Halo MCC Feb 2021 Flight -- "Edge" full visual comparison

[Vuthakral 1,710]

Introduction

This thread is created solely for providing a full list of visual differences between the versions of the map "Edge" as we have seen it appear in Halo Online (the most popular build of ms23) versus the version we currently have in the Halo: The Master Chief Collection flight.

 

As one of the Seven documented people on the planet who actually likes this map, this map coming to Halo: The Master Chief Collection is a huge deal to me. While this map will undoubtedly play very awkwardly given it was designed with sprint in mind, it's always good to not see talented peoples' work go to waste.

 

This is going to be a very in-depth observational post discussing plain old differences in visuals, map geometry, engine tech, and etc.

But first, We need to talk about parallel universes cover a few bits of grounding information about "Edge" and it's original game.

• "Edge" is a map originally from a cancelled free-to-play Halo game developed by Saber Interactive called "Halo Online" which was held in closed testing in Russia back in 2015 through the 4game service.
• Halo Online runs on a very heavily modified version of the Halo 3: ODST engine, which also has some new rendering features such as true HDR and screen space reflections just to name the ones relevant to this thread.
• As the version I will be drawing comparisons with compared to the MCC version is an old build of the game, some differences that may seem like missing objects are more likely to actually be updates.

 

Notes:

• All of these screenshots were taken & saved as a high quality PNG.
• I play both Halo Online & MCC with proper brightness configurations. Yes, I am one of those people who take my time to get those settings right.

 

Lastly,

• All images shown in this thread will have Halo Online on the left side, and MCC on the right. (Or top/bottom on mobile)
• The point of this thread is by no means to berate the work that has gone into porting this map from Halo Online into the Master Chief Collection. It is solely to archive information on the port itself and any possible differences, bugs, or etc.
• Any technical terminology on my part ranges anywhere from "I solidly know what I'm talking about" to "I'm honestly just taking a guess here" as most of my knowledge with the Blam engine is from Halo Custom Edition & Halo 2 Vista.

 

The Comparisons

Now, let me start by getting one big huge point out of the way immediately: The screen space reflections, and true HDR. One huge difference you are going to notice in almost every comparison immediately is that the images taken from Halo Online will generally appear to have much brighter environments. This is not due to any kind of bug in either game. It is a side-effect of engine differences. MCC Halo 3 multiplayer still uses Halo 3's Bloom & Fake HDR, whereas Halo Online uses Halo 3 ODST's rendering, which includes its true HDR. Colours overall in the MCC version are going to look a little drowned out the closer they are to white due to this. It's a very small difference, but it's very noticeable in some places. The other thing is that Halo Online had technology for screen space reflections in the engine. As far as I know, it's still the only version of the Blam engine to have this feature to this day. So you are going to be frequently noticing that images from Halo Online seem to have reflections absent in the MCC version. This should be considered normal. Below, the first image demonstrates both of these two major effects very obviously.

Comparing SSR & HDR

Note: In MCC, the map in general has a very thick fog along the interiors. This is undoubtedly a change made later in development after ms23.

 

Hammer / Rocket platform

 

Central Interior Entrance

In here if you're observant, you can probably notice the first issue present in this port. Bonus points if you can figure it out before I explain it further below.

 

Red Base Center Doorway

Interestingly, despite weapon spawns being changed, you can see the plasma grenades in both images above have not been altered in spawns at all. They even share the same angles.

Also, do not be fooled by how much darker this environment feels in MCC. It is entirely caused by the fog.

 

Red Base Central Overview

This is another comparison which helps show that the version of Edge present in MCC is from a later version of the map than what was in ms23.

If you look about the central iconic formation, in Halo Online it causes a sharp line in the lightmap, whereas by the time it reached the version ported to MCC, this was fixed.

 

Red Base Corner Overview

The most notable difference is the removal of the panel decoration above the doorway, which actually still has its glow visible in the lightmap.

 

Personal note: If it were up to me, I'd have this map's lightmaps re-run before pushing this into MCC solely because of issues like this, among others you will see further down.

 

Skybox, Vegetation, and Fog Downgrades. Cliff Shader Upgrades.

Now, I can already safely assume the exact reason for the downgrades: Performance. If you were around trying to play Halo Online (either legitimately through 4game or otherwise),

if you were running on anything other than a modern NVIDIA & Intel combo this map probably crashed or lagged A LOT for you.

Edge was bar none the most unoptimized map during this time period, so it only makes sense that elements like vegetation & the skybox were cut back to save performance.

 

In terms of upgrades, it is plainly obvious that the cliffs themselves have gotten some very nice material overhauls.

The skybox of Edge is undoubtedly marred the most by the lack of Halo Online's lighting. High tones in the clouds, sun, and volumetrics went from white to grey, and as a result even made some of the clouds nearly invisible against the backdrop. I'm unsure if the lens flare plainly visible in MCC is a side-effect of Halo 3's sun, or was an intentional change later in development of Edge for Halo Online.

 

Personal note: I do hope that with MCC being able to run this map a lot more stabily, we can see the return of all the extra skybox & foliage details from the old version of this map.

 

Red Base Central Sword/Rocket Platform Overlook

 

Blue Hall to Outer Center

 

Blue & Red Base Back Wall

The forcefield floor in here seems to be missing its team-coloured tint. I have a feeling this has to do with the next comparison.

 

Central Platform Forcefield Floor

Notice how on the edge of the floor that in Halo Online the shader fades out around it? This leads me to one of two assumptions:
1) These shaders are tied to the wrong shader type, which does not fade around geometry edges & does not support colour change

2) The shader IS set, but does not function correctly in MCC. (more likely). Note how in earlier images, this shader seemingly disappears when viewed from a near-parallel angle in MCC.

 

Gravity Lifts

 

Gravity Lift Exit

Here we can see one of the very few real differences in the bsp between these versions. The wall is roughly 1/3 taller than in ms23.

Also, note the forcefield rendering differently.

 

Bottom of the Central Room

Obviously enough, these details were removed due to performance concerns. While I'm not sure just how much of a save this would have made, if any, there's really no other logical way of thinking about why these details would have been removed.

 

Top of the Central Room

Some odd object lighting errors up there.

 

 

[Enclusion 163]

Nice! Not really a fan of the fog.

[Sunstriker7 698]

12 hours ago, Vuthakral said:

• I play both Halo Online & MCC with proper brightness configurations. Yes, I am one of those people who take my time to get those settings right.

 

I appreciate you.

[DSalimander 213]

What does 'flight' mean?

[Sunstriker7 698]

On 3/17/2021 at 6:55 PM, DSalimander said:

What does 'flight' mean?

That's what 343 calls their testing phases. It's annoying.