Twinreaper

Just a heads up to everyone, I will try to get on later and post a "as detailed" explination as possible about the Halo 3 servers, its eminent EOL forthcoming, and why from a companies pov, it should either be extended or taken down Stay tuned folks.

Forgive me if I come off as talking down to people a lot. Most of my posts are not usually intended to read as such, but at times I agree i don't do a very good job of keeping perspective. When i talk about how the Halo 2 rank system was the worst, I speak in terms of the system in which is accurately gauged how much you would jump or slide down in your rank. As it was demonstrated before, there have been players who played constantly and had tremendous skill, yet could not get up past 50. Then there were times when people would create a new profile, and used there skill to 50 in a week. Any system that allows this type of thing to happen without boosting an account is a huge problem. In Halo 3, boosting was the only way you could pull off reaching the highest rank from what I have seen. Yes Halo Reach does not have a true ranking system, as you pointed out, there is no negative side to losing or performing poorly. See, I'm not a competitive gamer any more, so when I am sitting in a lobby with players, I always scout the players commendation completion. Usually if I find that most players have common "multiplayer" commendations in say Grifball, then it's a safe bet they are comparative in skill and play style, hence having roughly the same completion for a majority of individual multi commendations. I almost never look at a "rank" in any game. In the end, it is hard for me to completely layout and understand anymore the competative side of gameplay especially in terms of a "true skill" system. Overall I think that is why it is important as a company, that 343i chooses a handfull of people from each side and has a sit-down with them to discuss ways they can better a system that will deployed that can benefit a wider majority, than they they have done in the past. Maybe that's what we should be doing instead of these silly threads. perhaps it would be a much better use of time and thought to have the community sort of "self appoint" and promote maybe like 5 competative, and 5 casual members, to openly discuss towards 343i, the ideas these members have and try to promote that understanding to them?

If you guys really want to play that badly may I suggest you look around certain less reputable places for copies of it. Although I don't really see the harm in using pirated copies at this point, since Microsoft has ended support for it, and effectively killed any chance of obtaining a new legit product key for it. Search around torrent sites for it, and a key generator. If enough people here really want me to put the 343i PC servers back up, I will be happy to do so. Just let me know guys...

Unfortunatly I had work today, still there as I type this. I have had no time to look into anything today at all. More than likely I won't get a chance to until tomorrow night. But as always, I will update on what i find.

You were not asking me about how fun a game was, or how skill is applied. Your current gripe was with how I interpret or know how a ranking system works. I have supplied enough explination to support how I know these things. I know full well knowing how a game is built does not give one superior knowledge about in-game tactics. Point is, you were calling me out on technical sided issues, and I responded in kind. I will never try to say to anyone how good I am at a game. There is always someone better, and in the end being good at a game has no real world payoff for me. But knowing how things work and are programmed does. hence my direction in terms of knowing everything halo. My "Tech guru" superiority you say? The title was given to me based on my working knowledge of the game engines. I use that knowledge to answer technical questions. At no time have I ever used that knowledge to try to say that I am a better player. Where do you come off posting this stuff? I am a well respected member of this community and others. If you have an issue with my knowledge of the game, then feel free to not look at what i post. Your comments and attitude are noted good sir.

I stand by what i said. Don't tell me to grow up. You don't know me, know or know anyone that does know me. I'm an adult with a mind that gets excersised freely. I never said everything I would post would be kind and respectful. Besides, who are you to tell me what to take "personally?" Not even my mother or wife have that right. Why is this even still being commented on? This thread should have been closed already. the OP is nowhere to be found and all this thread is going to do is constantly perpetuate a flame war amongst it's members. Lets all just agree to disagree, move on and have some fun!

