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Great fun, really gets crazy towards the end, wont post any spoilers though.
On steam, I do prefer it to physical media, it aint perfect but it beats getting on a bus & train to get near a game store to buy a game, only to find that the cd protection software doesn't like my pc. I had no issues with preloading and unlocking with steam, smooth as silk, the only little niggle I had was that it took about 10 minutes to unlock the files, with me sitting there shouting "come on bitch I've waited long enough for this thing!" :D I hope more developers start using internet delivery systems, I would have no problem with that. Perhaps Valve have been a little over-zealous making EVERYONE require steam and to download files in order get it working, but simply buying and then downloading a game from the developers website is a very good idea imo. Not only are you forced to use steam and activate your product even if you only want to play single player, but if you buy the CD version of the game, you are FORCED to install Counter Strike-Source, there is an option not to install CS-S, but if you choose that option, the install will abort with
Oddly enough, I am digging this. I agree with czg on the graphics, and on the vibe of the game (which I am really liking), and a ditto with everyone who have been amazed by the character animations and the rather good gameplay. I'm just impressed with how you have to think so much =D Whoda figured...
I understand 3 different packages for hl2 are available. Is the 'silver' one available retail? I have only seen the basic hl2+cs:s and the uber-collector edition that comes with a fucking t-shirt for 90$ in stores. Please to be buying your game, valve. I would rather not download 34623462346 gigs of data over steam unless absolutely positively necessary.
Just get the Bronze. HL:S isn't worth it, by most accounts--it's a graphics upgrade, sure, and ragdolling, but HL is still 6 years old. :)
HL2 is amazing, though, I have to say. Easily the best FPS of the year, IMHO, unless it falls apart at the end like Far Cry did. (I'm up to Sand Traps now.) The graphics aren't as flashy as Doom 3's, but somehow they're more attractive, to me. Go figure. The foliage is downright horrible, though. Far Cry spoiled me for that. (I wonder if the sawblade area was inspired by Painkiller?) you only need to authenticate once, then you can go offline.
That true? I've heard (several times, posts on Blues) that you have to be online and logged into Steam even to play the SP?? it beats getting on a bus & train to get near a game store to buy a game Like you never go shopping normally?? Besides there's always Amazon... You steam whore. but if you buy the CD version of the game, you are FORCED to install Counter Strike-Source That true for the DVD version too?? Glad to hear the game is good. Less glad to hear of all the bullshit that goes with it. it seems that people are complaining about having to log on without actually knowing that it is not necessary to do so. AFAIK, you need to complete the authentication process the first time around and then can play sP without having to logon.
You only have to authenticate once per install, then you can play offline with no problems, as long as you have selected or not selected certain checkboxes. (no big problem) People complaining about having to be online to play singleplayer, just must not have read the little card in the box. (And talking about Singlplayer, thats all there is, there is no HL2 multiplayer)
That true for the DVD version too?? Don't think so, but they seem to be having there share of troubles. Among other things, apparently Some are being asked to insert discs that don't even exist, which would tend to bring things to a screaming hault I would imagine :) You could always uninstall Counter Strike - Source after the installation process is complete, If the stench of it is so repugnant to you. I chose to just leave it there, and play with a peg on my nose
But I guess at least HL2 was able to install in the end I guess Since some people have mentioned it... I bought the Silver package and Half-Life: Source is OK but not worth worrying about if you feel you're missing out. It's really just the old levels recompiled with 95% less sparkly cracks (those always pissed me off, they were so common in HL), old textures, old models, tarted up with a arbitrary set of detail shaders and specular effects, and a smattering of new sound effects replacing a few of the slightly cacky ones. It breaks a few things - notably, where a music track starts before a load it doesn't continue playing in the next section, there were some set-piece marine vs alien fights I came across where they seemed to be kicking off when the level loaded instead of waiting to be triggered, and aliens sometimes appear before their teleport/spawn effect. The only really cool change I've noticed so far - if you remember the terrifying vertigo-inducing bit in Surface Tension where you pop out of a sewer pipe half way up a cliff, and have to work your way down, around, and up it on tiny little platforms, well, the skybox that used to be below that cliff has been replaced with a more or less identical brushwork version. I didn't try it but I imagine you can fall all the way down...
Silver also includes Day of Defeat: Source, no idea how much of an update that is because it isn't available yet. Hopefully it will be more along the lines of CS:S with extensively rebuilt levels, new models etc. because some of the levels that were in the original DoD had abysmal visuals, even allowing for the fact that they were running on the old HL engine. You might want to check today's news on PlanetHalfLife on the subject of Warez.
This from Gabe Newell: We're running a bit of an experiment. We're keeping track of the accounts that do this and will be shutting them off. Gone are the days you could fire up the old hexidecimal editor, remove a few lines and have a fully operational game :( Cheers for the heads up, Headthump, but I don't warez stuff and have no intention of warezing HL2 - I've ordered it a couple of days ago.
