The "OMG Half Life 2 rules" thread

[Shorty]

Im tired, had almost no sleep, worked all night.. but id be damned if I wasn't going to at least play a bit.

Stunning. Really. Completely. Immense.

That is all.

[Aranyic]

Gah ebgames in the mall doesn't open until 10:00 :/ got 40 more minutes.

[primesuspect]

wow.

I played for about 45 mins this morning. holy crap. Physics are fantastic, atmosphere is actually scarier than Doom 3 to me.... The sense of getting chased and the feeling of "must...keep....running..." is awesome.

I think the choice of cityscape is really good too. Serves to make the game that much more apprehensive.

I'm not going to rant about the graphics. You pretty much know how good they are.

[paroxym]

I've been suffering from extreme excitability and sudden spasms of "omg omg omg" at work today.:hair: Doc says that these are classic symptoms of a bad case of Cantwaittoplayhalflifeitis. He perscribed a large pizza, a 6 pack and 12 solid hours of gaming upon arrival home from work. Im hoping this does the trick before I slip into the later stages of the virus which involve smashing water coolers with a crowbar. Wish me luck. :thumbsup: :buck:

[primesuspect]

crowbar = pwn

[primesuspect]

...

MAN WHY DO I HAVE TO WORK TODAY! I wanna go back home and help the revolution! Jeez!

[keto]

Did anyone download it from Steam? How slow are the servers?

You think you've got it bad, I'm out on the road another 48 hours :mad: :bawling:

[Squill]

OMG! I want it! I might not be able to get it till Friday when i get my paycheck! I preordered the collectors editon from Gamestop at the local mall but I dont think I have enough in my checking account to pay for the rest. UGHHH! I want it! /me cries. I might have to beg my dad to let me borrow the money. Either that or go and trade in some old games for it. Who know's but I really really really wanna play it.

[primesuspect]

Just so everyone knows: I have a 9800Pro/128 and everything set to high, at 1280x1024, no AA, no AF, the game runs fantastic.

I WANT TO GO HOME. Screw work!

[primesuspect]

Did anyone download it from Steam? How slow are the servers?

You think you've got it bad, I'm out on the road another 48 hours :mad: :bawling:

Steam is running a bit slow today. I preloaded last week, and so it had to authenticate me and "unlock the game" - it took under 2 minutes all told. But now it just loads up and goes.

[pseudonym]

Best Buy... HO!!!!!!

/me runs like a raped ape to the car.

[^Ben]

Amazing....... nuff said.

[pseudonym]

Half-Life 2 sucks because I CAN'T LOGIN TO STEAM!! I bought the damn game, I don't care about your stupid Steam, LET ME PLAY!! RARARARAROMGWTFSAJDASJSJDASJDJAJDSJSAD

[primesuspect]

should have preloaded..... nerd....

Get used to it, folks. Online distribution and content control will become more and more common... Especially once HL2 becomes the best selling game of all time, and they use the online method to help them get there. Other companies will be dying to jump on the bandwagon.

[TheBaron]

man you're making me want to actually buy it... damnit

[pseudonym]

should have preloaded..... nerd....

Get used to it, folks. Online distribution and content control will become more and more common... Especially once HL2 becomes the best selling game of all time, and they use the online method to help them get there. Other companies will be dying to jump on the bandwagon.

No, I bought the RETAIL VERSION!!! Why the hell do I need to login to Steam to play a game I already have installed!!!!! OMGFWQEWTWETJRGJDSFGJDFGJD

[GHoosdum]

I can't wait to get home - I preloaded and activated over the weekend... man there's so much to do, and so little I'll have time for...

[primesuspect]

All I'm saying, pseudonym, is that no matter what, we all need to get used to online content. Whether that means a simple activation a la Windows XP or HL2, or a full fledged online download and install a la linux or HL2 Preload.....

It's coming, folks. The days of being able to do something "offline" are coming to an end.

[pseudonym]

All I'm saying, pseudonym, is that no matter what, we all need to get used to online content. Whether that means a simple activation a la Windows XP or HL2, or a full fledged online download and install a la linux or HL2 Preload.....

It's coming, folks. The days of being able to do something "offline" are coming to an end.

Yeah I know, but I'm still pissed that they weren't prepared for a high server load. Friggin morons.

[TheLostSwede]

All I'm saying, pseudonym, is that no matter what, we all need to get used to online content. Whether that means a simple activation a la Windows XP or HL2, or a full fledged online download and install a la linux or HL2 Preload.....