I am going to try to be as polite as possible about this. YOU WILL NEVER KNOW MORE ABOUT HALO 2 THAN ME!!! Think you do? Explain the map header size and structure. Explain to me the related functions of a [weap] tag and it's structure. Have you ever programmed a stat tracker using Halo 2's multilayer API source? That aside, I was not a low level. The last level I achieved before dedicating my time to modding the gametoextend it's life was around 34. No I didnot play competative. I found more joy in creating extra play areas, new weapons,etc. Perhaps it is you who does not fully understand how the ranking system worked. I am fully aware of the statistical data it collected, how it relayed that data into "points", and how it distributed/negated your rank. It was flawed, argue it all you want, but code doesn't lie. Reach's methodology of ranking is a superior layout, but yes it is flawed as well. If Halo 2 had used it's system ranking with Reach's wide library or tracking, you would have a really good system for tracking skill. even then, there are somecore fundamentals that would have to be changed or altered. Let's just all agree that there is no real winner when it comes to the best ranking system. A ranking system is only as good as the individual thinks it is,much like the playablility and success of a game itself. There will never be a perfect ranking system, someone or some community will always find something about it that doesn't work.

To answer you question about the plans Monster, it does actually matter what plan you have. As a general rule an ISP will hand out to it's customers depending on plan, different models and versions of hardware. Not all of those pieces of hardware use the same communication protocols or the relay servers in the same way as every other hardware item. Now that being said, it very well could lie with the fact that perhaps 343i has certain port requirements for the service, and by default, certain "western" world ISP's don't allow that or those, certain ports opened for whatever reason. This is also why you DBUK, experienced problems right away, more than likely due to the newer hardware modem/server version the ISP started using maybe. It happens here in the US as well. Sometimes people are just chugging along just fine using their 4 year old store bought modem...then all the sudden the ISP says your modem is no longer supported. Time goes on, you don't upgrade and low and behold your modem still works just fine, but some times you have connection issues. Then one day it fries. You contact the ISP and get one of their newer modems/routers. Next day, nothing but problems when connecting to certain sites, services etc.... The issues ultimatly stem from an ISP's inability to properly communicate and work with service providers to properly ensure compatability issues. ISP's are one of the biggest and laxest when it comes to maintaining their server equipment and communication rules/protocols.

Also please note that an ISP company has many different comminication protocols based on what hardware is currently available and what is actually supported by the ISP. You may be victim of an upgrade bug in which the newer modems supported don't communicate correctly thru the ISP relay servers, then to Live service.

If the pronlems only started when you got the new modem...then obviously you need to go digging into tue modem configuration, and if possible call to see if something is blocked. Secondly, dont come in here stating things in a post the way you did. I am doing everyone a favor by reachjng out to my sources to get answers. Quick little snaps like yours make me want to not help. If your post meant no harm other than just curiosity then I am sorry. Im a little stressed right now and not in a cool calm state of mjnd. sorry in advance jn any case man.

You can still at least join us for chat on Teamspeak. I think if I put the Pc servers backup....I can finangle a way for those with generated cd keys to still join.

Lmao good one DBUK. Nahhh, everyone can join in. I only ban by specific IP address, not range, as neccessary.

I finally received replies from a number of my sources. As much as I would like to post up the official response mail I got, I cannot do so legally. I will try my best to explain the situation... Now granted the nature of which I went about getting responses, I cannot use names either. As it was first thought, through my own testing, it is not a "ping" or overall communication issue, nor is a specific IP Address related issue. the issue actually resides in the way that specific ISP's in the effected regions, handle and pass-through internet data and internet information requests. Basically the issue does not lie with 343i or Microsoft's settings or API's on the servers. Certain unnamed ISP's like Telstra, have compatibility issues with all aspects of Live's communication protocols. Now I do not know if it is port blocking or bandwidth issues, or anything else, as the people I have talked to are not 100%. the ISP's are responding slowly to help on Microsoft's end despite what they might tell their individual customers. As for now, there is no date set to say whether or not the issues can be cleared up in a day, or weeks. The best bet right now is to either wait it out, or contact your ISP provider, about the issue, that your are not happy, and you expect some compensation. I realize compensation is not really gonna happen for obvious reasons, but right now this is all I know, and as far as I can tell from my sources, all they know. Again, if I hear anything further I will update you all immediately.

