HALO 2 RECLAIMED: Campaign Restoration Project R2
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JOIN THE RECLAIMED DISCORD!:
https://discord.gg/u5ZKjxC

RECLAIMED DOCUMENTATION:
>> https://1drv.ms/w/s!Arjh9SJCM0GAm1oFLy4wM8PH0qMk?e=JDBmjL

Link above leads to an extensive documentation for Halo 2 Reclaimed, including a full guide to setting up the game, an unfixed bugs list, fixes list, downloads list, and the methods used for fixing each bug:
(Use the Headings to more efficiently navigate through the document.)

The following package aims to restore many of the OG Xbox version's characteristics to Halo 2, however, not all issues have been fixed yet. A detailed run through of all the issues and fixes can be found in the documentation document. The most impactful fixes would have to be the difficulties and firing rates fixes for Halo 2 Vista's default 60 tick rate, making the game feel more like the original. R2 adds over the fixes of R1, including an extensive visual overall, with weather effects, shader, bloom and light volume fixes to look more like the original game, giving a breath of fresh air into what was previously a dull looking port. Halo 2 has never looked so good.

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 OG Xbox release: <<
> Use Project Cartographer
> FoV: 79 (Actual value is 78, but H2V seems to have offset it)
> 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.

>> EXTRAS <<
Included in this package are extras, located in the "Extras" folder. They include the following:
>Reclaimed R2 Texmod files for OG Xbox textures. (Modding tools are currently unable to swap textures in the map files themselves)
>DSOAL audio enhancement for stereo users.
>Reclaimed Menu Strings For Cartographer to change menu texts.
>Foliage Patcher for RTX GPUs and GTX 1660 (Some shaders don't show up on aforementioned GPUs, especially foliage)
>Safe Areas Cheat Engine table to allow you to adjust the safe areas to match the OG Xbox more closely

>> RECOMMENDED ENHANCEMENTS <<
- Use the Reclaimed R2 Texmod for OG Xbox textures.
- Do NOT use the in-game anti-aliasing feature, as this causes polygon meshes. Use your GPU's implementation instead.
- For stereo audio users, 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)

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>>>FIXES LIST/CHANGELOG:<<<

>> RECLAIMED R1 FIXES LIST: <<
60 TICK-SPECIFIC:
- Weapon Firing rates
- Vehicle Firing Rates
- Difficulties Fix (Slightly longer burst separation and target delay for all enemies. You can now potentially survive the first few waves of Cairo Station on Legendary entirely on a turret through RNG. Very difficult to do, however.)
- High Charity Carrier Forms Drop Fix
- Great Journey Self-Flipping Wraith Fix
- Gravemind Council Chamber Brutes Hacky Workaround (Not a real fix. Meant to mimic Xbox gameplay only.)

VISUAL/AUDIO FIXES:
- Xbox Sound Classes (Stronger gun sounds, more audible footsteps)
- Xbox Pelican Thrusters
- Xbox Radio Filters
- Xbox Sentinel Beam laser beam effect
- Regret's Carrier position on Outskirts fixed
- Snow Fog Fix
- Tree leaves fix (Now done by Cartographer for all alpha_white shaders now)
- OG Xbox Buttons (Separate package)
- Dotless Sniper/Beam Rifle crosshairs (Separate package)

>> RECLAIMED R2 FIXES LIST (NEW FIXES) <<
60 TICK:
>Updated from R1:
- High Charity Flood Carrier drop fix update
- Better Gravemind Brutes Workaround

>New Fixes:
- Pulse Fire fix
- Consistent Quarantine Zone Sentinel Enforcer Spawn
- Quarantine Zone Wraith Spawn fix
- Climbing Human Flood Workaround

- Weapon firing rates:
>Phantom turret: 4 to 3.99 (Rounds per second max)
>Shade turret (Big Needler): 4 to 3.99 (Rounds per second min/max)
>Spectre: 12 to 11 (Rounds per second min/max)
>Shadow turret (Creep): 12 to 11.5 (Rounds per second max)

30 TICK (Visual/Audio/Non-timing related):
>Updated from R1:
- More accurate Sentinel Beam Effect
- More accurate Pelican Thrusters
- Regret's Carrier position update

>New Fixes:
Gameplay:
- Regret Collision fix

Menu adjustments:
- Bloom for the menu background
- Reduced the lines of symbols for start_screen.wgit and main_menu.wgit from 14 to 7 to match OG Xbox.
- Reduced the lines of symbols for game_shell_background.wgit from 17 to 12 to match OG Xbox.
- Covenant Capital Ship engine light volume adjustment.

