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[goldenpp72]

Well I mean on an overall level manx, like, maybe halo 3 won't have the detail of gears, but gears is more closed areas. Lost planet for example, has vast open areas and beautiful effects and animations, though it isn't the best looking up close. If halo 3 can look better then lost planet, ill be happy.

And what halo 3 lacks in these shots is very much the stuff frankie described, it looks like someone took a dead xbox game and updated the textures in these shots, what makes these new games look so awesome is the lush effects and details like flowing trees and stuff, and I hope to see a bit of that in halo 3.

 

[Agent Icebeezy]

I said that because it's true, i'm saying that in more defense of the users being bashed for saying it. It's not a problem for ME because i've read all the updates and trust stinkles to not be lying out of his ass, but that doesn't help the fact that the shots still look pretty dissapointing on a graphical level for everyone.

Look at my avatar, I have a preorder slip, ill be there at the midnight launch if possible, even if this looks like halo 2 to the T, I like the mechanics of halo enough to buy it either way.

I'm just breaking it down a bit, it's not unreasonable to think this looks bad nor is it unreasonable to think it should look FAR better by release, I just personally think it will and hope i'm not dissapointed.

They are just trying to make the game fun first, then the graphics come in. That is basically why it looks the way it does. Even then, the placeholders look better than Halo 2. I don't see what the complaints are about. This is the first time Bungie isn't rushing with a Halo. That alone is reason to rejoice. Halo 1 having audio running thru the GPU at E3 2001. Halo 2 being chopped up because it had to be out November 2004. They are finally making the game they wanted. Third time will be the charm with this game. Global HDR, 14 mile draw distance. This game will be a technical masterpiece as well.

 

[goldenpp72]

Yeah I know, and if you actually happened to read other comments from myself both on gaf and other forums, I defend halo 3 to the point of saying it will look stunning in the end, that doesn't suddenly make these shots look acceptable does it?

People on gaf are a bit too into the business side of games I think, just because we are smart enough to know it will look better doesn't mean we suddenly put on blinders to what we have actually seen, no one should be saying halo 3 looks amazing right now unless they have seen an amazing build. The build we normal consumers have seen doesn't look good graphically at all, and while we may be educated as to why, and how it will turn out later, it would be silly to suddenly pretend these look good now wouldn't it?

Gaf is too quick to attack.

 

[GhaleonEB]

Gears? No way... 1st game to look better than Gears (in total) will be Gears 2 imo.
Hopefully the gameplay in Halo 3 won't allow it to look better than Gears.

I think they're going to be tough to compare, because of the differing scopes.

Frankie posted a description of a "typical encounter" in Halo 3 a few weeks back:

Scary Post Apocalyptic Environment: 1
Phantoms: 3
Grunts: 14
Marines: 6
Brutes: 8
Jackals: 3
Wraiths: 3
Ghosts: 6
Mongoose: 1
Warthogs: 1
New version of old favorite: 1
Chief: 1
Giant Bad Guy in distance: 1
Frightening and Inexplicable Maelstrom: 1
Ancient Forerunner Artifact: 1

That's fourteen vehicles, twenty-five Covenant and seven UNSC troops (including the Chief). I don't think there's any scene in Gears of War with even half of that going on at once. So I don't think there will be an easy comparison - essentialy it will be detail versus scale. The two games are so different in design and gameplay that I think comparing them will be silly. But it'll happen anyways, I'm sure.

 

[manxor]

I popped in my copy of Halo:CE earlier. It's amazing what Bungie was doing on the Xbox in 2001. Normal maps, environment reflections, soft transparency, waterfalls, water shaders, specular highlights, detail maps... crazy. A lot of devs are just getting into this stuff now. I'm sure Halo 3 will look and perform! amazing, especially in SP. If anything, some might take issue with it's 'designed for last gen' art style, but that's just Halo.

5 weeks...

 

[Striker]

Just watched the two vids of the new Halo 3 stuff off of Gametrailer, I'm not really that impressed. It feels like Halo 2 with sharper texture with a better lighting engine, and with the same Halo 2 animation.

