I understand that Bungie developed and owns the technology to render Reach videos. I understand that it isn’t viable for Bungie to maintain Reach screenshots or videos anymore.
I also grasp the difficulty of creating this type of technology. However, I’m still inclined to ask, “WHERE IS THE RENDER-TO-VIDEO FUNCTION, MICROSOFT?!” As a long-time Halo fan, and as someone who has (stupidly) purchased four Xbox 360s, and multiple copies of Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 3, and Halo Wars, I’d like to know why the plug has suddenly been pulled without some kind of backup plan. Note: I don’t consider the current stats tracking at halo.xbox.com to be a suitable backup plan. Where are my screenshots? Where are my videos?
As a member of the Halo community, this is what it sounds like, Microsoft: “We don’t care”.
I know that isn’t quite true; obviously, many people at 343 Industries and Microsoft /do/ care a great deal about the fans. Do you understand what I’m typing, though? Going forward, please don’t leave us hanging like this. Please provide us with a better, more well thought-out plan.
I know that members of 343i are playing in Reach matchmaking. I see their skull helmets and “Inheritor” ranks all the time. It’s awesome. Even better, they (almost always) exhibit very good netiquitte. Just please, please don’t leave us high and dry with Halo 4 and beyond.
ALSO: SOMETHING TO TYPE REGARDING HALO WAYPOINT:
Here’s why I don’t use it anymore:
“Midnight in the Heart of Midlothan” is gone. Why, oh, why? I must have watched it at least 10 separate times; it’s so good. This kind of sudden change, however, isn’t good.
Rendering was Bungie’s thing, not Microsoft’s and it wasn’t part of the transfer. Web access to file shares is expected sometime this summer, nothing more concrete than that.
Rendering will not be returning for Halo 3 or Reach and is unknown at this time if it, or something like it, will exist for Halo 4.
Rendering isn’t coming to back for Halo 3 or Reach, though File Share will this summer for Halo: Reach. And I would assume stat tracking will be improved between now and the release fo Halo 4.
I never understood why it had to be rendered on a Bungie server for money anyway. Can’t the Xbox do it just fine? I mean it does 30 of the damn things every second already.
Just render to HDD, transfer to USB/PC upload to Youtube, eh? Guess that doesn’t make them any money though.
Your best bet until 343 finally -Yoinks!- themselves together to do something useful is to get a capture card I’m afraid.
Here’s a secret: They don’t care, they are leaving you high and dry. Welcome to corporate marketing Halo. They want you to think they care, they’ll promise to care all day long.
> I never understood why it had to be rendered on a Bungie server for money anyway. Can’t the Xbox do it just fine? I mean it does 30 of the damn things every second already.
>
> Just render to HDD, transfer to USB/PC upload to Youtube, eh? Guess that doesn’t make them any money though.
>
> Your best bet until 343 finally -Yoinks!- themselves together to do something useful is to get a capture card I’m afraid.
The technology wasn’t built into the game. It was added to bungie.net way after Halo 3 came out, and at an unknown point in the development of Reach.
> I never understood why it had to be rendered on a Bungie server for money anyway. Can’t the Xbox do it just fine? I mean it does 30 of the damn things every second already.
>
> Just render to HDD, transfer to USB/PC upload to Youtube, eh? Guess that doesn’t make them any money though.
>
> Your best bet until 343 finally -Yoinks!- themselves together to do something useful is to get a capture card I’m afraid.
> Technology?
>
> What technology.
>
> We’re talking about a video game here.
>
> All you gotta do is render out frames one after another.
>
> It already does that.
It doesn’t have the rendering system built into the game. That technology…
> > Technology?
> >
> > What technology.
> >
> > We’re talking about a video game here.
> >
> > All you gotta do is render out frames one after another.
> >
> > It already does that.
>
> It doesn’t have the rendering system built into the game. That technology…
>
> Ω
> > > Technology?
> > >
> > > What technology.
> > >
> > > We’re talking about a video game here.
> > >
> > > All you gotta do is render out frames one after another.
> > >
> > > It already does that.
> >
> > It doesn’t have the rendering system built into the game. That technology…
> >
> > Ω
>
> Maybe you are dense or something.
>
> How does the game display on your TV?
