New features
Multiplayer games for up to 64 players
Custom games now hold up to 64 players. Raise Max players in Host Settings; a dedicated server holds up to 63 (max_players in dedicated.toml) and still defaults to 16. The scoreboard, carnage report and lobby list show every player. Campaign co-op still holds up to 16, whatever the server's limit.
Everyone in a game needs this version: players on an older version can't join servers that run it, and the other way round. The game says which side needs to update.
Choose Classic or Modern controller aiming
In Settings → Controller → Aim control, choose Modern for MCC's native smoother diagonal aiming, or Classic for Halo 3's original response, then select Apply changes. Modern remains the default. The choice applies to all local controllers and works with your look sensitivity and aim acceleration.
Your own achievements in the carnage report
The carnage report at the end of a game now has a second page, MY ACHIEVEMENTS: choose it at the top, or press Left or Right to switch between it and the scoreboard. It shows the medals you earned, your favourite weapon, your nemesis (the player who killed you most) and the player you killed most, your combat stats (score, kills, deaths, assists, K/D, headshots, best spree, time alive, betrayals and suicides) and your kills, deaths and headshots with each weapon, plus your objective stats.
Closed it too soon? Choose LAST GAME REPORT in the lobby to open it again. It stays there until the next game starts or you leave the server.
Change teams in the lobby and during a game
In a team game, the lobby's roster shows each player in their team's colour, with CHANGE TEAM buttons under it: click a team to join it. The same buttons are in the game menu (Escape) during a game, as in Halo 3's custom games; there you confirm the switch first, and it takes effect when you next respawn, so changing teams never gives a free respawn. A button you can't use says why when you hover over it.
Whether players may switch is the game type's Team Changing option (Game Options → Rounds & teams: Disabled, Enabled or Balancing only), and hosts can make it stricter: Host Settings → Team changing, or team_changing for dedicated servers, which hold players to balancing moves (joining only a team with fewer players) by default. The host and a server's admins move anyone from their card with MOVE TO TEAM, and the remote console has team <player> <team>.
The host now decides every team change, so players can no longer pick a team the server didn't allow.
Place each weapon's viewmodel on its own
Settings > Graphics > Weapon viewmodel now has a Weapon row. Leave it on All weapons to move every weapon at once, as before, or step to a weapon, turn on Own placement and set its horizontal, vertical and depth offsets apart from the rest: keep a sniper rifle out of the way, say, while every other weapon stays put. A weapon with its own placement ignores the All weapons offsets; set all three to zero to keep its original spot. Weapons you have held since starting the game are listed too, including mods' weapons, and the ones in your hands come first, so you can adjust what you are holding from the pause menu. Choose Apply changes to use them.
Changes
- Leaving or exiting during a game asks first. LEAVE SERVER, Exit Game and, when playing alone, LEAVE FORGE and QUIT MISSION in the game menu (Escape) now ask you to confirm, and say what you would lose: the game in progress, unsaved Forge changes, progress since the last checkpoint, or, when you host, the server for everyone in it. Enter confirms and Escape cancels.
Bug fixes
- Incompatible map files no longer block Flood Infection on other maps. An incompatible map copied into Halo 3's installation could stop the asset library from building, leaving even Guardian unable to host Flood Infection or expanded Forge maps. Those files are now skipped when preparing the library. Joining players are also told when the host's map preparation has failed instead of being told to keep waiting.
Install
The game client requires Halo: The Master Chief Collection with Halo 3 installed; no game files are included.
Double-click project-reclaimer-v0.9.0.exe to start the game. It finds Halo 3 in any Steam library and opens without a console window; its log is Documents\My Games\Project Reclaimer\Logs\client.log.
For remote server administration, double-click reclaimer-rcon-v0.9.0.exe, enter the host, RCON port and password, and connect. The RCON client needs no game installation. See the attached RCON.md for setup and commands.