Halo: Combat Evolved
From PCGamingWiki, the wiki about fixing PC games
Developers | |
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Bungie | |
Windows | Gearbox Software |
macOS (OS X) | Westlake Interactive |
Publishers | |
Microsoft Game Studios | |
OS X | MacSoft |
Engines | |
Halo Engine | |
Release dates | |
Windows | September 30, 2003 |
macOS (OS X) | December 3, 2003 |
Warnings
- The macOS (OS X) version of this game does not work on macOS Catalina (version 10.15) or later due to the removal of support for 32-bit-only apps.
Halo | |
---|---|
Halo: Combat Evolved | 2003 |
Halo 2 | 2007 |
Halo: Spartan (series) | |
Halo Online | 2015* |
Halo 5: Forge | 2016 |
Halo Wars (series) | |
Halo Recruit | 2017 |
Halo: The Master Chief Collection (series) | |
Halo Infinite | 2021 |
Key points
- For shorthand clarity in a PC context, the standard unmoddable version of the game is Halo PC. The moddable version of the game is Halo CE (Halo Custom Edition)
- Patch 1.10 fixes issues with modern hardware and replaces the GameSpy master server.
- Animations, effects, and cutscenes are capped at 30 FPS.[1] See High frame rate.
General information
- Bungie.net - The developer's site
- Halo Nation - A very detailed wiki for everything Halo related
- Halo.Bungie.org - One of the biggest Halo fan sites around
- Halo Maps - A fan site for downloading mods and maps for Halo Custom Edition
- Fan-made forum thread about enhancing many aspects of Halo CE and Halo PC. Newly Updated.
Availability
- SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see above for affected versions).
- The official demo for the game can be found here.
- Disc checking was removed in Patch 1.08.
Essential improvements
Patches
- Patch 1.10 updates the Windows version. Includes all previous patches. Patch notes may be found here.
- The Mavericks/Lobby patches for the OS X version switches to the new Patch 1.10 lobby servers and optionally fixes compatibility with OS X Mavericks (10.9). Still requires the latest official patch to function properly.
Halo Custom Edition
- Halo Custom Edition allows players to play multiplayer Halo games on user-created maps.
Modifications
Chimera
- Chimera is a mod for Halo Custom Edition which contributes a wide variety of essential features to enhance or fix Halo.
- Official documentation for build -572 on Google Drive.
- Discord server with alpha build downloads.
Open Sauce
- Open Sauce is a mod for Halo Custom Edition that fixes multiple issues and adds several features for modders.
Halo Anticheat 2
- Halo Anticheat 2 (or HAC2) is a mod that fixes multiple issues and adds several features. Supports all versions of Halo: Combat Evolved and Custom Edition.
- Open Sauce and Halo Anticheat 2 are not compatible with each other. Only one of the mods can be installed at any given point. That being said, a potential workaround is available
Halo Mini Demo
- HaloMD is a mod (perhaps even the only one) for the Mac release of Halo that addresses compatibility issues with later operating systems and adds support for hosting and playing on custom maps (Custom Edition was not released for the Mac).
CMT SPV3
- SPV3 is a revamp of the original campaign, featuring new weapons, enemies, vehicles, abilities, features and levels.
Project Lumoria
- Project Lumoria is a brand new campaign story for Halo CE; stays true to the classic Halo CE feel.
Skip intro videos
Add -novideo parameter[citation needed] |
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Game data
Configuration file(s) location
System | Location |
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Windows | %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Halo\ |
macOS (OS X) |
Save game data location
System | Location |
---|---|
Windows | %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Halo\ |
macOS (OS X) | %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Halo\ |
- Custom Edition saves in
%USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Halo CE\
- Mini Demo saves in
%USERPROFILE%\Documents\HLMD\
Video settings
Widescreen resolution
Run the game in widescreen[4] |
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Field of view (FOV)
- By default, Halo compresses its vertical FOV rather than stretching its horizontal FOV in widescreen resolutions.
Set vertical FOV[4] |
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Set custom FOV[citation needed] |
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Set custom FOV[5] |
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Windowed
Run in windowed/borderless mode[citation needed] |
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Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Enable anisotropic filtering[4] |
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Notes
|
Anti-aliasing (AA)
- Forcing MSAA in the graphics card control panel has no effect.
Force post-process SMAA[citation needed] |
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High frame rate
- Animations, effects, and cutscenes are not interpolated, and therefore appear choppy at frame rates above 30 FPS.[1]
- Enabling interpolation makes objects' movements appear much smoother.
Fix issues with 30 FPS animations and cutscenes[4] |
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Input settings
Mouse acceleration
Disable mouse acceleration[4] |
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Mouse sensitivity
Set horizontal and vertical mouse sensitivities[4] |
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Notes
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Audio settings
Localizations
Language | UI | Audio | Sub | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
English | ||||
French | Only in French version of the game | |||
Italian | ||||
Spanish |
Network
Multiplayer types
Type | Native | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|
Local play | Xbox version only. | ||
LAN play | Versus | ||
Online play | Versus See Patches. |
Connection types
Type | Native | Notes |
---|---|---|
Matchmaking | ||
Peer-to-peer | ||
Dedicated | ||
Self-hosting | ||
Direct IP |
Ports
Protocol | Port(s) and/or port range(s) |
---|---|
TCP | 80 |
UDP | 2302, 2303 |
- Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.
