DF took a look at the PC version of Halo 1 Anniversary:
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/...-pc-the-master-chief-collection-tech-analysis
They made a good point about the audio in the Gearbox PC port being superior due to EAX. I still enjoy hardware-accelerated audio with the game on my current system using ALchemy and my X-Fi. "Also strange is that the original soundscape mode on PC seems to randomly insert shield or plasma pistol charge sounds at random. Hopefully both of these issues can be corrected." I also had an issue in my own playthrough where I destroyed a banshee and it crashed to the ground, but it was still emitting the sound it makes when it is flying. This sound never stopped playing until I left the area.
Some selections from the article:
"...there's a problem in how SSAO scales, leaving vertical banding in all of the game's shadowed regions. I hope this is another aspect that can be fixed in due course to make the enhanced mode one step closer to perfection."
"Also, unlike Halo Reach, FPS interpolation and higher than 60fps frame-rates work properly this time around, but that does not mean that it is completely perfect. Plasma weapon effects such as the shots from stationary plasma turrets, plasma pistols and plasma rifles all update at 30fps no matter your chosen frame-rate target."
"This also applies to the update rate for the energy swords carried by Elites which can look really awkward as the arms move out of sync with the sword they are supposed to be carrying. Most surprising for me was that all of the cinematics in the game have animation rates tied to 30fps, while the camera in these cinematics moves at an uncapped frame-rate. So basically, the new port of Halo exhibits many of the same problems that Halo PC had all the way back in 2003. Perhaps this is done for reasons of syncing cutscene playback in coop play."
"These frame-rate problems for certain animations are somewhat surprising to me because the Chimera mod for the original 2003 PC release unlocks the frame-rate of animations and interpolates them, creating workarounds for this issue - so I'm curious as to why a new 2020 port has these issues when existing mods have been available for some time that cure 17-year-old limitations with the original port. Surely with all the time, money and resources available to 343 Industries, the firm should be able to match the efforts of the Halo community?"
"While it plays extremely well and offers new visuals and cooperative experiences we've never seen before on PC, the visual foundations for this release are still not
right - something that's very important in preserving a genuine classic. The original Gearbox version of Halo from 2003 was released missing visual aspects found in the original Xbox version and the MCC version of Halo CEA on Xbox One and in this PC version inherit those problems. The issues are found right across the game and can really have a negative effect on the intended visuals. Transparencies and fog effects are often incorrectly delivered, textures and bump mapping effects can present poorly - and that's really just the tip of the iceberg."
"The thing is that these are issues that have been known about for a long time in the Halo community, problems that the community has actively sought to resolve via modding. Today you can download the Halo Restoration and have a version of the game on PC which does not have many of the visual problems that the Master Chief Collection has. And it's here where I really hope that the team behind this new Halo CEA port can perhaps draw some inspiration from the community and work to address these issues once and for all. It's all about preservation: Halo as a game deserves to look as art-correct as possible with Bungie's original design, as it is a timelessly gorgeous game. Its extensive use of effects, bump mapping, and other DirectX 8 trickery made it such a stand-out title back in the day and really, the official 343 port should hold up and continue this proud legacy."
