheila-101, killed in the Battle of Miridem, 2544
KBO 034S_____Samuel-034, Blue One
KBT 087K_____Kelly-087, Blue Two
KDA 458N_____Nicole-458, from Dead or Alive 4
KGL 044A_____Anton-044, Gamma Leader
KGN 062M_____Maria-062, from the Halo Graphic Novel
KGO 008L_____Li-008, Gamma One
KGO 610B
KGT 093G_____Grace-093, Gamma Two
KLB 128Y
KMA 037R_____Randall-037, Missing in Action
KN0 220K_____?, Noble One (?)
KNF 239E_____?, Noble Four/Five
KNF 266J_____?, Noble Four/Five
KNL 259C_____Sierra-259, Noble Leader (?)
KNS 000X_____?, Noble Six/Seven
KNS 344R_____?, Noble Six/Seven
KNT 052J_____?, Noble Two/Three
KNT 293T_____?, Noble Two/Three
KOP 084F_____Fhajad-084, ?
KPD 005J_____James-005, MIA near a Pelican Dropship (?)
KRL 104F_____Fred-104, Red Leader
KVA 1031
KVU 019C
KWA 434K_____Bungie Studios, 434 Kirkland Ave, Kirkland, WA
KWO 081R

So Master Cheif will be there as well as a members of the Blue team.

The DoA spartan will show up and karate chop the shit out of everything. 343 will drop by to annoy someone and zip out before anyone notices him. Finally, the last level will take place in a fully-modeled representation of Bungie HQ. Design docs for New IP will be strewn about with images on the moniters. My dick will explode.

 

[Butane123]

http://carnage.bungie.org/haloforum/halo.forum.pl?read=944044

Heh, yeah, I never realized they were all different plates. Just on starting it up I saw the 343g one though.

 

[Lostconfused]

All this speculation made me realize that I am more interested in what kind of a game Bungie will make after reach rather than anything else.

Edit: Then again I am also the person that would like to play Oni 2 someday.

 

[duk]

halo 1 to 2 had a nice jump in gfx on the same gen console cycle, im expecting same with halo reach

 

[clashfan]

I'm not up on my Halo lore, why is Master Chief the only Spartan left?

 

[Thermite]

The DoA spartan will show up and karate chop the shit out of everything. 343 will drop by to annoy someone and zip out before anyone notices him. Finally, the last level will take place in a fully-modeled representation of Bungie HQ. Design docs for New IP will be strewn about with images on the moniters. My dick will explode.

Also, Marcus Fenix will make a special guest appearance.

 

[Lostconfused]

I'm not up on my Halo lore, why is Master Chief the only Spartan left?

Is this a bait post? Because if it is, I'll take it.

BECAUSE THEY ALL DIED ON REACH OH NOES!

Edit: If that was a serious question. All the spartans get killed on reach, i think. It's been a while since a read "First Strike" where it mentions some spartans surviving the crash when they tried to land on reach. But i am pretty sure all of them die when covenant glasses the planet.

 

[Aaron]

I'm not up on my Halo lore, why is Master Chief the only Spartan left?

Because he's really Jesus. John is his porn name.

 

[Captain Blood]

halo 1 to 2 had a nice jump in gfx on the same gen console cycle, im expecting same with halo reach

Halo CE was one of the very first xbox games, while Halo 3 came out what 2 years into the 360 life cycle? It would be nice though.

 

[duk]

Halo CE was one of the very first xbox games, while Halo 3 came out what 2 years into the 360 life cycle? It would be nice though.

ur right but halo 3 not entirely new tech iirc, has roots with halo 2 right?

 

[EazyB]

Halo CE was one of the very first xbox games, while Halo 3 came out what 2 years into the 360 life cycle? It would be nice though.

I'm still not convince CE was developed entirely by Bungie.

I doubt it was made by any man, rather handed down from the gaming gods for our eternal pleasure.

Makes your observation worthless and dumb, doesn't it.

 

[AdventureRacing]

Halo CE was one of the very first xbox games, while Halo 3 came out what 2 years into the 360 life cycle? It would be nice though.

I think halo CE was still one of the best looking games even at the end of the gen. It was certainly way ahead of other stuff coming out around the same time as it's release.

With halo 3 we have seen games come out surpass it by a fair margin and that includes games on the same console.

So we know there is certainly plenty of room for the graphics to improve.

 

[Trasher]

Is this a bait post? Because if it is, I'll take it.