It's coming, folks. The days of being able to do something "offline" are coming to an end.

Now you are a little too naive ,Brian. Hackers, crackes will allways be one step ahead. There's already a cracked HL 2 out that is working and do not need any activation. When you get it down at max rate your isp allows compared to 10 mb/s from steam, the choice isn't really hard you know.

[Thrax]

I have been wishing for the last two years that Steam would die.

/me sighs

[TheLostSwede]

/me hugs Thrax and agrees

[pseudonym]

Now you are a little too naive ,Brian. Hackers, crackes will allways be one step ahead. There's already a cracked HL 2 out that is working and do not need any activation. When you get it down at max rate your isp allows compared to 10 mb/s from steam, the choice isn't really hard you know.

Theres a cracked version out?? Where is it, maybe I can play that because I CAN'T PLAY THE ONE I BOUGHT!!

[pseudonym]

/me agrees with both Thrax and Mac

[TheGr81]

I hope I don't get flamed for this....


















What is steam? :hiding:

[kanezfan]

Valve's content delivery system. it allows you to download and buy their games online, no need for a boxed version or cd anymore. hell i'm downloading it right now... ;)

and Gabe Newell was quoted a few times saying there's no way to get around it and that it will not be pirated.

[kanezfan]

/me goes to play halo 2 while he waits.....

[croc_]

Did anyone download it from Steam? How slow are the servers?

You think you've got it bad, I'm out on the road another 48 hours :mad: :bawling:

Got it from steam @ 2mbps

[TheLostSwede]

The guys at Steam must be noobs. Can't even access the site now. Wonder how many potential buyers they loose for every hour the site is down?

Edit//Back up again, but 56k sloooow.

[pseudonym]

The guys at Steam must be noobs. Can't even access the site now. Wonder how many potential buyers they loose for every hour the site is down?

Edit//Back up again, but 56k sloooow.

I dunno, but they've just about lost me. This POS is pissing me off to no end. I finally get it running, and it crashes. Ok thats fine, probably my overclocking. Well then it somehow "forgot" I had it installed, and wanted me to download the whole friggin thing. On top of all this I haven't been able to fully register this POS so it won't run in offline mode, and....... :bawling: :bawling: :bawling:

I should've bought Metroid Prime: Echoes.

[kanezfan]

they'll also sue you when you're forced to download and use the crack to play the game.

[pseudonym]

they'll also sue you when you're forced to download and use the crack to play the game.

If it doesn't work INSTANTLY this time (Read third time installing) I'm going to do that. Then I'll snap my CD in half and jam it in their lawyer's eye. :shakehead :mean: :rarr: :mean:

[Jimborae]

I still can't get onto Steam to download it. Every time it says its too busy & to try in a couple of hours. Been like that for the last 7 days :(

Warez here I come if this carries on !!!

[comfortable]

QQ: I haven't been to the store yet, but Bestbuy includes HL2 in their online catalog. I noticed that Valve released bronze/silver/gold editions, and I'm wondering which it was that Bestbuy offered. The site isn't too informative, and I won't be able to visit the shop until I'm off the clock.

[^Ben]

Just buy retail.

Preloaded like 3 weeks ago, woke up unlocked and played for a bit.

Yum yum.

[PressX]

I have a copy here. I do not have the time to play/install. I broke my GPU so the "fix" one is not good enough for me to play (as well as I would like). I am going to wait until I build my new box. So do not tell me the ending ;)


;D

[pseudonym]

Here's a little picture I drew whilst trying to make this crap work. Can you tell I'm angry??

[Access_Denied]

I dunno, but they've just about lost me. This POS is pissing me off to no end. I finally get it running, and it crashes. Ok thats fine, probably my overclocking. Well then it somehow "forgot" I had it installed, and wanted me to download the whole friggin thing. On top of all this I haven't been able to fully register this POS so it won't run in offline mode, and....... :bawling: :bawling: :bawling:

I should've bought Metroid Prime: Echoes.


I'll 2ed that.. Metroid Prime is awsome.. havent finished it yet tho since its WAAAY to hard

[^Ben]

Timeline baybeee.

[panzerkw]

Purchased it over Steam, left my house to head to the mall with 72 minutes left for Steam to download it all.

Now I'm back an hour later is there is 165 minutes left. :shakehead

[FormFactor]

I cant get steam to register....

f*cking Valve, and steam and ther uber antipirate encryption sh*t.

