***Official Halo 2 Discussion Thread*** (1 Viewer)

[Prentice Cotham]

I specifically remember people having problems playing Star Wars Battlegrounds over Xbox Live. Within days, there was a patch on Xbox Live which updated the game the next time users logged in. Or was this something else?

 

[Carlo_M]

Just out of curiousity, I wonder if the LE version of the game exhibits the same problem.

I'm 90% sure it would (as I doubt it was a separate pressing or mastering of that disc) but if it was a different master, maybe that version has the proper widescreen display?

Can anyone with an LE version chime in? Thanks!

 

[Evan M]

I was disappointed with the packaging of the LE set... the 2 discs just stacked on top of each other was not what i was expecting. The game even appeared scratched, slightly, but so far I have had no problems playing it.. so all is well and good,I suppose.

 

[Scott Weinberg]

Just as an FYI for those who plan to play a lot online:

Go to www.bungie.net and link your gamertag there. It'll keep all sorts of cool statistics for you, including bonus points for those end-of-the-round 'awards' you've accrued.

Pretty neat!

 

[Kyle Richardson]

So let me get this straight: If we have a 16:9 HDTV we have to go into the Xbox controls and disable progressive scan so it is playing in 480i in order to get the correct aspect ratio? IF so, thats bogus and I may end up not buying the game now.

 

[Jack Gilvey]

No 480p issues here (at least as far as "cutting-off")using the MS HD pack and an InFocus 4805 front projector ( 854x480). The game does not appear to support widescreen, though, in the sense that there's more to the sides of the picture than with the 4:3 dashboard setting. There's no difference when changing my dashboard setting from "Widescreen" to "Normal" to "Letterbox". The radar appears oval when I set my pj to 16:9 and circular in 4:3...I assume it's supposed to be circular. These different settings work correctly for me with a true widescreen game like WS Baseball. I have the LE version in the metal box.

 

[Jack Gilvey]

I don't find that to be the case. Mine displays properly at 480p. It appears that when people stretch the game using 16:9 mode, they lose the sides due to overscan. It's weird, though, since overscan usually just loses the very edges and the HUD is not all that close to the edges...

Can anyone point me to a source that states that this is a widescreen game, and not just 480p?

 

[Prentice Cotham]

Does anyone have access to IGN's 16x9 review?

http://insider.ign.com/videos/teasers/564/564295.html


Jack,

Direct from bungie's website:

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.

 

[Jean D]

Well, as much as I dont want to purchase the game due to this error, Im curious to see if it works with my setup. I read a post on annother forum that in the game where you and a 2nd player play together (cant recall what its called)that the issue went away, can anyone confirm this?

Man, this is just wrong, the reason I cant wait to leave work and go home should be because Halo2 came out, not because I want to find out if its flawed.

 

[Jack Gilvey]

Ahh, 16:9 for co-op. 4:3 for single-player. Is this where people are experiencing problems...co-op mode?

 

[Shawn C]

So, is the game any good?

 

[Scott L]

Here's some pictures:

Native


16:9 Stretched


Stretched map icon in 16:9

 

[Jean D]

I heard if you put it in 4:3 and stretched it it looks similar to Halo 1, if thats the case I can deal with it until they come to a solution. those pics are great, they are getting my psyched

 

[Brian_H]

I picked up the LE at Best Buy today (there were plenty left BTW). I have a Panny WS HDTV and the first thing I noticed when I started playing was that the HUD appeared to be very close to the edge. Nothing is cut off, but I thought it was closer to the edge than it should be. I chalked it up to overscan as well.

I have the tv set to 5% overscan all around and the game looks fine while playing, but I can imagine plenty of users that never touched the overscan possibly having problems. I know my tv was set with more overscan out of the box than it currently has. I'll wait till we hear more about this and if the fix they offer isn't easy I'll just jump into the service menu and knock it down another couple notches.

 

[Jack Gilvey]

Scott...that's what mine looks like. A 4:3 game.

 

[Brian_H]

On my tv the picture looks like you took one of Scott's pics above and chopped right along the edge of the leftmost grenade indicator in the HUD. So, basically the radar and grenade listing are touching the left edge of the screen, but not cut off. Same goes for the right, the ammo indicator is plastered against the far right of the screen. Nothing cut off (besides what's going on in the game to the left and right of these points) but annoying nonetheless.

 

[Scott L]

Yes, it's very fun. The variety of enemies and their attacks makes it harder but not enough to drive you nuts (playing on Heroic difficulty).

 

[Kami]

Phew...!! My TV passes the test, but I don't think it would have if I hadn't done an extensive calibration on it a while ago. All the HUD items are just exactly on the edge, but nothing is cut off.

What a relief. Now back to the game.

 

[Jean D]

Perhaps it is a overscan issue. and maybe Bungie made it so that the HUD and other displays were as close to the edge as possible (more so than other games) for more picture. And it just so happens most of the people experiancing problems have an overscan issue that they never calibrated.

 

[Jay Mitchosky]

Well, it sure didn't take long for the complaints to start. Hours after launch of a game that has received critical acclaim on its single and multiplayer gameplay. How is the actual game?

Is there an official word out from Bungie? It just really strikes me as odd that through internet and published reviews (all of which will likely have used widescreen or at least 480p capable gear) that this has never come up.

There were a pile of LE's available at Future Shop when I stopped by at lunch.