Halo 2

Halo 2

Developers
	Bungie
	Pi Studios
Windows	Microsoft Game Studios
Publishers
	Microsoft Studios
Engines
	Halo Engine
Release dates
Windows	May 17, 2007

Warnings

For Games for Windows - LIVE on Windows 8 or later, install the latest Games for Windows - LIVE software.

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

It is essential to install the latest GFWL client before installing Halo 2. See Install the latest GFWL client.

Modding tools provided on disc

All the maps from the Xbox version and its DLC are included except two

The Halo 2 Live master server went down in 2015 with no indication of its return. See Project Cartographer

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 2 Vista

H2v Hub - Central Hub of the Halo 2 PC community

H2MT Repository - A massive collection of custom maps, mods, tools, & assets

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail

All versions require Games for Windows - LIVE DRM.

Essential improvements

Install the latest Games for Windows - LIVE client

It is essential to install the latest GFWL client before installing Halo 2, as the version on the disc is broken.

Update Games for Windows - LIVE Redistributable[citation needed]
Uninstall Microsoft Games for Windows – LIVE Redistributable. Uninstall Microsoft Games for Windows Marketplace. Install the Games for Windows Marketplace Client.

Skip intro videos

Use Project Cartographer to toggle the intro[citation needed]

Skip intro videos[citation needed]
Go to <path-to-game>\movie\. Delete or rename intro_60.wmv and intro_low_60.wmv.

Patches

The latest patch is 1.01. It is strongly recommended to let the GFWL client auto-update Halo 2. If problems appear, it can be downloaded manually from here.

Project Cartographer

Project Cartographer is an unofficial multiplayer mod which provides an alternative to the now defunct Games for Windows - LIVE platform for Halo 2 Vista. It allows players to use the Network tab as a server browser and connect via peer-to-peer (P2P) networking. This is a fast and streamlined solution as compared with available LAN gaming solutions, as it retains almost all original Live multiplayer functionality. Download and install the mod from the official website.

Example map

Example is a map not included in Halo 2 by default, but is present on the Halo 2 install disc and can be obtained by installing and using the Halo 2 map editor. Example is the only multiplayer map to include Fuel Rod Cannons, and includes custom "silenced" SMGs that are quieter than the ones in other maps and have laser pointers. Example is the smallest map in any Halo game and is unusually dense with explosives.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Halo 2\

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	%LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Halo 2\Saved Games\

Video settings

In-game graphics settings.

Widescreen resolution

Force custom/unlisted resolution[citation needed]

Set ingame resolution to a same ratio resolution like the one you want to use (example 1920x1080 for 2560x1440). Set the game to windowed mode (mandatory). Install DSfix. Edit DSfix.ini Change renderWidth X and renderHeight X to the resolution you want (ex renderWidth 2560 and renderHeight 1440) Change borderlessFullscreen 0 to borderlessFullscreen 1 Change forceWindowed 0 to forceWindowed 1 Save your changes. Notes This solution may uncap the frame rate, which can result in heavy stuttering on high refresh rate monitors. The DSFix frame rate lock commands are intended for Dark Souls and do not work for Halo 2.

Another option is to use a tool like DxWnd or Borderless Gaming, as the game will automatically adjust itself to the new aspect ratio.

Field of view (FOV)

Changing the FOV may cause the crosshair to remain in the center of the screen and not accurately represent the vertical location of the current weapon's fire path. Project Cartographer & MouseThingy fixes this with the crosshair offset option.

Install Project Cartographer
Select the menu item Project Cartographer or press the Home key. Select Advanced Settings. Under Customize HUD/GUI FOV can be changed as well as the crosshair offset. 78 is the value used on original Xbox for widescreen

Use MouseThingy[citation needed]
Install Halo 2 Patch 1.01. Download Halo 2 MouseThingy. Run the game and load a single-player or multiplayer map. Run MouseThingy, click activate and adjust the FOV setting.

Vertical sync (Vsync)

Native Vsync implementation (enabled by default) is very bad and can cause stuttering even with required 60 FPS.

