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View Full Version : Halo Xbox 360 Upgrade?

Evil Avatar
10-24-2005, 09:06 PM
Playing the rumor game, 1Up has posted a short article (http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3144985) speculating that Halo 1 and Halo 2 may be visually upgraded when running on the Xbox 360.

Bungie Studios, however, seems to be the first breaking word on this.

"We're going to have more to tell you about how Halo one and two look on 360, and it's all good news," says the company.

There shouldn't be any reason to call special attention to the game's looks on Xbox 360 unless there would be a noticeable difference. Rumors have been flying backwards compatibility would add 720P support for HDTVs, in addition to cleaning up frame rates and texture issues, but no one at Microsoft or Bungie's made anything official.
The Iron Weasel
10-24-2005, 09:08 PM
Sweet!

The Message
DannoHung
10-24-2005, 09:14 PM
Maybe you get to play as Ryu Hayabusa.
UnderHero5
10-24-2005, 09:16 PM
Maybe you get to play as Ryu Hayabusa.

I was thinking that very thought.
jwbxx
10-24-2005, 09:16 PM
Does the upgrade come with a complete ending?
DannoHung
10-24-2005, 09:17 PM
Does the upgrade come with a complete ending?

No, actually, it's going to shoot you in the face.

Amazing what they can do with technology these days.
Last of the Red Hot Mamas
10-24-2005, 09:23 PM
Wasn't this all but confirmed (http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6146) by Gamepro a few weeks back?
Chagrinful
10-24-2005, 09:29 PM
Wow you Xbox bois, speculation is really what you live for isn't it? Kinda sad like watching a kitten drowning.
DannoHung
10-24-2005, 09:31 PM
Hey, you gotta do something when you're not laughing it up at Ken Kutaragi's Magical World of Crazy!
vladthedog
10-24-2005, 09:40 PM
For some reason I was already under the impression this was in place.

As for something completely unrelated... i LOVE the boondocks ;)
Achilles
10-24-2005, 10:35 PM
Well it would be up-scaled to 720p, which would make it look a lot cleaner.
Bushido
10-24-2005, 10:54 PM
ZzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZzzzz
UnderHero5
10-24-2005, 11:44 PM
I heard Master Chief has bump mapped nipples on his ears when you play Halo on the 360.

Also all the vehicles are now actually the animals they are named after... and you hunt them.

Plus pretting the Y button makes Master Chief flip pancakes and... and.. and cook sausages for you and you eat them for breakfast!!
Mooninaut
10-24-2005, 11:47 PM
I heard Master Chief has bump mapped nipples on his ears when you play Halo on the 360.

Also all the vehicles are now actually the animals they are named after... and you hunt them.

Plus pretting the Y button makes Master Chief flip pancakes and... and.. and cook sausages for you and you eat them for breakfast!!
Whoa, really? Damn it, now I have to buy an Xbox 360.
SuperMonkeyFighter2
10-24-2005, 11:53 PM
That's actually pretty cool. I do know for a fact that Halo 2 is done and running at 720P on the system. However, it would be better if MS supported the visual upgrade (by offering dev funds or something to that nature) to the devs of other big Xbox titles. For example, games like Ninja Gaiden, GTA, Forza, etc would all benefit from a 720 upgrade and enhanced system abilities.
Companies like ATI for example take games in development, and put techs on them to take advantage of their shaders. The cost to the dev is nothing, as ATI gains by having a commercial game that fully supports their hardware. If MS did something like this for their Platinum titles, then it may be incentive enough for people to want to play older games on their 360.
*Legion*
10-24-2005, 11:58 PM
Wow you Xbox bois, speculation is really what you live for isn't it? Kinda sad like watching a kitten drowning.