Cutscene adjustments:
>Cutsene FoV
>Texture camera FoV
>Cutscene bloom

Weather fixes:
- The Arbiter/Oracle wind color fix
- Light snow wind color fix (Sacred Icon/Quarantine Zone)
- Heavy snow wind color fix (Sacred Icon/Quarantine Zone)
- Rain wind color fix
- Rain streaks workaround (Uprising/Great Journey)

Shader fixes:
>Nvidia palm tree fix
>Nvidia generator grate fix
>Nvidia vines fix
>Panels_thin_strips fix
>Cracks_tile restored for stone_floors
>SMG shader fix
>Reflection map for metal_strips_c
>metal_crackle detail map for grand_door
>metal_crackle detail map for rounded_carapace
>Chainlink shader fix
>Cairo glass fix
>Elite_jetpack shader fix (Is it a fix, or just a convenient workaround?)
>Hacky workaround for sewer water (water_pool2) shader

Shader Specular Adjustments:
>inamberclad_aft.shad
>inamberclad_details.shad (Cinematics)
>inamberclad_fore.shad
>inamberclad_numbers.shad
>grunt_arms.shad
>grunt_backpack.shad
>grunt_torso.shad
>masterchief.shad
>fp_arms.shad
>masterchief_visor.shad (Plus change shader template to tex_bump_env -> Plus pixel constants workaround)
>helmet_standard.shad
>battle_rifle_lens.shad
>plasma_rifle_dull.shad
>plasma_rifle_dull.shad (Brute)
>plasma_pistol_main.shad
>plasma_pistol_dull.shad
>cov_guntower_base.shad
>cov_guntower_turret.shad
>cov_ramp_metal.shad
>cov_ramp_shell.shad
>cr_shell.shad
>cov_bomb.shad
>gas_container.shad
>power_modual.shad
>fp_dervish_armor.shad
>fp_dervish_cloth.shad
>dervish_armor.shad
>dervish_cloth.shad
>dervish_helmet.shad
>dervish_nude_body.shad
>dervish_armor.shad (Sarcophagus)
>dervish_helmet.shad (Sarcophagus)
>ranger_arms.shad
>ranger_head.shad
>ranger_legs.shad
>ranger_torso.shad
>elite\arms.shad
>elite\head.shad
>elite\legs.shad
>elite\torso.shad
>elite\council_helmet.shad
>elite_honor_armor.shad
>elite\helmet_ultra.shad
>heretic.shad
>flood_armor.shad
>helmet_pilot.shad
>helmet_pilot_visor.shad (Plus change shader template to tex_bump_env)
>shotgun_decal.shad
>shotgun_gun.shad
>shotgun_light.shad
>branding_iron.shad
>branding_staff.shad
>poa_class.shad
>poa_class_engine.shad
>wraith.shad (Plus set LOD bias to "Never")
>mortar.shad (Plus set LOD bias to "Never")
>brute_head.shad
>brute.shad
>brute_shot.shad
>brute_shot_blade.shaad
>carbine_shiny.shaad
>halo_inner_ring.shad
>juggernaut_body.shad

Illuminated shader layering adjustments (seen through geometry):
- While not a complete solution, these adjustments attempt to mitigate the issue significantly.
>grunt_illum.shad
>wraith_boost_illum.shad
>wraith_self_illum.shad
>plasma_rifle_luminous.shad
>brute_plasma_rifle_luminous.shad
>plasma_pistol_luminous.shad
>Warthog lights.shad
>Scorpion headlight.shad
>cov_comm_tower_illum_stream.shad
>cov_holo_gen_illum.shad
>cov_holo_gen_illum_stream.shad
>marine hat.shad
>holo_tex_cam.shad

- Inconsistent
>spectre_illum.shad (Use different values for Uprising, Quarantine Zone, and Great Journey)
>Elite inset_lights.shad (Left out from the main menu, Sacred Icon, which had flickering in the intro cutscene, and Quarantine Zone, which made Elite lights flicker on the Gondola)
>phantom_illumination.shad (Left out from Outskirts/Metropolis/Quarantine Zone/Delta Halo)

Note:
>Elite arm and leg lights are tied to the overall arm and leg shader, and cause layering issues with the entire arm and leg if the added depth bias offset is modified, as only the lights should ideally be modified, not the entire arm and leg. As such, these lights remain untouched.
>If the Battle Rifle display added depth bias offset is adjusted, it can cause z-fighting in first person. It remains unadjusted.
>Adjusting the Rocket Launcher Decal's added depth bias offset either makes it even more visible behind objects, or makes it flicker more.

