Halo: Two Machines, no goodness.

N

Nathan Tennant

Two machines, one conundrum. Halo: Combat Evolved don't
run like advertised.

One, a P4 2.4Ghz, 256MB Ram, GeForce FX5200. timedemo =
15fps at 800x600 with everything on low, or, if possible,
off. Graphics are UGLY.

The other, a homebuilt AMD 1700XP, 512MB Ram, ATI 9700 Pro.
Sweeeet fps, beatiful graphics and models, NO TEXTURES,
except on the guns and some cut scene faces.

Latest drivers? YOU BET!

Can I talk to MS about this? NOPE. How Do I Find The
Product ID Number? HALO ISN'T LISTED! Oh, I wish I had
bought the GREASE ME option when I purchased a MS game.
Bungie sure WAS GOOD!
 
P

Paul Smith

Nathan Tennant said:
Two machines, one conundrum. Halo: Combat Evolved don't
run like advertised.

One, a P4 2.4Ghz, 256MB Ram, GeForce FX5200. timedemo =
15fps at 800x600 with everything on low, or, if possible,
off. Graphics are UGLY.
Click to expand...

To be perfectly frank with you, your graphics card isn't up to the task,
it's the cheapest card you can probably buy at the moment, even the high-end
nVidia cards aren't as fast as they should be (due to hardware).
The other, a homebuilt AMD 1700XP, 512MB Ram, ATI 9700 Pro.
Sweeeet fps, beatiful graphics and models, NO TEXTURES,
except on the guns and some cut scene faces.
Click to expand...

Try restoring all the driver options to their default settings, changing
things like anti-aliasing etc can cause issues within Halo.

--
Paul Smith,
Yeovil, UK.
http://www.smirnov.demon.co.uk/
http://www.doom3portal.com/ A Doom 3 fansite.

*Replace nospam with smirnov to reply by e-mail*
 
C

Chris H.

Nathan, you didn't mention if you've downloaded and installed the update
which is available here: http://www.microsoft.com/games/halo/support.asp
Additionally, on the same page, is a link to performance issues and things
you can do - even with your sub-standard graphics card - to improve your
experience. Take a look at it. A lot of the adjustments are pretty simple.
 
N

Nathan Tennant

Yes, I have installed the updates. And, okay, the GeForce
FX5200 is a lowend card. BUT certainly I am in the realm
of the minimum requirements, wouldn't you say?

# Computer/Processor: 733 megahertz (MHz) processor.
# DirectX: DirectX® 9.0 or later. (DirectX 9.0b is
installed by Halo.)
# Memory: 128 megabytes (MB) of RAM.
# Hard Disk: 1.2 gigabytes (GB) of free hard disk space.
# Video card: 32 MB or 3D Transform and Lighting capable.

What is your definition of acceptable performance? Because
I don't think 15fps is acceptable. I want to shoot and
kill things on screen. I would think I would get and not
complain about 15fps on a minumum requirement machine.
Fine. THIS IS NOT THE SITUATION I AM IN. And what about
the other machine? The AMD ATI? What about the texture
issues with the Radeon I've seen posted on the internet and
never mentioned in MS's "support" site. And what about not
being able to ask MS support for help because they won't
tell you how to get the Product ID number for the game?

And you need to:
Enter a Product ID number
to get help, but

Product ID (PID) Locator
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=/support/webresponse/pid/pidfind.asp
doesn't list Halo.

How is it that support and the website in general from
Microsoft is so incredibly bad?
All I'm looking for is a little bit of help, and you all
want to whittle me down with driver questions and update
questions. Granted you can't assume I've done these
things. If you've never heard of these issues, you haven't
been reading this forum. If you haven't been reading this
forum, then you aren't likely to be able to figure out this
out where everyone else has failed. This is a support
issue, and I can't get support.

I'm sorry I'm frustrated. The great thing about this is, I
will never be able to get my $50 back. Could have spent 30
on the X-Box title, but wanted keyboard/mouse support. But
that's another thing altogether.

If you can help, please do. If you are saying I shouldn't
expect more than 15fps on this level of machine, I say MS
lied in their Minimum Requirements. If you are saying that
I should expect there to be no textures, well, that's BS.
 
C

Chris H.

Nathan, calm down a little, okay? We're trying to help you. The problem is
Halo has pretty stiff graphics requirements and doesn't work on just "any"
system. I gave you a URL to information which should assist you compensate.
Go to the site, click the link on performance information and see if that'll
help.
--
Chris H.
Microsoft Windows MVP
Associate Expert
Expert Zone -

Yes, I have installed the updates. And, okay, the GeForce
FX5200 is a lowend card. BUT certainly I am in the realm
of the minimum requirements, wouldn't you say?

# Computer/Processor: 733 megahertz (MHz) processor.
# DirectX: DirectX® 9.0 or later. (DirectX 9.0b is
installed by Halo.)
# Memory: 128 megabytes (MB) of RAM.
# Hard Disk: 1.2 gigabytes (GB) of free hard disk space.
# Video card: 32 MB or 3D Transform and Lighting capable.