Are we going to expect a boost in the animation department or is it going to be the same as from the vids?

Why don't you read around s' more and pay attention? These are alpha.

 

[GhaleonEB]

So I've got a few scattered thoughts here that I want to toss out before I go to bed.

First - I finished Luke and Mark's 32-minute dissection of the video. It was quite good, pointing out most of the interesting stuff in the background, even stitching together some scenes I hadn't realized were connected. Two omissions I thought were worth mentioning, in the interest of continuing geeky over-analysis:

1) The bridge map looks like a remake of the one in the Halo PC game. I saw some side by side comparisons and they were nearly identical in many respects. But if you haven't played the PC game (and I haven't) you wouldn't know that.

2) The HUD. The bubble shield is clearly visible as an icon next to the grenades in a couple of shots. In others, it's not there. Given that the HUD displays all available weaponry - all grenade types and your backup weapon - I think it's clear that you can only carry one Deployable at a time, otherwise the HUD would have multiple slots for them as it does for grenades.

Related - the Deployable Equipment is the most significant addition to the Halo gameplay so far, IMO. The reason is that for the first time, players will carry stuff that is not designed to only to kill guys - it's tactical equipment. When EGMs coverage of the pre-Alpha play session came out, what struck me was the addition of the man cannons and the shield walls. Both are designed to add a dynamic change to player movement and combat - through the air and on the ground. They really change up the flow of the levels and add another layer of strategy to the play.

The reason I have been excited about Shadowrun is similar - you've got lots of options in your hands other than just shooting and those options add a complex layer of strategy to the game. Halo 3 is adding those same kind of options - portable shields, gravity lifts, proximity mines. I think it's difficult to overstate how that will shake up the core Halo gameplay, especially when they are used in tandem as part of an effective team.

I can't stop thinking about all the uses just those three can have in different situations - and how they can be combined. One example in particular: you're defending a doorway to a base. Guys are storming the doorway. One of you puts up a bubble shield so it just extends over the front of the doorway. Another guy plants a proximity mine just inside the bubble, in the threshold of the door. What are the attackers going to do? They can't shoot you because of the shield. If they step through it into the doorway, they set off the mine and are toast. Time for them to find another way in (and in Halo games, there's always another way in), or wait out the shield. There's tons of possible situations like that.

Cannot. ****ing. Wait. For the 16th.

Finally a request: can someone capture some shots from the interrior at the end of the vidoc, specifically at 6:39, 6:40 and 6:42. Yeah, it's Alpha but the texture work in that area is just sick.

 

[Tieno]

I'm actually very excited about the deployable gravity lift. It makes invading higher grounds much more dynamic and defending them more difficult. You can also use it to evade a warthog closing in on you or if they're affected by it, mess up their 'line'.

 

[SCULLIBUNDO]

Here's an interesting question:

I assume that vehicles can enter the bubble shield and that the bubble shield deflects projectiles only. What if you stick a vehicle on it's way into the bubble shield? Also, does the bubble shield keep things inside as well? Can somebody from inside the bubble shield throw a grenade out?

Would be funny to see somebody about to launch a rocket, only for somebody to throw a bubble shield at them, and be trapped in the explosion.

 

[Mr Vociferous]

Cannot. ****ing. Wait. For the 16th.

o rly.... : o



so i haven't had a chance to see all of Luke and Mark's work on this newest vidoc analysis...I'll watch it in a bit. The first half seemed better than there previous ones, so for that I give them credit.

Here's the h3da walkthrough:





I'd strongly suggest that you guys check it out. It's not a plug for the site I run, but it took a while to put together and its far more intensive and detailed than anything I've seen on the internet. You can choose to never ever visit the site again, but at least take a gander at the walkthrough by clicking the image above.

We talk about everything in the vidoc, from the Halo 1 pistol, where the sword is kept when it's not being used and even how many maps will be in the retail version...it's full and it covers lots.

And I to look foward to May 16th for much nerdity.

 

[GhaleonEB]

o rly.... : o

YA RLY ;p

I'll check out your writeup, I've been looking forward to ever since you pointed your site out. Good stuff.

