Hack 8. Eliminate the HUD

The Blind skull will clean up your view and allow you to get great screenshots.

The Blind skull has a few advantages over the other skulls. For example, you can activate it on any difficulty setting, and it's right at the beginning of the Outskirts level. When you pick up this skull, the message "Blind" will appear onscreen and your Heads Up Display (HUD) will disappear.

This skull is Bungie's non-modded gift to Halo 2 screenshots (the modded version is Aztec's Spectator Mod [Hack #87]). Instead of the busy look of the HUD, this skull allows you to hide all of that information. The downside of the clean look is that you won't have the benefit of information such as your reticle or your motion detector. In fact, you won't even know how much ammo you have or how many grenades you are holding. Although it makes playing the game harder, the Blind skull is a real treat for those of us who take Halo screenshots (see Figure 2-7).

At the beginning of the Outskirts level, your vision is blurry but clears up shortly. When you are able to see clearly, you will notice a flashing light coming from a hallway in front of you. Enter the hallway and look up.

Snapping Screenshots

If you're wondering how to take Halo 2 screenshots, you need to think outside the Xbox. Simply plug the video-out from your Xbox into a video capture card on your computer. You can use anything from the entry-level Hauppauge WinTV-GO (roughly $50 street price) to high-end capture cards that feature component video input. The secret to great screenshots is the video capture software you use. Either the open source DScaler (http://deinterlace.sourceforge.net/) or Adobe Premiere (http://www.adobe.com/motion/main.html) will result in great still captures even from a low-end card. The figures in this book were produced using the component input of a SweetSpot capture card (http://www.pluggedin.tv/sweetspot/) and Adobe Premiere. I suggest iuVCR (http://www.iulabs.com) for video capture. The capture card was connected to the Xbox using the original style High Definition adapter for the Xbox. The capture card was connected to the Xbox using the original style HighDefinition adapter for the Xbox. This particular adapter allowed the audio and video to be separated. However, there are High Definition adapters on the market that allow the same setup as the original Microsoft adapter.

Figure 2-7. The lack of HUD noise makes the Blind skull great for screenshots

Ahead of you, there will be the flashing light fixture (see Figure 2-8). Jump up to the light fixture and then turn left. You will now be facing toward the courtyard where the Covenant troops are waiting. From here, you are able to crouch jump [Hack #1] to the roof.

Once on the roof, turn left toward a long, dark passage (see Figure 2-9). At the end of the passage, there are a few grenades, some ammo boxes, and the Blind skull. As soon as you've activated it, your HUD disappears, giving you a clean look but taking away a lot of useful information.

Figure 2-8. Lining up the jump to the light fixture

Figure 2-9. Looking back at the Blind skull location after activating the skull