Actually, if you reread the post, I was explaining the mechanics act almost exactly the way the pistol from Halo 1 did. It's rate of fire and firing spread act exactly similar. Firing spread is bloom, just so you know. There is no need to create another thread for it, as there is plenty of them here, and in all of them I provide data taken from the tags themselves to explain it. At no point did I say you sucked at all, so i don't know where you are getting that. I was offering a game mechanic answer to what you posted, nothing more nothing less. You can disagree with my points all you want, but they are game data specific facts.

Hey Elusive, I dont like your tone nor attitude pal. Simpky put....the cap is high enough. Want me to do the math and show that reaching a credit cap of 150k in one day is roughly over 8 hours of game time a day? Talk about rich kid....what do u do...sit at home all day while mommy and daddy feed and change you. Grow up, grow some balls and move on.

Man that was a mouthfull. You need to seperate your statements into sections and re-read your post before posting it up. I hardly understood what you were saying. There were some things I saw that i WAS going to punch holes in...but I want to wait until you can re-post your thoughts or observations into a readable format before I knit-pick it with a full sense of understanding and clarity. A for the OP. What you are describing is more animation detail to make you feel like your in the game a lot more. The problem with those things is, if ytou extend the animations, you are also increasing the "ready weapon" time and weapon switching time, which in lamen terms.....increases the time you need to pull your weapon and it be ready to fire.

Only one comment, leave them alone about expanding Reach, and let them focus on Halo 4. Creating new armor from scratch or even improving or improvising existing models takes more than a few weeks....try months. Don't mean to be rude, just trying to spread some truth.

No, no and more no. I'll let you down easy my friend. And BTW, welcome to the forums. Weapons require a HEK to create. You can't simply just piece together weapon model segments in Forge and have it work. Constructing a good solid weapon and testing it fully can take anywhere from 3 to 4 weeks. Vehicles are a huge concept, construction, testing and compiling resource for any developer. It's not as easy as just putting them in. The vehicles have to be recreated, tested and given an insane amount of damage perms, model sections, nodes, markers, etc... Forge budgets exist to keep the end user from overloading the engine drawing of on-screen and bsp object mesh. Unlimited budgets would lead to console or game crashes. Armor is expensive in the poly department. Simple helmets consist of roughly 9,000 polies for a basic, going far beyond 15,000 at mid range detailed ones. Armor is not an easy thing to create and setting rotational markers for biped attachment points is not fun at all. Making your own firefight, by which I assume you mean making forged play areas and dropping AI in. problem is, AI require what we call "AI Pathfinding" it's raw data based on bsp and object placement, that allows the AI to navigate a map without running into walls, objects, etc... That type of data is written, then compiled by the "tool" command line, which is, you guessed it....an HEK tool. It's nice to want certain cool things in a game, but it helps to study engine design first and see what things are currently capable in the latest Blam! engine build. Only then can you properly request items that have a chance of really being conscidered for addition to a Halo game.