What is your definition of acceptable performance? Because
I don't think 15fps is acceptable. I want to shoot and
kill things on screen. I would think I would get and not
complain about 15fps on a minumum requirement machine.
Fine. THIS IS NOT THE SITUATION I AM IN. And what about
the other machine? The AMD ATI? What about the texture
issues with the Radeon I've seen posted on the internet and
never mentioned in MS's "support" site. And what about not
being able to ask MS support for help because they won't
tell you how to get the Product ID number for the game?

And you need to:
Enter a Product ID number
to get help, but

Product ID (PID) Locator
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=/support/webresponse/pid/pidfind.asp
doesn't list Halo.

How is it that support and the website in general from
Microsoft is so incredibly bad?
All I'm looking for is a little bit of help, and you all
want to whittle me down with driver questions and update
questions. Granted you can't assume I've done these
things. If you've never heard of these issues, you haven't
been reading this forum. If you haven't been reading this
forum, then you aren't likely to be able to figure out this
out where everyone else has failed. This is a support
issue, and I can't get support.

I'm sorry I'm frustrated. The great thing about this is, I
will never be able to get my $50 back. Could have spent 30
on the X-Box title, but wanted keyboard/mouse support. But
that's another thing altogether.

If you can help, please do. If you are saying I shouldn't
expect more than 15fps on this level of machine, I say MS
lied in their Minimum Requirements. If you are saying that
I should expect there to be no textures, well, that's BS.
 
P

Paul Smith

Yes, I have installed the updates. And, okay, the GeForce
FX5200 is a lowend card. BUT certainly I am in the realm
of the minimum requirements, wouldn't you say?
Click to expand...

I dunno about that since nVidia fail to properly implement the DX9 spec in
their cards.
What is your definition of acceptable performance? Because
I don't think 15fps is acceptable. I want to shoot and
kill things on screen.
Click to expand...

I used to play Q3 at 10fps, and that's a far faster game then Halo.
How is it that support and the website in general from
Microsoft is so incredibly bad?
Click to expand...

Well come on the PIN number isn't hard to find. Insert the CD and it's on
the setup screen in big bold numbers. Go to the settings / about and it's
there. When you install the game it's right there, and it says you'd need
this number for support.
All I'm looking for is a little bit of help, and you all
want to whittle me down with driver questions and update
questions. Granted you can't assume I've done these
things. If you've never heard of these issues, you haven't
been reading this forum. If you haven't been reading this
forum, then you aren't likely to be able to figure out this
out where everyone else has failed. This is a support
issue, and I can't get support.
Click to expand...

Well Microsoft's more official support would do the same.

For your Radeon issue, try a range of drivers (the current as previous 2)
ensure the drivers are on the default settings. From the readme:

"ATI Radeon 9800 PRO 128: You may experience inconsistent graphic
performance with textures if you set the Mipmap Detail Level in the ATI
Direct3D Control Panel to any setting except High Quality."

Not quite what you're seeing but it could be related, there's nothing to
stop a newer driver perhaps breaking something.
I'm sorry I'm frustrated. The great thing about this is, I
will never be able to get my $50 back.
Click to expand...

Depends where you are in the world, if you're in the EU just return it to
the store for a refund.

--
Paul Smith,
Yeovil, UK.
http://www.smirnov.demon.co.uk/
http://www.doom3portal.com/ A Doom 3 fansite.

*Replace nospam with smirnov to reply by e-mail*
 
C

Chris H.

Also, any chance of this system using skins? If so, try uninstalling the
skins or at least disabling them, then try the game again.
 
T

TurkBear

Nathan Tennant said:
Yes, I have installed the updates. And, okay, the GeForce
FX5200 is a lowend card. BUT certainly I am in the realm
of the minimum requirements, wouldn't you say?

# Computer/Processor: 733 megahertz (MHz) processor.
# DirectX: DirectX® 9.0 or later. (DirectX 9.0b is
installed by Halo.)
# Memory: 128 megabytes (MB) of RAM.
# Hard Disk: 1.2 gigabytes (GB) of free hard disk space.
# Video card: 32 MB or 3D Transform and Lighting capable.

What is your definition of acceptable performance? Because
I don't think 15fps is acceptable. I want to shoot and
kill things on screen. I would think I would get and not
complain about 15fps on a minumum requirement machine.
Fine. THIS IS NOT THE SITUATION I AM IN. And what about
the other machine? The AMD ATI? What about the texture
issues with the Radeon I've seen posted on the internet and
never mentioned in MS's "support" site. And what about not
being able to ask MS support for help because they won't
tell you how to get the Product ID number for the game?

And you need to:
Enter a Product ID number
to get help, but

Product ID (PID) Locator
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=/support/webresponse/pid/pidfind.asp
doesn't list Halo.
Click to expand...
Then what is this:( from the link you posted above)
Product ID (PID) Locator

halo:


Your Product ID (PID) for halo can be located by taking the following
steps: Your Product ID (PID) for Halo can be located by taking the
following steps: Launch the Halo game. Then click on Settings from the
main menu. From the menu, choose "About" and your PID is the only
number that shows up in here..

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---------Perhaps its not always Microsoft....
 
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