Regarding recent events, perhaps this could be a good time for 343i to consider turning back on the official servers for Halo 2 Vista.
GFWL is still online and perfectly functional (you can still get achievements from playing the campaign), it was 343i who closed the online capabilities of Halo 2 PC, but hypothetically they could also switch it on again. This would be a positive gestures to those of us who own the game, since we bought it, we should be able to play it online as all launch Xbox 360 online servers from Microsoft are still up and running.
The game could even be released again via Steam or another platform to not only allow those of us who enjoyed the game, the ability to play it properly again, but also even create new revenue if it needs more than just good-will justifying.
If there is a vague commitment for PC going forward, why should that not extend to your past customers?
Reviving the Halo 2 Vista servers would be pointless, there was a reason they were shutdown to begin with. I’ll try to explain why they were shutdown for you:
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Halo PC was launched in 2003 and later received a free add on from Gearbox/Bungie - Halo Custom Edition. At the time of Halo 2 Vista’s server shutoff, Halo PC/CE had more than 2000 players playing consistently and was, and still is, receiving regular support in the way of custom content such as SPv3 and support from Bungie themselves, who actually decided to save Halo PC despite no longer having anything to do with the series. Halo 2 Vista on the other hand, at the time of its shutoff, would only peak at 70 players or so, with the actual player count averaging around 25-30. Keeping the servers alive for 25-30 people on average is not financially feasible and reviving them would likely have little to no impact to that final player count.
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Halo 2 Vista has not been received well by the PC community. Whilst Halo PC/CE is a great PC game in its own right, outside of the few graphical issues (shader issues), which can be fixed by the consumer and netcode issues as a result of supporting Dial Up, Halo 2 Vista on the other hand was an extremely poor port. It had performance issues, lacked proper mod support (it was inferior to H2X’s modding scene, let alone Halo Custom Edition), required Xbox Live Gold paid subscription (though this requirement was removed, the damage had already been done), required Windows Vista, had poor mouse and keyboard support, forced mouse acceleration and input lag, Xbox 360/One controllers were superior to the M+K, could only be installed 5 times per CD key before being forced to purchase another copy of H2V…the list goes on. I can’t even begin to tell you the amount of threads that myself and the Bungie regulars used to have to help new users with because of H2V’s issues. Releasing H2V on Steam as is would make no difference to this as the core H2V game as a PC game would need to be re-done for the PC market. The point of the above, is that regardless of the server switch on, it’s not going to cause an influx of players in the PC market to play the game. That said, a Halo 2 or PC Halo done right as shown with Halo PC/CE and El Dewrito’s popularity shows that a proper Halo game can flourish on PC if it is treated as a PC game.
Hopefully this explains why H2V was shutdown. There is no reason for its servers to be brought back online. That said, I am all for a Halo MCC or classic Halo experience returning to PC, provided it receives proper support and supports the PC platform properly as Halo PC/CE did barring a few issues.
I understand the the port wasn’t generally well received and the fact it was a launch title for GFWL (when it required paying for GOLD) certainly never helped it.
However, I think that as it is a game related on the LIVE service, of which many people (including myself) are paying a subscriptions for, that Microsoft should have decency to keep the servers online for those who wish to play it, not only did people buy the game, but also i’m willing to be many people are also GOLD subscriptions incidentally from Xbox.
It’s simply a bad look for 343i to give a vague promise of PC commitment, when they were the ones who decided to pull the plug on the PC servers. The fact there has been an ongoing community effort to play Halo 2 Vista should prove that the interest was still there. I don’t know how Microsoft can be annoyed with these other versions with a straight face, when they themselves removed the legal, official way to play one of their games. This is not an issue which plagues the older 360 titles, even ones with almost tiny playerbases (you can still play Shadowrun if you wanted), this was a deliberate choice made by the studio responsible for the shepherding, development and legacy of the Halo franchise.
Halo 2 PC never got a digital release, not even when GFWL was selling games on their own marketplace. Maybe if 343i had a little more faith in their community and Halo games, they’d be rewarded instead of the constant bad PR they as a studio receive since Halo 4 until today.
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> Regarding recent events, perhaps this could be a good time for 343i to consider turning back on the official servers for Halo 2 Vista.
>
> GFWL is still online and perfectly functional (you can still get achievements from playing the campaign), it was 343i who closed the online capabilities of Halo 2 PC, but hypothetically they could also switch it on again. This would be a positive gestures to those of us who own the game, since we bought it, we should be able to play it online as all launch Xbox 360 online servers from Microsoft are still up and running.
>
> The game could even be released again via Steam or another platform to not only allow those of us who enjoyed the game, the ability to play it properly again, but also even create new revenue if it needs more than just good-will justifying.
>
> If there is a vague commitment for PC going forward, why should that not extend to your past customers?
There is something you can download called Halo 2 Project Cartographer, which is a community made “mod” (I don’t know what to call it) that allows you to play Halo 2 Vista online. There’s tons of videos on YouTube about it that showcase how it works and how to install it. So go ahead and check it out and see if it tickles your fancy.
Sorry for the bump btw, I hope the information (as little as it is) helps you out bud.
Is this a real thing? If it’s still going, are you able to still earn multiplayer achievements? I legit have like 4 left, and want them finished!
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So here’s something you guys might be interested in, there are a multitude of Halo 2 PC servers up and running with both casual and competitive players on them everyday.
Here are a couple of links to get you started, but yes Halo 2 still exists on PC and there is still a very active community for the game.
[Halo 2 Vista Project Cartographer Setup Guide
](Halo 2 Vista Project Cartographer Setup Guide. Links & Info In Description - YouTube)www.cartographer.online
www.halo2vista.com
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> So here’s something you guys might be interested in, there are a multitude of Halo 2 PC servers up and running with both casual and competitive players on them everyday.
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> Here are a couple of links to get you started, but yes Halo 2 still exists on PC and there is still a very active community for the game.
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> Halo 2 Vista Project Cartographer Setup Guide
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> www.cartographer.online
> www.halo2vista.com
I’m assuming I still need a PC to do this with these sites…and my H2:PC disc? Can I still earn achievements?? I have 4 left to complete this game…
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> I’m assuming I still need a PC to do this with these sites…and my H2:PC disc? Can I still earn achievements?? I have 4 left to complete this game…
Well of course you would need a computer or laptop with Windows on it. However the disc is not required. And unfortunately there is no achievement support for the game anymore.
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> > I’m assuming I still need a PC to do this with these sites…and my H2:PC disc? Can I still earn achievements?? I have 4 left to complete this game…
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> Well of course you would need a computer or laptop with Windows on it. However the disc is not required. And unfortunately there is no achievement support for the game anymore.
Ah, man! That’s a bummer, I was really hoping to polish off those 4 and add another Halo to my 100% collection. Oh well… Thanks for the tip(s).