BECAUSE THEY ALL DIED ON REACH OH NOES!

Edit: If that was a serious question. All the spartans get killed on reach, i think. It's been a while since a read "First Strike" where it mentions some spartans surviving the crash when they tried to land on reach. But i am pretty sure all of them die when covenant glasses the planet.

No, they aren't all dead. There are a few Spartan II's left even at the end of the Halo trilogy. And obviously there are Spartan III's alive as well.

 

[Lostconfused]

No, they aren't all dead. There are a few Spartan II's left even at the end of the Halo trilogy. And obviously there are Spartan III's alive as well.

Are there any besides the 2 mentioned in Ghosts of Onyx? III's don't count.

 

[Warm Machine]

With the Dynamic lighting style tech that it seems like Bungie is chasing down, Reach is going to look spectacular. The problem with Halo 3 was that the lighting was almost entirely static. It was a beautiful implementation of it but not flexable by any means.

I still don't understand why the resolution of the game was chopped and why the AA was compromised. The 360 GPU is a beast and games pre and post Halo 3 could put far more polys onscreen and at 720p 30fps.

Reach will look great, especially if they are moving to a Crysis style lighting solution. It frees so much more memory up because you don't have to store an ungodly amount of lightmaps with floating point of normal map radiosity information in them. All the hdr info is pumped into the actual lights themselves.

 

[Trasher]

Are there any besides the 2 mentioned in Ghosts of Onyx? III's don't count.

Linda, Kelly, Fred, and Chief are the only II's that I know of that are still alive.

This lists the status of all the Spartan II's that we know about (obviously spoilers are contained on this page for those who have not read the books):
http://halo.wikia.com/wiki/SPARTAN-II_Program

 

[Zabka]

I still don't understand why the resolution of the game was chopped and why the AA was compromised. The 360 GPU is a beast and games pre and post Halo 3 could put far more polys onscreen and at 720p 30fps.

Short story: Render the image twice to get more HDR range

Long story: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...1D-6BBD-4731-AC82-D9524237D486&displaylang=en (HDR the Bungie Way) and http://www.bungie.net/Inside/publications.aspx (Lighting and Material)

I'm still not convince CE was developed entirely by Bungie.

I doubt it was made by any man, rather handed down from the gaming gods for our eternal pleasure.

It was divine inspiration. God worked through multiple human beings.

Like the bible.

 

[gibonez]

Still amazing.

 

[Major Williams]

Are there any besides the 2 mentioned in Ghosts of Onyx? III's don't count.

MIA - but not officially dead yet either:

Gray team - Jai-006, Adriana-111, Mike

Spirit of Fire Spartans - Douglas-042, Jerome-092, Alice-130

One Retired - Maria-062

Plus 4 more of the 33 who survived the augmentation have yet to be named, if i recall correctly.

So there are quite a few in addition to Kelly and Fred.

 

[squidhands]

However, all preparations were interrupted and subsequently canceled by the Covenant Assault on Reach. In the ensuing disaster most of the SPARTAN-IIs were killed. Only two escaped, aboard the UNSC Pillar of Autumn, one was left in cryostasis aboard the ship after sustaining life threatening injuries from the battle, while the rest remained fighting for their lives on Reach. Following the events at Alpha Halo, The survivors returned to Reach and were able to link up with the remaining Spartans. They then carried out a strike that resulted in the destruction of a Covenant fleet anchorage which contributed to the UNSC tatical victory early in the Battle of Earth.

So, how would you guys like the game to end? Be the Spartan that ended up on the Pillar of Autumn with John, or be the group still on Reach that takes out the Covenant fleet? Either would be great, but I'd rather have it tie in with the first Halo game by being on board the PoA at the end of the game (I'm very ignorant of Halo lore; I wasn't even aware that there was another Spartan on board).

 

[Zeouterlimits]

So, how would you guys like the game to end? Be the Spartan that ended up on the Pillar of Autumn with John, or be the group still on Reach that takes out the Covenant fleet? Either would be great, but I'd rather have it tie in with the first Halo game by being on board the PoA at the end of the game (I'm very ignorant of Halo lore; I wasn't even aware that there was another Spartan on board).

That's Linda. You'd be hanging with the Chief for the game, they don't do any Reach land-side stuff, have a big space operation. She's not in a pretty state come the end of it (why she's not in Halo CE). She's in cryostasis for a good reason (not space travel).