It tells me i am having problems with my internet connection.


How can it make such a blatant and incorrect statement.

Jeeze, you would think if they were going to pull a stunt like this they at least make d*mn sure they got it right and didn't screw it up.


do i have to poke holes in my firewall?

[^Ben]

What ports have you got opeen?

Ah well steam is dead for me at the moment, I spose that's a good thing for me now i can finnaly get some work done ;)

[FormFactor]

it let me decrypt, but says steam is too busy. they must be saturated... shady :shakehead

[floppybootstomp]

Bought the DVD from GAME today, what with all the different things during install, it took over an hour to install this thing. I registered, installed Steam and Counter Strike: Source as well.

It did say the server was busy but they'd 'allow' me to unlock the HL2 files and that they'd 'get back to me later'.

As this game hit the shops more or less worldwide today, it's no small wonder the server is busy. It'll settle down. Really not good enough though, they're making a lot of money and should have been prepared with more bandwidth, if only for the first month or so.

However. This game rocks. I is loving it :D

[primesuspect]

Now you are a little too naive ,Brian. Hackers, crackes will allways be one step ahead. There's already a cracked HL 2 out that is working and do not need any activation. When you get it down at max rate your isp allows compared to 10 mb/s from steam, the choice isn't really hard you know.

Nope, think ahead. There will come a day, perhaps 5, even 10 years from now, when there will be no media, you will have to get it online. Whether its a cracked/hacked version or legit, no matter, I am saying it will be online without disks. That's what I'm saying to get used to.

[^Ben]

Yah,

You see how much bandwidth valve are pushing at the moment? http://www.steampowered.com/status/status.html 9Gbps! That's a heck of a lot of bandwidth.

My advice, just chill and wait untill tommorow or later on in the night when this has calmed down, because at the moment every 20 seconds everyone is trying to login again and killing the login servers.

[primesuspect]

man this blows. I wanted to play so bad all day, and now I can't :(

[^Ben]

It looks like it's started to work again, albeit slowly.

Looks like its finnaly started to que up login requests.

Logged in slowly when the SDK was released also.

Actually I think there pushing out a quick update because there is a flaw which allows you to get free copies of HL2.

[TheLostSwede]

Nope, think ahead. There will come a day, perhaps 5, even 10 years from now, when there will be no media, you will have to get it online. Whether its a cracked/hacked version or legit, no matter, I am saying it will be online without disks. That's what I'm saying to get used to.
5-10 years is a little to long for me though, but i understand what you meant.
There will always be some sort of storage media though. That industry is just to big to just die.

[primesuspect]

Oh sure, there's always going to be storage media, but I'm saying "entertainment content" to cram it all into a category, will be delivered online only. It's just so much cheaper for content providers to do it this way and we all know money talks ...

[Gargoyle]

I'm almost glad that school is preventing me from having a life, otherwise I'd be stressed about HL2. I guess stress is stress though... but I'd rather a video game be my biggest problem, really. :(

[pseudonym]

I finally got it working by making a new Steam account, but the game is still registered under a different account that it won't let me sign into for some reason. I can't wait till this gets all messed up and I get to stop playing. Whoopeee.

On another note, this game puts Doom3 to shame.

[tcith]

Hey guys - thought I'd mention my experience

Saturday I decided to buy (via steam) the silver level
Installed perfectly - no issues - had a look monday and it had told me it had pre loaded Half-life 2 etc - no issues - played through half-life source for a bit - had a play of counter strike etc

Last night 7pm Sydney time was the equal of the release time of midnight for the game - 7.03pm I clicked on Half-life2 and it said it ws decrypting the game - 7.07pm it loaded the game options screen up and I started playing

So no issues with steam - no issues activating

Played till 1am - basically Wow - really enjoying it - I have avaoided the fan sights and reviews (I knew it would be good from the stuff I do read) and was blown away by the effects and detail in the game - I laughed the 1st time my ears started ringing when a missile exploded next to me and half deafened me.

I have no issue with the online activation but then I'm a very "online" person
I can see why they did this - I know of over 40 people who have a cracked Doom3 game,it was cracked at release (less than 30min) at this point I know of no crack for HL2 (I may be wrong)

cheers :thumbsup:

[^Ben]

There are a couple of cracks for HL2 floating about.

Too bad, this game deserves your money.