It's not speculation, it's watching news age.
Savok
10-25-2005, 01:49 AM
If they can fix the Halo 2 render speed I'll be happy.
Achilles
10-25-2005, 01:53 AM
If they can fix the Halo 2 render speed I'll be happy.I think you're talking about the pop-in of the normal maps during cut-scenes. Oddly not being logged into Live speeds this up. Give it a shot. But yeah, I'd be shocked if the 360 didn't fix this, just because the drive reads faster.
Crabby
10-25-2005, 01:57 AM
Whoopie-de-freaking-do!
Savok
10-25-2005, 02:06 AM
I have one Ethernet cable, and it goes into my PC.
Sl1pstream
10-25-2005, 02:51 AM
I hope they add pirates.
Vandenh
10-25-2005, 03:45 AM
I doubt it is true... but it would be a good idea if MS spend some time 360fying some games. Especially Halo 2 would be a bit of a system seller again if they added better visuals.
MrMeatshake
10-25-2005, 03:48 AM
well, i think the bungie level designers are working on more 360 maps for H2, so it would make sense for some of the coders to be working on the H2 'emulation' - if they don't have a decent release title, they might as well try and hijack thier last big game and big it up. makes total marketing sense. i doubt the differences will be particularly big.
Vandenh
10-25-2005, 04:25 AM
> on more 360 maps for H2

360 specific maps?
bapenguin
10-25-2005, 05:17 AM
> on more 360 maps for H2

360 specific maps?

Now that's some interesting speculation.
Demo_Boy
10-25-2005, 08:34 AM
Is this the version that adds the fun?
Mr.Green
10-25-2005, 11:13 AM
Is this the post that adds you to the ignore list?

Yep! 1 troll down, 349390 to go.
Magnanimous Gnome
10-25-2005, 11:57 AM
Hmm, well hopefully they port these over quick, so the Xbois have something to play on their shiny new EMP device!

/troll
netcraazzy
10-25-2005, 02:13 PM
I'm not buying all these Halo 2 upgrade rumors. How many people do you think are out there that never bought an Xbox or Halo2 and would be willing to buy a 360 just to play a slightly optimized version of the game? Their objective is to sell lots of new games along with your MS subsidized hardware purchase. As much as I'm sure they want to please the fans I just don't see them being able to justify the expense considering that it probably will not drive sales all the much.
SuperMonkeyFighter2
10-25-2005, 08:25 PM
I'm not buying all these Halo 2 upgrade rumors. How many people do you think are out there that never bought an Xbox or Halo2 and would be willing to buy a 360 just to play a slightly optimized version of the game? Their objective is to sell lots of new games along with your MS subsidized hardware purchase. As much as I'm sure they want to please the fans I just don't see them being able to justify the expense considering that it probably will not drive sales all the much.

At last week's Digital Life in NY (Javitt's Center), Peter Moore gave a keynote speech (which I attended). A lot of the items her covered were VERY old news (pricepoints and games). One item he did mention was that Halo 2 was in fact running at 720P.
SuperMonkeyFighter2
10-25-2005, 08:26 PM
Is this the post that adds you to the ignore list?

Yep! 1 troll down, 349390 to go.

I don't think he said anything bad ... he just stated that he didn't think Halo 2 was fun. To be honest, I didn't care for the single player much either. Does that make me a troll as well?
Murmillo
10-25-2005, 08:32 PM
I'm still waiting for an ending and the "fun" factor from Halo 2.
netcraazzy
10-25-2005, 10:11 PM
At last week's Digital Life in NY (Javitt's Center), Peter Moore gave a keynote speech (which I attended). A lot of the items her covered were VERY old news (pricepoints and games). One item he did mention was that Halo 2 was in fact running at 720P.

I guess that brings up the bigger question then. If they were to give the game some sort of 360 upgrade what all would they do? Upscaling the image to 720p is a hardware trick if I'm not mistaken. If that is the extent of their "upgrade" to the game then I'd say it hits the sweet spot for investment vs expected return but I think some folks here were thinking something a bit more dramatic.
Heretic Machine
10-25-2005, 11:38 PM
Upgrading Halo to 720p would do approximetly dick for me and most other gamers. HD TV is just not as universal as some people would like to think.
SuperMonkeyFighter2
10-26-2005, 01:42 PM
I guess that brings up the bigger question then. If they were to give the game some sort of 360 upgrade what all would they do? Upscaling the image to 720p is a hardware trick if I'm not mistaken. If that is the extent of their "upgrade" to the game then I'd say it hits the sweet spot for investment vs expected return but I think some folks here were thinking something a bit more dramatic.