 

[Tieno]

o rly.... : o



so i haven't had a chance to see all of Luke and Mark's work on this newest vidoc analysis...I'll watch it in a bit. The first half seemed better than there previous ones, so for that I give them credit.

Here's the h3da walkthrough:


I'd strongly suggest that you guys check it out. It's not a plug for the site I run, but it took a while to put together and its far more intensive and detailed than anything I've seen on the internet. You can choose to never ever visit the site again, but at least take a gander at the walkthrough by clicking the image above.

We talk about everything in the vidoc, from the Halo 1 pistol, where the sword is kept when it's not being used and even how many maps will be in the retail version...it's full and it covers lots.

And I to look foward to May 16th for much nerdity.

Great work, I'll check it out some more later!
Love this screenshot

Maybe the ATV will be my new favorite vehicle. Can't wait to see the fun-physics.

 

[Frenck]

Some more screencaps of the better looking scenes in the vidoc:

Snowbound looks like a sharper version of Lost Planet, especially the snow effects look extremely similar. Seriously, I don't get where the Halo 2 HD vibe comes from. Everything looks better, the textures are more detailed, the Chief models look exactly like the one in the announcement trailer fron E3 last year, the animations are much better and there is even some stuff going on that I haven't seen in any other game (legs stepping over or avoiding collision with objects) and you shouldn't forget about the lighting, which so far eclipses the cutscene lighting of Halo 2 even in multiplayer.

The only disappointing thing about the alpha footage is the geometry, but that's what next generation games look like if you just show their skeletons. Gears wouldn't look any better if you strip away all the textures, the geometry is incredibly simple.

Halo 2 Vista is a sharper Halo 2 or Halo 2 HD, Halo 3 is a proper next gen game, even the alpha manages to show the difference.

 

[Router]

Reminds me of the training facility from APPLESEED...

 

[Muppet345]

In four weeks, you can play it, judge the MP graphics yourself, and then decide if you like it or not. I hope you like it. I love the way it plays, and I am personally looking forward to lots of MP matchmaking.

are the beta graphics final-ish? like, when we play the beta, is that basically what we're going to be getting, more or less? your statements have an air of finality to them.

I think Halo 2 still looks good and I'd be fine with a high-res version of that. I certainly don't expect anything near Gears... but I would like to be impressed. I hope I am. The stuff about the destructible vegetation that moved aside when you walked into it sounded impressive.

the only bit that didn't look good to me in the vidoc was the complete lack of splash when the spartan landed in the water after being sniped out of a mancannon jump. with your updates about water I'm sure that will change.

 

[Crab Milk Mickey]

Related - the Deployable Equipment is the most significant addition to the Halo gameplay so far, IMO. The reason is that for the first time, players will carry stuff that is not designed to only to kill guys - it's tactical equipment. When EGMs coverage of the pre-Alpha play session came out, what struck me was the addition of the man cannons and the shield walls. Both are designed to add a dynamic change to player movement and combat - through the air and on the ground. They really change up the flow of the levels and add another layer of strategy to the play.

Speaking of which: has it been confirmed yet whether or not each player will be equipped from the get-go with a bubble shield or a trip mine? I think it'd be a missed opportunity if it isn't part of your standard equipment and if it's a pick-up like every other power-up...

 

[Mr Vociferous]

I'm still shocked at the complaining concerning this vidoc. The shots of the exterior of snowbound are nearly second to none of the Xbox 360 in terms of visual fidelity. The soft surfaces, the snow splash when you walk, the footprints, the glare from the amazing lighting on the covenant beacons, and everything else. It looks like nothing short of amazing, to be perfectly honest.

Maybe I should be more jaded...

 

[Tieno]

Speaking of which: has it been confirmed yet whether or not each player will be equipped from the get-go with a bubble shield or a trip mine? I think it'd be a missed opportunity if it isn't part of your standard equipment and if it's a pick-up like every other power-up...

Wouldn't that disrupt the flow of the battle too much? You'd have too much bubble shields being used.

 

[Shake Appeal]

there are going to be a lot of red faces come release. or even beta release, for that matter. some of you are batshit deluded about how this looks.

hint: it looks great.