[Gravite2090]

i lost my ati voucher. i still havent passed doom3. my video game life is a mess.

[pythagoras]

I dont think I like this game. Havnt really given it enough time yet, but theres something I dont like :( .

I had the same feeling with doom3. Graphics and sound are fantastic, sound is better on doom3. Game play on both seems rather weak to me, very linear.

I played hl2 for an hour and got a crowbar :mad: , yep I'm very bad at this game :) .

The game a have really taken to recently is far cry, much more expansive and lots of ways to achieve the same goal. Maybe its personal taste here or maybe its the Doom and Half life francise complacency, not sure will give the game more time.

BTW, how the hell do I get out of the train station with just a crowbar ;D

Regards

John.

[GrayFox]

With out a doute in my mind this is the best game ever made.
It took me from 7:00am to 8:30pm to finish.
best game ver

[Enverex]

Does this mean you can't play HL2 if the machine you install it on doesn't have an internet connection?

[Thrax]

Yes.

[croc_]

My experience.

Purchased last night at 1am (bronze). Started download (no problems). Downloaded hl2 and cs: source @ 1.5-2.5 mbps. Couple hrs later, started playing s: source. Went to bed. Woke up, hl2 was done dling. Played hl2. I don't know why you people are having so many problems. I had tons of problems with steam when it first came out, but so did everyone. I haven't had a problem with steam in a long long time, except for teh occasional friends list glitch.

[Enverex]

Yes.

Well that's complete balls isn't it...
Oh well.

[primesuspect]

You must activate it online. If you don't have an internet connection, you still must activate it online, but you can play it offline once it's been activated.

[Gravite2090]

ya, if you couldnt play offline it would make LAN parties very inconveinent.

[entropy]

Hm. I'm downloading it (*ahem* "downloading" *ahem) to see what the fuss is all about. IF I like it, I will buy it. Honestly, though, there are only a few computer games I can get into. Painkiller was one (thanks for that, prime :D), SC: Pandora Tomorrow was another, and NFSU 2. I still play NFSU 1, but it looks like Pong next to 2. In 3D. And really fast. But Pong nonetheless ;).

To whoever said something about Metroid Prime: Echoes.....

/me cries

I didn't know it was out yet or I would not even know HL-2 was released. On second thought, I wouldn't even know what time of day it was...

/me plans to buy it tomorrow after school :D

[GnomeWizardd]

Finally got it installed and running ( Steam Blows donly ba;;s ) OMg great game so far

[primesuspect]

whew.. 3 hour HL2 binge. That's what I've been waiting for.

omg the gravity gun == BEST GAME IDEA EVER

It has got to be the coolest weapon in any game, period. And I thought the "painkiller weapon" was cool.... :rarr:

[Enverex]

You must activate it online. If you don't have an internet connection, you still must activate it online, but you can play it offline once it's been activated.

Still means that if that machine doesn't have an internet connection, you can't play it...

[mondi]

Still means that if that machine doesn't have an internet connection, you can't play it...

yes, but chances are that if you have a machine capable of playing the game ... you have some sort of net access, however minimal..

[Geeky1]

Not necessarily; Until a few years ago, I didn't have internet access on any of my computers; I had it on my parents' computers downstairs, but I didn't get internet access in my room until like two years ago. And, in point of fact, I don't have it right now any more either. My dad reposessed his dsl modem when I went to UOP, so my router and stuff moved onto his computers downstairs, and, once again, I have no 'net connection in my room.

[Enverex]

yes, but chances are that if you have a machine capable of playing the game ... you have some sort of net access, however minimal..

As Geeky said, not always, and most people I know with good machines don't have internet access as they have to use dial up on their parents machine or something...

[GHoosdum]

Last night, all I had to do was activate the game. I had pre-loaded and registered, and all I needed Steam to do was freakin' activate my game copy... I tried from 6PM until about 7 and couldn't log on.

Finally, I got to play at 11PM. I stayed up until 1. I love Half-Life2. I hate Steam.

[Clutch]

Once again Steam blows a big fat one. I knew it was a bad idea since they started it. Just ask Ego how much I hate steam. :shakehead

[KingFish]

Can't wait to get my grubby little fingers on a (store bought) copy.

[Gobbles]

picked up game after work last night.. Very impressive. I can see Im not gonna get crap done after hours for along time. Cant wait to play CS:S We all need to hook up once its available.