If the Steam stuff was completely intolerable and I couldn't get around it, I wouldn't play it. But that's not going to happen. On the other hand, I wouldn't object to a no-steam crack... That is a classical scare tactic. He claims that they are banning people who use the cracked version from STEAM. Well, how about the fact that all the cracked releases of HL2 out there emulate Steam bypassing any and all things that could make you "get caught"?
Anti-piracy measures usually end up causing more trouble for the people that get the product through legal channels than those who get it illegally.
For example, how many times have you heard stories of games not installing because the user has a CD copying program on their machine (wtf? you could install the game first and then install the cd copying software, so why bother with that sort of protection in the first place?) There are also plenty of games that have been incompatible with the cd drives of legitimate customers thanks to anti-piracy software on the disc. The old Amiga/PC games that had copy wheels, or manual checks only caused hassle for legit users. There are plenty more examples I could mention. Still, I suppose the copy protection is just trying to stop casual users copying the disc for their mate or something, and to that extent it does work... The people tearing apart the security features of new releases and putting the games on the net, and all those people downloading it are hardly affected at all - in fact I'm sure the crackers enjoy the challenge and kudos they must receive. I hardly suspect it funds terrorism, as cinema warning might have you believe. I don't have a huge problem with Steam. It seems ok to me. Downloading several gigabytes of game is a bit daft though, but at least you can buy the game on disc from the shops, albeit in a horrible DVD case with no manual.
Vivendi's UK HL2 advertising and promotion is terrible. The TV ads are selling the game to people who were going to buy it anyway - everyone elses see the ad and says to themselves "what the hell is Half-Life 2?" The promptly forgets about it. The box isn't the worst I've ever seen, but you kind of expect a bit more from such a high profile game... and a proper manual would have been nice. Oh, and we didn't get a collectors edition shop release in the UK (yet, at least) How shit is that? I have completed HL2 now and thought it was bloody good - certainly compared to Doom 3s anti-climactic, tired retread forgetability. Bought the DVD from HMV today. Ran home.
Pop the DVD in the drive and a usual install window appears and I say that I do not want to install CS-S. Install crashes with a can't-find-file message. Try twice, still the same. Third time allow CS-S to be installed and it loads. (You buggers!) Then monkey around with this Steam thing (I haven't a clue what this is all about) but eventually am asked for my CD Key - enter it and it retorts with 'Invalid CD key'. Try again, and again, and again. Make sure I am not confusing Oh and Zero (why on earth do they insist on using 1, I, O, 0?) I am not confusing it. Go on the website to see if anyone else is having this problem. Read at least 550,000 pieces of drivel and yes, I am the only one in the world with this problem. No booklet with the game, so no help-line numbers. I am getting annoyed. I have read and re-read the CD key umpteen times and checked and re-checked my input. I know I am not an idiot and I know I am keying it right, but I still check it. I am most definitely getting annoyed: I am not a nice person when I am annoyed. So, I kid you not, I then went and got my magnifying glass and looking like Mr Magoo himself, I re-check the CD key. For Christ's sake, it's not a zero, it's not an Oh, it's a bloody Q with the shortest tail you've ever seen right next to a bloody X with no space between them. Stand him/her in front of me and I swear I will slap their faces right off their inconsiderate heads. The worst font, inadequate font size and poor printing. You buggers! Finally, it all runs OK except for the fact that I seem to have to load MeggaBytes of data from the Steam site - so why have I got a DVD? It's frustrating but I am keeping my cool. So, finally the game is running and I am on a train pulling into a station. It looks great, really Big-Brotherish. I get off the train and follow the workers. Oh, I know it's going to kick-off in a minute. There's a knock on the door. My front door. It's my OAP neighbour. The gutter is blocked and it's flooding her kitchen and would I be SO kind and help her... in the pouring rain... up a rickety step ladder... when I want to play HL2... Oh, bugger, bugger, bugger!! A lot like my Doom 3 story, only I drove 7 hours that day before I got a working copy of the game.
I understand your frustration, I am with you. There's your answer,
"Pop the DVD in the drive and a usual install window appears and I say that I do not want to install CS-S. Install crashes with a can't-find-file message. Try twice, still the same. Third time allow CS-S to be installed and it loads. (You buggers!) "<\q> Apparently you do have to install CS-S with the DVD Version. VE VANT CHOO TO PLAY COUNTER STRIKE, YOU VILL PLAY COUNTER STRIKE !! The short
Console Commands net_start sv_lan 0 deathmatch 1 maxplayers map (mapname) restart The Long http://hl2world.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?t=15325 I have a feeling that very few people who collect warez games actually are interest in playing them beyond the point needed to convince themselves that they can brag to others about having a working copy. Ditto for cracked engineering, desktop publishing etc. That's my impression anyways, I could be wrong. Since I lag technically most of the time, I just end up buying my games for cheap after the hype has worn off. I agree that legit users get the hose and things seem to be getting much worse.
For those who have finished, is the length of HL2 a 1) One night stand, 2) Summer fling or 3) You need a lawyer to split? Just curious. Until I can play I have to live through you guys. Is it legal that if i buy a product iam obligated to have an internet access to be able to play the game?
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