 

[Agent Icebeezy]

there are going to be a lot of red faces come release. or even beta release, for that matter. some of you are batshit deluded about how this looks.

hint: it looks great.

Good to hear, you've played it or seen it?

 

[Diablohead]

Looks like the emblem is only on one arm now, it was on both in halo 2 right? as well as the back.

 

[Diablohead]

Reminds me of the training facility from APPLESEED...

The appleseed training facility reminds me of de-dust more :lol

 

[PnCIa]

I´m curious how big the difference between multiplayer and singleplayer graphics will be, in Halo 2 the difference was minimal. MP is all about gameplay while singleplayer is about gameplay and presentation.

 

[squicken]

I'm still shocked at the complaining concerning this vidoc. The shots of the exterior of snowbound are nearly second to none of the Xbox 360 in terms of visual fidelity. The soft surfaces, the snow splash when you walk, the footprints, the glare from the amazing lighting on the covenant beacons, and everything else. It looks like nothing short of amazing, to be perfectly honest.

Maybe I should be more jaded...

I enjoyed the article you posted. Good stuff.

Snowbound looks to be the most polished of all the maps, and I believed Stinkles mentioned something similar. I know that they are different games, but honestly, I still think Lost Planet looks better than what we've seen from Snowbound so far. Obviously, that could change as Halo 3 moves further into development.

I think the Halo 2 HD comments stem from Halo 3's lack of many post-processing effects we've come to associate with next-gen. DOF, motion blur, and sparks. Yes, I've read the update discussion how those effects would interfere with Halo's core gameplay, and I agree. But that doesn't change my perception of the gaming landscape.

So to me, just as some regular gamer dude, Lost Planet looks better because of its awesome explosions, motion blur, and massive snow bunny cleavage. I still am looking forward to Halo 3 and have no doubt things will improve all around, but I don't think those who are expressing concerns about the graphics in a non-baiting manner are necessarily trolling.

 

[DSN2K]

id say the fact its comparable to halo 2 gives alot of respect to what Bungie achieved on xbox.

 

[Crab Milk Mickey]

Wouldn't that disrupt the flow of the battle too much? You'd have too much bubble shields being used.

Well, I don't know: maybe if you put some limit on it (like using it once every 5 - 10 minutes or so) or limiting the player to only use x odd times per map, maybe they could keep the general flow of the game and add another layer of strategy.

That said, Halo multiplayer never really caught on over here. I'd be more interested in it if the bubble and / or trip mine was a part of your main equipment.

 

[dark10x]

Seriously, I don't get where the Halo 2 HD vibe comes from.

You don't get where it's coming from?! I don't understand how anyone could really think otherwise. Obviously, things are changing (it has been noted that some of these maps shown have seen significant improvements already), but what is shown in the video looks very much like Halo 2. Everything is nearly as angular as Halo 2 (though the terrain is a tad smoother, it's nothing we hadn't seen in other last generation games), the texture quality really isn't far beyond the XBOX games (the original Halo had plenty of ultra sharp textures with crazy shader effects), and the animation is nearly the same.

Unlike Lost Planet, motion doesn't save it either. LP was a bit underwhelming in shots, but it was incredible in motion. That's not the case here...at least not yet and not in multiplayer.

It just seems odd for such a big game to be shown in this fashion.

I suppose part of this simply stems from the art direction they've chosen and the feats they had achieved on XBOX.

 

[Mr Vociferous]

I enjoyed the article you posted. Good stuff.

I've had a brief minute to fix a few spelling and formatting issues that 3am didn't allow me.

 

[Eric WK]

are the beta graphics final-ish? like, when we play the beta, is that basically what we're going to be getting, more or less? your statements have an air of finality to them.

You know, now that you mention it, Frankie's comments do have a sort of "on May 16th you can finally see how good Halo 3 is going to look" feel. In the story he did point out that while it's definitely close to final visuals, it IS still Beta, but even then I think he's pointing that out to cover any small glitches or the like.