Gobbles

[pseudonym]

whew.. 3 hour HL2 binge. That's what I've been waiting for.

omg the gravity gun == BEST GAME IDEA EVER

It has got to be the coolest weapon in any game, period. And I thought the "painkiller weapon" was cool.... :rarr:

Yes it is, I have never laughed so hard using a weapon in a game.

"HERE YOU GO!!! EAT SOME DRESSER!!!!"

[Crazy Joe]

Nice... I bought two copies from BB (pricematched to MicroCenter's 39.82) for myself and CBDroege... Went to Rob/CB's place to give him the game... Watched for an hour or so as they both tried unsuccessfully to get it activated... Went home and installed it and it was activated almost instantly... Played it for awhile before going to bed... This game rocks alot... Although I couldn't understand why nobody said anything when at the begining I picked up a TV (pulled it out of the wall) and threw it at them...

[primesuspect]

I love throwing tables at zombies. Oh, and wailing zombies with cans of white paint. They get covered with the paint and then can't see. How cool.

[Crazy Joe]

The only thing I don't like is that there's not a multiplayer game based on the actual game... CS is it... I think it'd be cool to be able to play with some of the cool weapons that are in HL2...

[GHoosdum]

I agree on the multiplayer issue.

Oh, as far as the TV throwing goes: A few folks complained when I picked up their TVs and cut off the feed of Dr. Breen speaking - apparently those alien cop dudes come down pretty hard on you if you're not watching Dr. Breen. They really don't seem to like it when you then throw the TV out the window at their tank. But it was oh-so-fun!

[primesuspect]

The combine police also don't like it if you throw baby dolls at them.

[Jimborae]

Great so now that HL2 has moved from Coming Soon to Just Released there now doesn't appear to be a way to download the game on Steam without handing over my credit card details. I dont want to do this as I have an Ati coupon!!!!!

Jesus this is such a balls up, I'll never get to own/play this game :(

[GHoosdum]

The combine police also don't like it if you throw baby dolls at them.

Yeah, I hit one of 'em with a soda can and he ran over and hit me with his electric baton. Actually, they'll baton ya even if all you do is get too close. Those guys are jerks!

[shwaip]

Great so now that HL2 has moved from Coming Soon to Just Released there now doesn't appear to be a way to download the game on Steam without handing over my credit card details. I dont want to do this as I have an Ati coupon!!!!!

Jesus this is such a balls up, I'll never get to own/play this game :(

Jim-
Click "Browse Games"
Click the button indicated below. Type in your ATI coupon #. That's how I did it.


HL2 rocks. It's finals week here, and I'm playing this game instead of studying. ruh. roh.

[primesuspect]

The whole WW2-era-esque eastern europe thing is just really cool. It really "feels" hopeless and depressing when you're walking around city 17.

[TheSmJ]

Great so now that HL2 has moved from Coming Soon to Just Released there now doesn't appear to be a way to download the game on Steam without handing over my credit card details. I dont want to do this as I have an Ati coupon!!!!!

Jesus this is such a balls up, I'll never get to own/play this game :(


Go to the "Games Browser", and select the button "Register a game I already own". You should be able to take it from there.

Or, check out http://www.atihl2offer.com/. That's the offical HL2 cuepon site.

[Jimborae]

Thanx Shwaip & SMJ, it's downloading now, a bit worried at first cos it said updating HL2 & I thought "I ain't even got it yet". Then I saw the size of the update - 3+gigs :)

[scott]

I preorded on steam a couple weeks ago ( Gold ) and preloaded. I activated it yesterday morning and have been having a lot of fun since. The game really is great. Fed Ex brought my "Extra Content" package today. Stratagy guide hat posters and such. But no game discs. Will they come seperate ? Or do I not get them ? I will be pissed If I spent $100.00 on a game and don't have a copy of it.

The gravity gun is awesome ! I really like the saw blades. Line three zombies up and cut them all in half with one shot. :sawed: Way cool

Scott

[Thrax]

You don't get discs. The wonders of content delivery, yeah? That's why steam blows.

[primesuspect]

See, the thing with the online content system is that they don't need to send you discs. You can burn the files onto a CD if you ever want to reinstall them. You just need to have steam installed, your account un and pw, and the "content files" - the game doesn't get "installed" per se, in the sense that we are used to.

You can burn the content files and the steam installer onto a DVD or a bunch of CDs and then you have your discs.

[Crazy Joe]

I bought the game at BB B&M so I do actually have the FIVE discs that the content is on, so you can buy the game discs if you so choose...