No, he’s not dense. The rendering system that Bungie implemented is independent of the game. It’s not built into Reach or your Xbox. The games were rendered using Bungie’s program and that program was NOT part of the hand off to 343 because it wasn’t part of Halo but part of Bungie.
It’s not as simple as “record it to your hard drive!” at all.
> Rendering was Bungie’s thing, not Microsoft’s and it wasn’t part of the transfer. Web access to file shares is expected sometime this summer, nothing more concrete than that.
>
> Rendering will not be returning for Halo 3 or Reach and is unknown at this time if it, or something like it, will exist for Halo 4.
Sorry but in an update from bs angel, file shares were expected sometime soon after March 31st. I’m not sure if 343i has a decent grasp on time but that was over a month ago and nothing new has come. I’d stop complaining about 343i but I can’t until they start sticking to there word. Halo 4 is around the corner but I’m pretty sure they should have some people still working on Reach, and if they don’t, then that’s stupid because that still gets a lot of attention unlike Halo 3. It’s not acceptable.
> > Rendering was Bungie’s thing, not Microsoft’s and it wasn’t part of the transfer. Web access to file shares is expected sometime this summer, nothing more concrete than that.
> >
> > Rendering will not be returning for Halo 3 or Reach and is unknown at this time if it, or something like it, will exist for Halo 4.
>
> Sorry but in an update from bs angel, file shares were expected sometime soon after March 31st. I’m not sure if 343i has a decent grasp on time but that was over a month ago and nothing new has come. I’d stop complaining about 343i but I can’t until they start sticking to there word. Halo 4 is around the corner but I’m pretty sure they should have some people still working on Reach, and if they don’t, then that’s stupid because that still gets a lot of attention unlike Halo 3. It’s not acceptable.
File shares were given the time frame of this summer (2012), not a short time after March 31st.
As for all these rendering concerns, playback for Halo is different than some games, it doesn’t actually record the game, then allow you to play it back as a video on YouTube or Facebook, it actually takes data from that game, like player movement, gun firing, grenade throwing, everything in that game, and then when you choose to replay the film, it loads all that data, and shows you it.
The technology as stated above, was custom made, by Bungie, not in Halo: Reach, ODST or Halo 3, it was built to be website based on Bungie.net, considering the technology was not a promise with the game(s), it was not required to be handed over during the transfer, meaning 343i would have to write their own code for such a feature, for games like ODST, 3 & Reach at this current moment in time, it is NOT likely, not with Halo 4 around the corner.
> It really is, you render a frame normally, you read the framebuffer, you encode it to a file. Done.
I’m going to say this and be done with you. What you’re watching isn’t a video file, it’s a file about the whole game, that’s how you can detach the camera, get different angle, move around, and whatnot. Yes, you can get film clips and have angles that you recorded but it doesn’t record it as a video file and there is nothing in the Xbox 360’s system or the game code that allows it to be turned into a video file. As snicker said, the redering system is a program made by Bungie that’s separate from Halo. It’s not in the code on the disk, so there is no way to render it without Bungie’s rendering program.
My comparison, it’s like trying to turn a .MP4 or .AVI into an animated gif. Is it possible? Yes. But you need a program to help you do it. We no longer have this program (Bungie’s rendering program), so you’re going to have to find another method if you want the clip or video.
The program for turning a theater film into images already exists on every copy of the game. It’s called the Halo engine. It can turn theater films into frames at 30 of them a second.
> The program for turning a theater film into images already exists on every copy of the game. It’s called the Halo engine. It can turn theater films into frames at 30 of them a second.
Then we move on to sound, wonder how they will grab that with screenshots.
Well you could do videos by screenshoting each frame… but that would be limited. Hope they will bring a free rendering system, and not just wait for Halo 4’s release date then abandon Halo Reach.
> > I never understood why it had to be rendered on a Bungie server for money anyway. Can’t the Xbox do it just fine? I mean it does 30 of the damn things every second already.
> >
> > Just render to HDD, transfer to USB/PC upload to Youtube, eh? Guess that doesn’t make them any money though.
> >
> > Your best bet until 343 finally -Yoinks!- themselves together to do something useful is to get a capture card I’m afraid.
>
> Because it was Bungie’s program, not Microsoft’s.
Yeah but the tech can be licensed for use. By taking away this feature, they’re shooting themselves in the foot with all the free advertising and community interest in the game. That is, IF this were to happen.