I have a feeling that Halo 3 is a lot closer to finished than some of us think and Frankie's comments help lead me to that conclusion. Couple that with the Beta wrapping up in early-June, and I think we're certainly looking at a September release.

And I hope so, because the less impatience my heart has to endure, the better. :lol

Of course, I want it to ship when it's ready but I can definitely see it being ready sometime between September 1st and 30th.

Oh and very nice walkthrough, Mr. Voc. You certainly included some stuff that I and most others had missed, most notably the map selection screen. Keep up the good work.

 

[Frenck]

You don't get where it's coming from?! I don't understand how anyone could really think otherwise. Obviously, things are changing (it has been noted that some of these maps shown have seen significant improvements already), but what is shown in the video looks very much like Halo 2. Everything is nearly as angular as Halo 2 (though the terrain is a tad smoother, it's nothing we hadn't seen in other last generation games), the texture quality really isn't far beyond the XBOX games (the original Halo had plenty of ultra sharp textures with crazy shader effects), and the animation is nearly the same.

Unlike Lost Planet, motion doesn't save it either. LP was a bit underwhelming in shots, but it was incredible in motion. That's not the case here...at least not yet and not in multiplayer.

It just seems odd for such a big game to be shown in this fashion.

I suppose part of this simply stems from the art direction they've chosen and the feats they had achieved on XBOX.

I agree with most of your points, except for the animations which are vastly improved in my opinion. But still, the graphics of the alpha build are a step ahead compared to Halo 2. The art direction remains the same off course, the typical angular human architecture and the curved, sterile covenant environments are still present.

I'm expecting a full generational leap over Halo 2 in the final retail version of the game, a leap like Rainbow Six 3 -> Rainbow Six Vegas or Morrowind -> Oblivion. That leap isn't anywhere to be seen right now, but as soon as Bungie has implemented the final lighting solution, brought the world alive with vegetation, filled the environments with clutter and polished the hell out of it the leap will be there.

 

[deftangel]

I think the Halo 2 HD comments stem from Halo 3's lack of many post-processing effects we've come to associate with next-gen.

And inadvertently you have hit the nail on the head. This footage is lacking many of the post processing effects that will make it look good. It is switched off in the alpha build because an alpha build's function is for testing and iterating on balance, gameplay and network performance. To do this, you want a rock solid framerate, especially if you're playing the same thing over and over again, refining it.

Remember the updates on atmospherics, that affect the lighting model and decorators. Those are the things that will make the final graphics pop and those will be in the beta. At this stage of development, the beta build probably doesn't have that running at a good frame rate yet. When it goes gold, these small systems will take up like 0.5% of core 2 each or whatever but until that code is fully optimised such things would reduce a 16 player game to a complete crawl.

This isn't rocket science, it's the reality of game development.

If I had one suggestion for Bungie it would be to say that a couple of screen captures from the work in progress beta wouldn't have hurt every now and again, even if they essentially show nothing new. Look at Assassin's Creed, all we've seen are variations of the same thing time and time again, probably captured at 3fps or something. Nobody is bitching about the graphics there.

Then again, perhaps the gaming masses aren't ready for concepts like alpha and beta. There's certainly enough people here who don't seem to get it so god help Joe Public.

Keep doing your thing Bungie and everyone will be pleasantly surprised in a couple of weeks.

 

[dark10x]

This isn't rocket science, it's the reality of game development.

We've seen loads of games this generation in an early form at a fully playable framerate with visuals that represent the final game, however...

Look at Lost Planet. The E3 demo was released months before the game went gold, yet it looked just as solid as the final version. Games like Oblivion and Gears of War suffered from poor framerates initially, but were playable and looked incredible (better than the final products, really). In general, most games shown in an early state made playable to the media and/or public have not seen any significant improvements in the end. It is for this reason that many question Halo 3...

When you consider how important Halo 3 is, this becomes more surprising. The situation is a tad different, of course, but the reaction isn't entirely unexpected. I appreciate Bungie being somewhat open about this, however. They aren't going out of their way to hide the game from the public and giving us a peak at what they are working on regardless of what it looks like now.

