Halo 2 Update On Monday

hollismb writes "Bungie has released all the details and set a date for the upcoming Halo 2 AutoUpdate, which includes a list of fixes to cheating and glitches. The update will also include changes to weapon balance, and you can look for it on Xbox Live on Monday, April 18th."

Comments

What we've been waiting for?

[AtariAmarok]

Hopefully, there are some new recipes in it. I mean, Master Chef is great and all, but souffle's only go so far.

Re:I thought this wasn't allowed

[IorDMUX]

This is simply bringing the XBox in line with the tried and true practices of PC multiplayer. The makers of games from Command and Conquer to CounterStrike: Source release patches to *improve* their multiplayer balance over time.

Even StarCraft, lauded for its balance, has had no less than twelve significant patches since its release.

I can't believe it's not sooner!

[jZnat]

Personally, I have been avoiding Halo 2 and its online play until this update came. I was sick of trying to compete with the endless cheaters; I was sick of getting suspended for exploring these cheats in unranked games (i.e. looking for new bugs); I was sick of the hostility caused by this, and I was definitely sick of its overall huge effect it had on gameplay and enjoyability.

w00t with me as we go back to Halo 2 this Monday!

Re:I can't believe it's not sooner!

[theVP]

Here's an idea for you: Don't explore cheats? In order to explore cheats, you eventually will cheat. It doesn't matter if the game is ranked or not. If it is unranked, does that mean that it isn't a game anymore? And does a software company have to lock you out of cheating YOURSELF in order for you to enjoy a game? Since when were they responsible for your lack of self-control? Of course they're hostile with you. They're hostile with everyone who cheats. Kind word of advice: with the new patch, you would be wise to not try any of that anymore...

Re:I thought this wasn't allowed

[hollismb]

Yeah, they patch games all the time over Xbox Live. This isn't just a Bungie thing either. Pretty much every UBISoft game over Xbox Live has received some sort of patch to fix online bugs, glitches, and cheating. The resistance is to patching single play portions of games over Xbox Live.

A basteon dies

[FidelCatsro]

One of the main reasons i love console Games is the total lack of patches .
When you buy a game for a console you expect a finished , polished product that you don't need to worry about lock-ups or crashs or anything , now im aware some slip out and they are rare (most of them dont hinder gameplay but give us something amusing to do when were bored, ala jumping through the level and walking around in nothing).
This is one of the many things i love about console games , let us hope this trend does not continue...

Re:A basteon dies

[SetupWeasel]

That's not an excuse. We are talking about a company that bans players for replacing their broxen drives. Weapon balancing is one thing, cheating is another. If cheating occurs in the game without modification, they needed better and more thorough play testing. If people are modifying the game, they should check for that and ban them like they did with the console modifications.

Fact is that Bungie was going to have to release Halo 2 this past Christmas to get the big sales. They probably cut short that part of the development.

Re:A basteon dies

[startled]

One of the main reasons i love console Games is the total lack of patches .

Online games will always require cheat fixes, balance tweaks, and so on. If it really bugs you, I recommend buying single-player games (Halo 2's single player is still fine and essentially unchanged with this patch).

The only online games that don't get patches and tweaks after release are the ones that are unsupported, and hence remain buggy, cheat-ridden, and unbalanced.

Re:How about the other 90% of gamers?

[Fred Or Alive]

The disc version of the extra maps (due in June, at the same time the second batch of premium maps is added to Live) will also install these updates onto your Xbox. But you have to pay for the disc. So if you want the extra maps as well, that's your solution. Or you could find a mate who has the disc already.

The other solution is to borrow someone else's gamertag (you can copy them onto memory cards), sign in to Xbox Live with Halo 2 on your Xbox, and it'll download the patch automatically. You could also use this to get the maps when they're out, but I think Xbox Live may charge you for each download of premium maps.

Dear Microsoft, a request...

[TheHonestTruth]

[Yeah, like Bill et al read /.]

Dear Division responsible for X-Box Live,
I would sincerely appreciate it if you would implement a "foes" list. This past week I have encountered more and more players I never EVER want to play with again. Could you add a foes list (similar to the "friends" list) so that when matchmaking comes, I'm not paired with people I think ruin the experience? As these players continue to ruin the online experience, more and more people will add them to their foes list. As time goes by, the spoliers' matchmaking will be harder and hearder to satisfy, and the rest of us can actually enjoy the games we play. I think it is an effective way to segment those that choose to ruin the online experience from those that enjoy it. There will likely be abuses here and there, but overall I think people want to play games against people that aren't dicks. Adding a foes list to XBL is one way to ensure that your subscribers' experience isn't ruined. Thank you for your time.

-truth

Game Examples?

[DeadScreenSky]

Please name a online multiplayer videogame that was fairly popular and didn't end up requiring a patch to fix something.

No matter how extensive your testing unit (and MS certainly has that for Xbox games), having 100,000+ players at nearly all times for months banging around in a reasonably complex competitive videogame is going to find unforeseen glitches. Sure it would be wonderful if this kind of thing didn't happen, but that seems to be an enormously unreasonable expectation on your part.

And why are you pretending online console games having patches is a new thing? Xbox, PS2, and IIRC even Dreamcast online games have all had patches of some kind. This thing happens.

Spawn System

[pbaer]

I'm disapointed that they aren't improving the spawn system. It has to be the worst spawn system of any fps I've played.

You spawn not away from people but away from people fighting. This means that you can spawn right to next to someone and be killed before you have a chance to do anything. This also means that in team games like CTF you can spawn way outside the base when the enemy is stealing your flag. Also there's no immunity timer so you can be chain spawn killed by a good sniper.