Force proper Vsync[citation needed]
Use the -novsync parameter to disable the game's Vsync. Force Vsync using D3DOverrider or your graphics card control panel.

Input settings

In-game general keyboard settings.

In-game keyboard remapping settings.

In-game controller settings.

Aim assist is always enabled for controllers. It can be disabled using Disable Aim Assist.

Mouse acceleration

Use Project Cartographer to enable raw mouse input

Disable using MouseThingy[citation needed]
Install Halo 2 Patch 1.01. Download Halo 2 MouseThingy. Run the game and load a single-player or multiplayer map. Go into the custom keyboard settings and rebind the "look up/down/left/right" to something other than the mouse. Run MouseThingy and click activate.

Audio settings

In-game audio settings.

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
Italian
Spanish				Depends on installation disk.
Latin American Spanish				Depends on installation disk.

Network

Online features require a Microsoft account (optional for offline play).

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Players	Notes
Local play
LAN play		16	Versus A Co-op mod is available though it is in beta.
Online play		16	Versus A Co-op mod is available though it is in beta.

Connection types

Type	Native	Notes
Matchmaking
Peer-to-peer
Dedicated		An unofficial update by the same people who made Project Cartographer is available here.
Self-hosting
Direct IP

Ports

Protocol	Port(s) and/or port range(s)
TCP	53, 80, 443, 3074
UDP	53, 88, 1000-1006, 3074

Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) support status is unknown.

Port range 1000-1006 is required by Project Cartographer to host. See Project Cartographer

Specific details can be found here

Issues fixed

Installation issues

Run startup.exe on the DVD in Vista compatibility mode[citation needed]

"One of the installation steps failed" error

You may receive this error message during installation.

Instructions[citation needed]
Exit the installer. Open the redists folder on the game DVD. Run vcredist.msi as an administrator. After it has finished restart the game installer and it should proceed normally.

"LIVE gaming on Windows failed to initialise" error

This occurs on Windows 8 and later.

Instructions[citation needed]
Download and install these files: xliveredist.msi, gfwlclient.msi and wllogin_**.msi

Sign-in error

Close Xfire before signing in[citation needed]

Extreme mouse lag/jittering

This occurs if the game is running higher than 60 FPS.

Limit frame rate to 60 FPS[citation needed]

Artifacting or flashing on Nvidia cards

Update Nvidia drivers to 337.88 or newer[citation needed]

Run the game at screen refresh rate

Fullscreen mode defaults to 60 Hz, even if the screen refresh rate is set higher than that.

Set screen refresh rate and 60 FPS cap[citation needed]
Install Special K by following the Special K Unofficial Guide. Start the game once and close it to allow the configuration file of Special K to be created. Open <path-to-game>\d3d9.ini or %USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Mods\SpecialK\Profiles\halo2.exe\SpecialK.ini depending on the installation method you used. Change TargetFPS=0.0 to TargetFPS=60.0. Change RefreshRate=-1 to RefreshRate=0.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	9
Shader Model support	3

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Physics	Havok
Audio	Dolby Digital
Cutscenes	Bink Video
Multiplayer	Games for Windows - LIVE

Play without Games for Windows - LIVE

Games for Windows Live can be disabled as an alternative to using a local profile.

Halo 2 Vista XLiveless
Use Halo 2 Vista XLiveless.

Command-line arguments

See command line arguments on how to use the following options.

Parameter	Description
-windowed	Runs the game in windowed mode.
-novsync	Disables Vsync. May improve the game performance.
-monitor:X	Allows users to move the game between monitors when running in full screen. Replace X with monitor number (found in Windows Display Settings).
-nosound	Runs the game without audio.

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	Vista
Processor (CPU)	2 GHz
System memory (RAM)	1 GB	2 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	7 GB	10 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce 6100 ATI Radeon X700 DirectX 9 compatible	DirectX 10 compatible

Halo 2 can be played on Windows XP by following this tutorial (Games for Windows - LIVE features will be disabled).