Well, it can be simply a hardware trick, yes. Sometimes there is a bit more to it. But at the end of the day, you get the same game ... just sharper. To be honest, I wouldn't mind this if it was supported for more games. Do you recall the PS2's "texture sharpening" tool for PS1 titles? Basically, it takes PS1 games and smooths out the textures a bit. If MS made patches like this available for their best titles, then it would warrent me replaying them a bit on a better system.
SuperMonkeyFighter2
10-26-2005, 01:45 PM
Upgrading Halo to 720p would do approximetly dick for me and most other gamers. HD TV is just not as universal as some people would like to think.

You are correct. While HDTV's are getting cheaper, there are many who:

1) Do not have one yet
2) Have one and do not know how to use it

It's funny how many people already have a set that is HD ready, but do not know what a component cable is. They think that once the TV is on, then by default, the "HD" portion just kicks in.

It's cool that MS supports HD, as it is a good evolution for visuals. However, it's not quite the bullet point that will sell or not sell a system or games.
Achilles
10-26-2005, 03:09 PM
Even if you don't have an HDTV the games will still be rendered in a higher resolution before they're displayed to your TV, so you'll still be getting a better picture, less aliasing, etc.
Magnanimous Gnome
10-26-2005, 04:07 PM
dy have a set that is HD ready, but do not know what a component cable is. They think that once the TV is on, then by default, the "HD" portion just kicks in.

Well to be fair, not everyone is on the cutting edge of electronics know-how.

I sometimes shake my head at these people, but then I remember that I know next to nothing about cars, and I hate it when people use that to make me feel stupid. It's the same thing.
SuperMonkeyFighter2
10-26-2005, 05:39 PM
Even if you don't have an HDTV the games will still be rendered in a higher resolution before they're displayed to your TV, so you'll still be getting a better picture, less aliasing, etc.

I wish it worked that way :)

Games will be native at 720P, but will also have native support for standard TV's (640x480)

If a TV is non-HD, you will not be able to support 720, and instead of just getting a flickering screen, will be downed to 640.

But you will still get AA and such of the game supports it. In theory, the only difference should be resolution.
SuperMonkeyFighter2
10-26-2005, 05:42 PM
Well to be fair, not everyone is on the cutting edge of electronics know-how.

I sometimes shake my head at these people, but then I remember that I know next to nothing about cars, and I hate it when people use that to make me feel stupid. It's the same thing.

I hear that! :) Definately not a knock against non tech folk ... just pointing out that the HD era that folks are claiming is here, is not. Honestly, I believe this "HD era" will begin once the FCC broadcasting rules go into effect, and when people get HD quality simply by plugging in and turning on their TV's ... sans any major new plug ins or extra work
Murmillo
10-26-2005, 05:43 PM
Upgrading Halo to 720p would do approximetly dick for me and most other gamers. HD TV is just not as universal as some people would like to think.Why would it dick you off? If you set your 360 for old 480i, the 360 isn't going to rez anything higher then 480i. Yet if you set your 360 for anything higher.... guess what, the 360 is going to do what you set it for. So if you have HD, you get to enjoy it, don't have HD, nothing changes. Quit being a grumpy college student.
Magnanimous Gnome
10-26-2005, 06:23 PM
I hear that! :) Definately not a knock against non tech folk ... just pointing out that the HD era that folks are claiming is here, is not. Honestly, I believe this "HD era" will begin once the FCC broadcasting rules go into effect, and when people get HD quality simply by plugging in and turning on their TV's ... sans any major new plug ins or extra work


True, although that is going to cause a huge number of problems at first. A huge number of Americans cannot afford to upgrade to the new digital TVs, and under the current plan these people will be left without any TV signals whatsoever. This all needs to be worked out very quickly.