Issues fixed
Make Open Sauce and Halo Anticheat 2 compatible
Fix compatibility on Windows 8 and later[6] |
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Fix compatibility on Windows 7[7] |
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Open Sauce can't be installed
Install missing dependency[8] |
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Alternative OpenSauce Installer[9] |
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Run the game at screen refresh rate
- Refresh rates up to 120 Hz are available; 144 Hz and above require a fix.
Set refresh rate through command line argument[citation needed] |
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Start the game with the |
Set screen refresh rate[citation needed] |
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Buggy auto-centering of vehicles
Fix auto-centering[4][10] |
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Mouse wheel activates other background windows
Confine cursor to window[citation needed] |
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Activating hardware acceleration or environmental sound causes sounds to cut out randomly
- ASUS sound cards cut out short-duration audio streams for power management, as a result the assault rifle will become silent when holding the fire button.[11]
Add the sound card to the config.txt file[citation needed]
|
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//If the AudioVendor already exists: 0xDEVID = "Sound Card Name" // EXAMPLE: 0x8788 = "ASUS Essence STX II" HeadRelativeSpeech EnableStopStart break //If the AudioVendor doesn't exist: AudioVendor = 0xVENDOR_ID "Vendor Name" // EXAMPLE: AudioVendor = 0x13F6 "C-Media" 0xDEVICE_ID = "Sound Card Name" // EXAMPLE: 0x8788 = "ASUS Essence STX II" HeadRelativeSpeech EnableStopStart break |
- i.e. The flyby for the Halo ring in the main menu background is not following the correct path.
Enable Vsync[12] |
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Other information
API
Technical specs | Supported | Notes |
---|---|---|
Direct3D | 9 | |
OpenGL | 1 | OS X only. |
Shader Model support | 1.1, 1.4, 2.0 |
Executable | 32-bit | 64-bit | Notes |
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Windows | |||
macOS (OS X) |
Middleware
Middleware | Notes | |
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Cutscenes | Bink Video | only for credits, post-credit sequence, and intro videos. |
Multiplayer | GameSpy | Was shutdown in late 2014. New host uses HostPC.com |
Halo Custom Edition campaign port
Restore classic campaign[citation needed] |
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Notes
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Disable zoom blur
Block zoom blur[4] |
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Command line parameters
- See command line arguments on how to use the following options.
Parameter | Description |
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-nosound | Disable all sound |
-novideo | Disable video playback |
-nojoystick | Disable joysticks and gamepads |
-nogamma | Disables adjustment of gamma |
-useff | Forces the game to run as a fixed function card |
-use11 | Forces the game to run as a shader 1.1 card |
-use14 | Forces the game to run as a shader 1.4 card |
-use20 | Forces the game to run as a shader 2.0 card |
-safemode | Disables as much as possible when running the game |
-window | Run the game in windowed mode |
-width x | Forces the game to run at a specified resolution |
-vidmode w,h,r | Forces the game to run at the width(w), height(h), and refresh(r) specified |
-adapter x | Forces the game to run fullscreen on a multimon (multiple monitors) adapter |
-port x | Server port address used when hosting multiplayer games |
-cport x | Client port address used when joining multiplayer games |
-ip x.x.x.x | Server IP address used when you have multiple IP addresses |
-screenshot | Enables the Print Screen key to generate screenshots. Having this always enabled can cause a slight decrease in performance |
-console | Enables the debugging console |
-devmode | Enables the Halo Developer Mode |
System requirements
Windows | ||
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Minimum | Recommended | |
Operating system (OS) | 98SE | ME, 2000, XP |
Processor (CPU) | 733 MHz | |
System memory (RAM) | 128 MB | 256 MB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) | 1.3 GB | |
Video card (GPU) | 32 MB of VRAM DirectX 9.0b compatible |
macOS (OS X) | ||
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Minimum | ||
Operating system (OS) | 10.2.8 (10.3.9 for UB version) | |
Processor (CPU) | PowerPC G4 | |
System memory (RAM) | 256 MB | |
Hard disk drive (HDD) | 1.4 GB (1.5 GB for UB version) | |
Video card (GPU) | Nvidia GeForce 2MX/ATI 7500 or better (ATI Radeon 8500/9000, GeForce
3Ti/4Ti for UB version) 32 MB of VRAM |
Notes
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 KornnerStudios / OpenSauce-Release / issues / #33 - remove 30fps animations — Bitbucket - last accessed on 2017-05-13
- ↑ Not Loading in Windows 10; this will break thousands of - Microsoft Community - last accessed on 2017-01-16
- ↑ Microsoft - MS15-097: Description of the security update for the graphics component in Windows: September 8, 2015 - last accessed on 2018-02-16
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Halogen002/Chimera: Mod for Halo Custom Edition
- ↑ HAC 2 Development » Commands - last accessed on 2017-03-13
- ↑ HAC2 + OS compat fix - Halo Maps Forum
- ↑ HAC2 + OS compat fix - open carnage Forum
- ↑ user@ HaloMods forum
- ↑ Alternative OpenSauce Installer - Reddit/halospv3
- ↑ Chimera - Page 13 - Halo CE: Asset Releases - Open Carnage
- ↑ ASUS Soundcard: EAX/GX Issues
- ↑ Verified by User:ThatOneReaper on September 9, 2016
- ↑ Halo Custom Edition How Do I Play the Single Player Campaign