Light fixes:
>Cartographer shadow_generate workaround - Remove when actual fix possible
>"Tell that to the Covenant" light fix (x01_light_masterchief)
>Hacky workaround for specific Uprising light (dc_toughylight_01) - Remove when actual fix possible
>Hacky workaround for specific Cairo light (ss_elev_gc) - Remove when actual fix possible
>Hacky workaround for Metropolis highway_holo_post.ligh - Remove when actual fix possible
>Hacky workaround for Metropolis street_lamp.ligh - Remove when actual fix possible

Lens flare:
>Ghost and Banshee bolt lens flare brightness decreased to 0.3
>Hacky workaround for Space Station synchronized flashing lights
>Hacky workaround for Metropolis synchronized flashing lights

Light Volume Adjustments:
- Arbiter Torture Beam
- Banshee Bolt Effect
- Cairo Spinning Red Beacon Light
- Caustic Light Effect
- Covenant Glassing Beam Effect
- Conduit Effect (Sacred Icon)
- Covenant Capital Ship Engine
- Covenant Sniper Tower Grav Lift Effect
- Ghost Bolt Effect
- Great Journey Jail Emitter
- Needler Needle Effect
- Phantom Grav Lift
- Phantom Turret
- Plasma Pistol Bolt Effect
- Plasma Rifle/Brute Plasma Rifle Bolt Effect
- Plasma Cannon Bolt Effect
- Spectre Boost Effect
- Wraith Boost Effect
- Third person flashlight effect
- Gondola effect (Note: Flickers at 60 fps. Works as intended at 30 fps.)
- Zapper Effect (It won't hurt...Much)
- Sentinel Constructor Emitter (Sacred Icon effect)
- Forerunner Dreadnought thruster effects
- Enforcer Eye Light effect
- Enforcer Rocket effect

Misc. Visual Fixes:
- OG Xbox strings
- OG Xbox style shield bar
- Partial OG Xbox Bloom adjustments (Some cutscenes still lack bloom in this pack of maps, as these cutscenes use scripted bloom overrides. Will need script editing in Assembly to fix these.)
- OG Xbox Regret Underwater Elevator Fog

EXTRAS (Downloadable via ModDB or NexusMods):
- WMV Replacements

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FAQ:
1.) What's the difference between 30 tick and 60 tick?
- When porting Halo 2 to Windows Vista, Hired Gun doubled the rate at which the game updates. This caused side effects, such as the Brutes in Gravemind firing as soon as you start the level, or the physics in general changing. Setting the game back to its original 30 tick rate makes the game feel much closer to its original Xbox release.

To simplify, the 30 tick maps have VISUAL changes ONLY, while 60 tick maps have both VISUAL and GAMEPLAY changes.

2.) Why not just implement these into Project Cartographer?
- While definitely more ideal, I (UncookedMoa) am an amateur who only really uses Assembly so far. I do not know how to push these to Project Cartographer to poke into memory as of now. I am indeed currently learning programming, but I just started, and I'm still an absolute beginner. Besides, Cartographer is a multiplayer-focused project. The batch patcher should circumvent any issues with keeping a separate pack of maps.

3.) Can I use the batch patcher to "Reclaim" some mods?
- Yes! You definitely can. You can patch and unpatch the Reclaimed fixes whenever you want. Make sure to apply the 30 tick patch to mods, as this patch applies the visual and audio fixes only.

4.) Is the batch patcher safe?
- Definitely. You can even open the bat file with a text editor and see that it does nothing except tell ApplyPPF3.exe to patch your map files, which are within the same directory. Trunc.exe is also used to pad or truncate the files for patching.

5.) Is Reclaimed a team of people?
- There is no real team established. Though I had to get most of this done myself (UncookedMoa), I would indeed consider this a community project, as a few of the fixes were simply lifted from the community and put together into one package. I would like to give special thanks to MartinBFFan and Lambda Core, who could technically make up the Reclaimed Team.

Credits:
- UncookedMoa for initiating the project, making the batch patcher, fixing a bunch of issues, and identifying issues with the Vista port by comparing to the OG Xbox, and making the Texmod. Been doing a lot of work on getting Halo 2 looking like the OG Xbox.
- MartinBFFan for fixing a couple of bugs, becoming a part of the Reclaimed team.
- Lambda Core for giving some ideas for workarounds some bugs (e.g. Human Flood Climbing), becoming a part of the Reclaimed team.
- The Halo 2 Vista community for finding a few fixes bugs, such as the self-flipping Wraith. Each person has been credited in the documentation document.
- The Cartographer Team for bringing quality of life fixes to Halo 2, and maintaining multiplayer support.
- The Xbox Chaos Team, mostly Lord Zedd, for developing the wonderful Halo modding tool Assembly.
- Dragonflare921 for the fork of Assembly with Halo 2 Xbox support.
- Holy Crust for the diamond Sniper Crosshair made for Halo CE Refined.
- Icarus/Paradox for ApplyPPF3.exe, the commandline branch of PPF-O-Matic.
- NuggetDerj for moral support.