[GHoosdum]

Yes, but Valve only makes about $7 per copy that's sold on CD (because of the distribution costs and VU being in the mix etc) whereas they make about $30 per copy if you download it. That's why Valve LOVES Steam, no matter what we think of it.

[scott]

Well that really blows !

I guess I have to dig through the Valve folder and try and figure out what to burn. And how to get it to install.

Scott

[floppybootstomp]

I just thinking, how long does 3Gb take to download?

Considering a 700Mb ISO takes me about 170 minutes, that's a long time.

And I is stuck. How the hell do you get out of the Route Kanal level? That one where you ride that hydrofoil thingie across the radioactive lake? Bugger.

[^Ben]

Scott.

Right click on half life 2 and click "backup" and it will backup all your half life 2 releated files into 1 file.

[scott]

thanks Ben

Backing up now


Scott

[tcith]

I played hl2 for an hour and got a crowbar :mad: , yep I'm very bad at this game :) .

BTW, how the hell do I get out of the train station with just a crowbar ;D

John.

An hour to get to the crowbar section is a little slow, but not too slow, you've negotiated a fair bit then - but hey I took nearly an hour as I walked around and experimented witht he enviroment - picked up a doll that made a noise at me - threw some bottles and stuff around.

You obviously did not play half life 1 or you know the crowbar is the 1st weapon you get, it's the default - just run actos the railway yard, there is an exit on the other side (use the car roofs) and you'll get your 1st gun (after you use your crowbar)

Now I've not been playing it madly like some people - and I have not finnished yet (Just got to part 2 of Ravenholm) but so far I am loving it.

The air boat level was much much longer than I expected (pleasant surprise) and I also found it alot of fun driving the damn thing (especially running down combine police *GRIN*)

I have bumped the difficulty level up as was finding it a little too easy taking out guards etc in one shot

Loved the "dog" and playing fetch - the grav gun is a fun weapon - been using the saw blades and gas cylinders (love watching the guys run around screaming on fire) - hmm perhaps it's time for my appointment with my shrink ....

Anyhow - enjoying the game heaps - I loved Half Life one, this is a superb follow up

[keto]

Got home this aft, installed Steam about 1/2 hour ago. Took 10 minutes to find what is posted above about activating product I already own, entered the key. Says I have 2 hours to go till playtime WHEEE :thumbsup:

Darn you all and your spoilers, no matter how small :wtf: ;)

[Jimborae]

I just thinking, how long does 3Gb take to download?

Considering a 700Mb ISO takes me about 170 minutes, that's a long time.

.


I got 2 mins to go till its finished, started downloading about 3 1/2 hours ago. :)

[KingFish]

You guys are really getting me pumped up. I may forego going to the store and just d/l the darn thing.

[^Ben]

Well looks like a pretty succesfull launch.

Apart from the steam server being down for about 1 hour.

Welcome to the future lads.

[keto]

Says I still have 40 minutes to go. If done then, all in all 3 hours to get HL2 with zero preloading - not bad at all. Cable connection but 6 computers thru the router (ssshhhhh dont tell my provider).

[keto]

I'm Going In!!

[GrayFox]

Yeah, I hit one of 'em with a soda can and he ran over and hit me with his electric baton. Actually, they'll baton ya even if all you do is get too close. Those guys are jerks!
i hit him with a wine bottel dont he zaped me ;D

[tcith]

Oh God I laughed at this thread (http://www.halflife2.net/forums/showthread.php?t=52679) on halflife2.net - warning it may be a spoiler to those not past the water stage

[EgoShowcase]

very cool game. I just beat it like 10 min ago and had to just say the ending left me going :scratch: :wtf:

[primesuspect]

And here we are after a good ( :wtf: ) night's sleep.... hating life.....

[pseudonym]

And here we are after a good ( :wtf: ) night's sleep.... hating life.....

lol, I got to bed early amazingly.... 3am;)

Right now I'm out of Nova Prospekt, pretty cool.

[Squill]

OMFG! I'm going insane right now! Tomorrow! TOMORROW! I GET HALF-LIFE2!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG I"M GOING NUTS, I CANT WAIT!!!!!! UGH ANOTHER 7 HOURS OF WORK THEN SLEEP THEN WAKE UP THEN GET PAYCHECK THEN BUY GAME THEN BE HAPPY! :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

[^Ben]

You will not be dissapointed :D

[TheGr81]

I need money... :bawling:

[panzerkw]

I'm a little surprised at how large some of the travel sections of the game are. Rather than the "dungeon crawl" that HL1 was, you traverse a whole lot of the outside area as well in HL2.

