Halo 2 Reclaimed PC Restoration Release Trailer
522NEW RECLAIMED R2 TRAILER HERE: https://youtu.be/XCeg75bAjWE
In the works on and off for a year, we've finally completed the first release of Halo 2 Reclaimed, a community project to restore Halo 2's campaign, best used with Project Cartographer. Much like the Gearbox port for Halo CE, since 2007, the only version of Halo 2 that PC gamers have been able to experience is the Vista port, a version of the game that is not a faithful representation of the original, down to the gameplay itself. Increasing the tick rate from 30 to 60 produced multiple issues. Sped up firing rates, faster firing enemies, with more aggressive firing behaviors, and a number of visual and audio bugs were also introduced.
The Reclaimed project aims to not only make the game feel more like its original counterpart, it also aims to help show you how to setup Halo 2 Vista to be the best it can be. With the release of Halo 2 Anniversary near, Reclaimed provides a way to preserve the original experience for those without an Original Xbox, and to remind people of the issues that Halo 2 Anniversary (which still uses H2V as a base) still has. Not everything has been fixed yet in Reclaimed. A version for the MCC is planned, and will be done if possible.
DOWNLOAD THE RECLAIMED MAPS FOR HALO 2 VISTA/PROJECT CARTOGRAPHER:
Note: Using Project Cartographer is RECOMMENDED! Please be sure to read the readme as well.
NexusMods: https://www.nexusmods.com/halo2/mods/72
ModDB: https://www.moddb.com/mods/halo-2-reclaimed
Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1VM3s4wwANyReedUj9skW6D-thzulXaZ2
Join the Halo Reclaimed Discord!
https://discord.gg/u5ZKjxC
HALO 2 RECLAIMED DOCUMENTATION:
https://1drv.ms/w/s!Arjh9SJCM0GAm1oFLy4wM8PH0qMk?e=JDBmjL
SETTING UP HALO 2 RECLAIMED:
1.) Copy the maps to your Halo 2 maps folder (within the game’s location). If you’re using an Nvidia RTX or GTX 16 series (e.g. GTX 1660) GPU, use the foliage patcher provided.
2.) Use together with Project Cartographer: https://www.halo2.online/download/
3.) Ensure reverb and space muffle is enabled by editing the registry. (Registry edit in: Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Halo 2\Audio Settings)
4.) Set anisotropic filtering to 16x in your GPU's Control Panel for Halo 2 to improve distant texture clarity.
5.) Leave in-game anti-aliasing off to make sure no polygon meshes are visible. Use your GPU’s solution instead.
6.) Set Gamma to Disabled.
7.) Use TexMod (Reclaimed.tpf) for OG Xbox textures, further enhancing the game's faithfulness to the original.
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OUTDATED INFORMATION BELOW
HALO 2 RECLAIMED DOCUMENTATION:
https://1drv.ms/w/s!Arjh9SJCM0GAkVPvTg1zwwWkr8bh?e=bl59Zo
The link above includes links to all downloads, guides and descriptions for each, and an issues list for the various Halo 2 ports, as well as the fixes of Halo 2 Reclaimed, and how these fixes were applied. Use the Headings to efficiently navigate through the document.
DOWNLOAD FOLDERS:
Mediafire: http://www.mediafire.com/folder/rhbe967hz1vjp/Halo_2_Reclaimed
Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Uv0u8xhYT_rzn0a9m0mTbNG_uqNbFgTC
Whether you're using the batch map patcher, or the pre-patched maps, you will need to extract the archive to your maps folder, located within your Halo 2 folder (By default: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Halo 2\Maps).
The following settings are recommended for Halo 2 Vista to match its original release:
- Use Project Cartographer
- FoV: 78
- Crosshair offset: 0.138
- Brightness 4
- Gamma: Disabled
- Safe Areas: On
- Anti-Aliasing: Off (Turning on causes polygon meshes, or the white lines in various geometry)
Important registry edit:
1.) In the registry, locate Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Halo 2\Audio Settings.
2.) Then do the following (No action is required if the settings are already set to 1):
- To enable reverb: Double click ReverbEnable and change it from 0 to 1.
- To enable space muffle: Double click LowPassEnable and change it from 0 to 1.
Recommended enhancements:
- Use DSOAL, and set Halo 2's audio settings to 5.1 audio for better audio processing, closer to the original game.
- Set anisotropic filtering to 16x in your GPU’s control panel for Halo 2. (Note: The original Xbox did not have anisotropic filtering)
For the purest experience, using 30 tick:
1. Use H2V_30_Tick.CT
2. Open Halo 2, alt tab, add Halo 2 to the process list.
3. Click yes when asked to keep current address list.
4. Set tickrate to 30.
5. Alt-tab back into Halo 2 and play.
Crosshair replacement:
- Use shared.map replacement (Disallows access to multiplayer)
- Use Texmod
Alternative Menu Strings and Button Prompts:
- Check the Reclaimed Documentation linked above for more details. For the menu strings, replace h2customlanguage.ini in Project Cartographer's root folder (next to exe). For the button prompts, paste into your fonts folder, located in /maps/fonts.