 

[Mr Vociferous]

I think they held off on Lost Planet because of Gears of War. The game was "finished" much earlier than they'd like us to believe.

I think the vidoc looks fantastic, particularly the lighting, soft surfaces and models on Snowbound and the bridge map. They look convincingly next gen and better to me than Lost Planet and many other games. Obviously there's room for some improvement, but for a game that is in its alpha state, it's aces imo.

 

[GhaleonEB]

Thanks for that. The texture work and lighting in this area really stood out to me.

 

[tombur]

Thanks for that. The texture work and lighting in this area really stood out to me.

The reflections of the light on the floor on that scene are brilliant

 

[dark10x]

The reflections of the light on the floor on that scene are brilliant

Have you played the original Halo? Check out Truth and Reconciliation (once you reach the ship). Not as advanced, but still very similar in appearance.

 

[Karma Kramer]

Have you played the original Halo? Check out Truth and Reconciliation (once you reach the ship). Not as advanced, but still very similar in appearance.

Have you ever heard of an opinion mate?

"I like oreo cookies"

Darkx10:

WHAT! Have you ever had Nutter Butters! Can't you see that Oreo's suck! What is wrong with you!?"

 

[Stinkles]

I´m curious how big the difference between multiplayer and singleplayer graphics will be, in Halo 2 the difference was minimal. MP is all about gameplay while singleplayer is about gameplay and presentation.

The difference will be interesting. MP and SP have different purposes. Graphics are scaled accordingly.

 

[tombur]

The difference will be interesting. MP and SP have different purposes. Graphics are scaled accordingly.

My guess is that technically the graphics will be similar between SP and MP, but SP will be much more epic (12.5km forerunner craters, huge desert etc), instead of MP's large fields with a few confined tunnels and caves.

 

[Not a Jellyfish]

I think a lot will be cleared up when the beta hits next month. I mean we are still only seeing alpha. Maybe they will have the volumetric grass they talked about.

 

[dark10x]

Have you ever heard of an opinion mate?

"I like oreo cookies"

Darkx10:

WHAT! Have you ever had Nutter Butters! Can't you see that Oreo's suck! What is wrong with you!?"

What does that have to do with anything?

I'm saying that the effect present in that screen shot is very similar to what we've seen in previous Halo games.

 

[SonnyBoy]

I'm excited for this game but from the shots the environments look pretty sparse/empty.

 

[DarkYabu]

To be honest though, Halo 1 is still a good looking game and there are sections in the Halo 1 single player campaign that you could mistake this Halo 3 shot for. Not that this is the best example.

Halo has a distinct look and that look isn't going to significantly change. I think that Bungie know the game doesn't look as good as some of the other next gen titles out there so they are releasing these videos to keep peoples expectations in check. The game will look better than the footage released so far but only to the point where people will say "oh nice, that looks better than I expected it to." Bungie has reeled in expectations by showing the game in various early stages development. The game will look better than what they've shown, but now people aren't expecting it to look better than Gears. They just expect it to look better than it looks now which leaves less room for disappointment.

 

[deftangel]

We've seen loads of games this generation in an early form at a fully playable framerate with visuals that represent the final game, however...

Look at Lost Planet. The E3 demo was released months before the game went gold, yet it looked just as solid as the final version. Games like Oblivion and Gears of War suffered from poor framerates initially, but were playable and looked incredible (better than the final products, really). In general, most games shown in an early state made playable to the media and/or public have not seen any significant improvements in the end. It is for this reason that many question Halo 3...

When you consider how important Halo 3 is, this becomes more surprising. The situation is a tad different, of course, but the reaction isn't entirely unexpected. I appreciate Bungie being somewhat open about this, however. They aren't going out of their way to hide the game from the public and giving us a peak at what they are working on regardless of what it looks like now.

I take your point Different developers work in different ways however. One of the strengths of UE3 is that artists can get cracking right away. Bungie are constructing the Halo 3 engine themselves so it would be fair to speculate that art is a way behind where a UE3 game might be at a similar development schedule.

With Lost Planet, I would imagine Capcom spent many a month polishing those two levels to get it up to scratch for E3, much like Bungie would have done with their E3 demo. Who knows what their MP builds looked like then.