I think you misunderstand how the DMR really works. It is a weapon that almost to a T, ressembles the way the pistol from Halo 1 acted. If you used timed shots, you could control where the spread was limited too. With the BR, there is almost no margin for error when you have the enemy in your sights. Bloom requires more skill because it gives you a wider area of error when spamming shots, and forces you to react and lead your opponent. Most people tend to take chest shots while spamming to get your shields down. They usually then follow it up witn a couple headshots. With the Battlerifle you got the same damage modifier as the DMR has, but the trick was , you have to land all 3 shot bursts. This was a problem at liong ranges as 1 or 2 of your shots could easily miss a moving target. The main problem i hear from people regardign the DMR, Needle Rifle and so on, is basically they don't want to hactually have any real up close or mid range fighting skills...they simply want to point shoot repeat and kill. I challenge anyone to give me a clear, well thoguht out example and technical reply as to why "no bloom" is better and requires more skill to use. Using a weapon that has pin point accuracy on every shot requires far less skill than taking down an opponent with a huge error cone of firing spread. it doesn't matter how you try to dress it up and sell it. You say you can't trust your gun? Is that how you felt when weilding an SMG, or H1 Pistol, or plasma Rifle? So I take it the only weapon you are efficient in killing with is a scoped weapon? What happened to the good old days of true skill? Running around with dual needlers or plasma rifles and running down BR dogs? Why is everyone so focused on DMR and other perscision weapons anyway? You know there are other ones in the game right? To be completely honest, I think you are way overthinking things when you go into battle my friend. I don't game competative, at least not in the last 6 years. But whenever I did, I went into battle with whatever I had. There are always two sides to take into account when battling someone. The side noone ever uses, is the disadvantages a weapon gives you. It's always easier going into a battle with a DMR and trying to get the first shot, but what about using it's shortcoming to engage the enemy? If you could outlast or strafe well enough to allow him to waste at least 6 shots, you can then effectivly start to return fire and take him down. I always find it best to dodge shots while returning a shot here and there until the enemy is almost out of rounds, then returning fire. But to each his own I guess?

Thanks for that Tesseract. To touch on what Joh stated above you, he has the correct learning path of understanding how exactly AI works. Placing AI via spawns is not the problem. The problem is, Forge works by editing the scenario file. this means that we have to have all available AI tags that goe with each AI biped. On top of that, zones, squads, commands and pathfinding need to placed or created to go with each AI. squads and zones are scripted commands, which means we would either have to be given the core spawn zones and squads, or have to be given the method to create them. Creating AI tags would require a full HEK, which will not run on a console. They can however release a PC HEK that has the proper AIP and connection protocols to allow real-time editing Touching back on the Ai itself, scripts have to be written then compiled by tool, then set in the scenario file to go with the proper biped or AI characters. None of this ever likely to happen, as the last time we even got a chance to mess with full AI resources, was with Halo 1's HEK. It's been about 8 eyars since that HEK was given out, and we have had nothing since. You can't even count Halo 2's HEK, since we at H2MT had to find a dll mod to play certain content, and it took 3PO a while to re-write some of the HEK code to allow editing and creation of certain tags.

I for one will not be buying another Xbox. For the first time in my life I can honstly say I am tired of having to buy console specific games, and tie myself into a hardware investment I cannot upgrade or keep using to play next-gen games. I'll be sticking to PC...and if that means no more Halo then oh well.

The Scarab is not a vehicle for starters, it is a machine object. And, from a gameplay perspective, the Scarab would dominate anything in the game period. We all know the frustration of tangling with "dumb AI" in H3 with the Scarab.....imagine how insane the confrontation would be if they made it a useable vehicle in multiplayer?!?

The issue is not on their end.... :thumbdown: Maybe I should also forward Microsoft game Studios some interesting network data I recorded when pinging their server address via masking my IP to ressemble a 101 one. I bet that would get their attention. But yeah you got my support. I will continue to push the people I know there to get this resolved if I can.

Actually thats just you making complete sense and Microsoft failing completely. The PC market has made a huge comback and in recent turn of economic plights, it has become the one and only "game playing machine" in many households around the world. People will never buy or invest in a new hardware console every 3 to five years, when they can spend half the money and upgrade a computer that will last hardware wise, into the 5 to eight year range. Hell I still rock the dual 9800GT Nvidia cards, even though they are roughly 6 years ago....but together in SLI they beat out and even perform slightly under what newer cards out now do. Microsoft needs to wake up and start re-investing in the PC market. I am even really considering moving on from Halo altogether after H4. I really dont feel like buying yet another console for no reason at all. All my gaming and modifications to games is PC based.

This is because the amount of bsp polys has about doubled for the basic maps. Also the items used in Forge are very high poly. To be more specific, yes it is due to the engine having to render higher cost items multiple times. This is specifically why they have budgets built in.