It's all much of a muchness of course and your points a valid one. In this instance Bungie are deciding to approach it in a different way and as they're being pretty upfront with what we're looking at and who this is aimed at (i.e. Bungie fans, Halo fans for the most part) I think that's fine.

There's been plenty of gnashing of teeth at "downgrades" in the past, perhaps this is their guaranteed way of avoiding that given that is THE flagship franchise on the system

 

[GhaleonEB]

I take your point Different developers work in different ways however. One of the strengths of UE3 is that artists can get cracking right away. Bungie are constructing the Halo 3 engine themselves so it would be fair to speculate that art is a way behind where a UE3 game might be at a similar development schedule.

With Lost Planet, I would imagine Capcom spent many a month polishing those two levels to get it up to scratch for E3, much like Bungie would have done with their E3 demo. Who knows what their MP builds looked like then.

It's all much of a muchness of course and your points a valid one. In this instance Bungie are deciding to approach it in a different way and as they're being pretty upfront with what we're looking at and who this is aimed at (i.e. Bungie fans, Halo fans for the most part) I think that's fine.

There's been plenty of gnashing of teeth at "downgrades" in the past, perhaps this is their guaranteed way of avoiding that given that is THE flagship franchise on the system

To add to your points, both the Lost Planet E3 demo and the early Gears of War builds were made for exhibition. Capcom wanted to build awareness for Lost Planet with a polished demo, and Epic was using Gears as their showcase for pitching Unreal Engine 3. Those demos were marketing tools.

Bungie is in a very different situation. The Halo 2 announcement trailer and E3 demo were counter-productive to the deveopment of that game. Not only does Bungie not want to derail their Halo 3 development plan for the sake of marketing, they don't need to. The mere existance of Halo 3 markets itself. The announcement trailer and first wave of advertising don't even say Halo on them - just the number. It can be built more organically, with early builds not designed for exhibition but in accordance with their roadmap.

What we're seeing actually has me more excited than if they were doing polished stuff for us right now. I keep coming back to the opening line of the Et, tu, Brute? Vidoc, "Halo 3 is all about the things we wanted in Halo 1 and Halo 2." It sounds like Bungie is going to come closer to their initial vision with this game than the other two, and considering how those turned out...well, I think Halo 3 is going to be pretty good.

 

[Mrbob]

I'm sure the game will look fine upon release.

I'm not even that excited about OMG HOW TEH GRAPHIX look.

I want to see some large scale battles in open areas from Halo 1 return and taken to the next level, and this seems to be the case.

 

[JB1981]

Can't wait to play Halo at a proper framerate. I played through the 1st one on the 360 and it runs at like 15fps in places.

Spoiler

yes, i'm aware that emulation is the culprit

 

[armubaba]

Why the face? I'm a huge xbox fan and right now I could debate that pdz is a lot sharper looking then halo 3 in this stage. All the things that have been described in these updates by frankie have had me drooling, the water, vegetation, etc, that's the stuff I want to see and I hope to see by the time its all said and done.

Right now people have all the right to think this doesn't look that great, it's just silly to assume it will remain this way. I have faith in bungies end product.

IN THIS STAGE! IT'S AN ALPHA FOR GOD'S SAKES!

I think I'm in the minority here when I say I enjoyed PDZ a lot and thought the graphics were pretty damn good. But do you remember what that game looked like before it was finished? Let me remind you of someone whose face is familiar to GAF. I give you: Wallguy.

This is how PDZ looked before it was finished. In fact, it's fairer to compare this to the Alpha shot of Halo. Not looking much better are they? I think you and I can both agree that there is a VAST difference between the quality of the screen, and the game itself.

We've seen this happen many times before, and what I don't undertand is why people still troll not only Halo, but any game when its's in it's friggin Alpha.

 

[Okin]

Something about the lighting on the red spartan in that shot looks awesome. Maybe it's some of that fancy pre-computed radiance transfer pizazz that was briefly mentioned at E3.

 

[JB1981]

Jesus Christ, the guy's tag is Hilary in '08?

:lol