I think it provides the needed variety scenery wise that Doom3 sorely lacks. The differing areas provide for different types of puzzles and obstacles to overcome (even if the enemies don't change that much). I bought doom3, played it for awhile, then got so bored of it I didn't bother finishing it. I uninstalled it and the discs collect dust.

There's also the fact that I have NO IDEA what's going to happen next (I'm nearing the endgame now) and I WANT to know, whereas with Doom3 I don't care.

Graphics wise HL2 didn't my eyes pop but the characters are stunning.

[Crazy Joe]

Ugh... I was playing until like 6AM and then I got called to teach a first grade class at 8AM... So yea... Dealing with 19 6-7 year olds on two hours of sleep is so much fun I think I'll burst... I got stuck in RavenHome last night... Probably because it was 6AM and I was missing something... I walk all around the place that I'm in and can't find a door or anything...

[panzerkw]

Another thing about the puzzles, they are pretty intuitive if you understand some basic physics.

Also, they for the most part are very localized (you stay in one spot while figuring it out) while with Doom3 you have to run around the whole damn level 5 times over collecting PDA's just to unlock that one door (why can't I just blast it? grrr). This helps keep the frustration factor down.

[Animal]

dammit i can;t last any longer... i am going to try and build a system out of the parts i have. How well do you lot thing it wil run on:

Athlon XP 1800
Asus A7V333 (latest via etc)
512mb pc3200 ram
Radeon 9800 pro 128mb
350W PSU

Recomended settings anyone?

Please say it will run ok!

[^Ben]

It will run great on those settings.

It will auto select settings for you but im sure there's some room for improvement ;)

We tried on an inspirion(spelling) 5150(?) And that only has a mobile 5200 and still ran amazing and looked great(not many shader effects though)

I also finished the game a little while, really good ending certainly leaves alot more questions opened then answerd ;)

Roll on expansion packs and HL3.

What expansion packs would you like to see?

I personally think they will be making Alyx's backstory, and possibly Barneys. Possibley Adrian Shepard might be making an appearance(OPFOR)

Im personnaly going to work on a mini mod aswell as the larger mod I work on.

[Animal]

omg best news all day! thank you.was having fits cause the time i don't actually have a full computer (motherboard and PSU are being RMA'd) half life 2 comes out. Just downloading the final stage now and then i probably won't sleep tonight!

[Animal]

i want to back up half life 2 onto a dvd but i don't want to go though the whole steam back-up process because the system it is doing it on is saying that it is going to take 50 minutes! is there a quicker way i.e just copying the steam folder to a dvd?

[GrayFox]

Just backup the cashe file in the steam apps directory

NOT the game directory

[^Ben]

the .gcf files from the steamapps folder.

I use used this program before the backup feature from steam was included, http://www.wrgn.net is pretty nifty.

[floppybootstomp]

In an earlier post I said I was stuck. I ain't stuck no more. Some of these problems are quite ingenious.

And some say it's linear, perhaps it is, but it ain't that linear. Going back a level or two to find out how to progress is quite a good idea, if a little frustrating sometimes.

Really quite refreshing, Gotta say most enjoyment I've had from a game for quite some time.

But it's bad, oh, it's really bad. I have got very little done today that I had planned to do. And my eyes are sortta vacant...

[Thrax]

I'm pissed at Valve. Very, very, very pissed.

The retail Half-Life 2 package is essentially akin to the bronze package at the price of the silver Steam package. I don't quite appreciate paying more than I have to to get less than I should because I want a real CD.

[primesuspect]

I just don't get why people are freaking out about the CD. It must be a comfort issue.

YOU CAN BURN THE FILES ONTO A CD, it makes it's own installer and everything.

[Thrax]

No need to use caps. I really do understand that Steam has the option to archive the files, however that's not enough for me.

I want the keycode on a retail sticker stuck to a retail case with retail CDs. I don't want to pay $60 in one place for a retail product, only to receive less than I would if I were to spend the same $60 in another place. That's a ripoff.

It's not a comfort issue; it's a matter of preference. In addition to that, I hate steam. It's buggy (Look at all the problems with activation in this thread), i don't believe in content delivery, I don't want content delivery, I don't want to have to wait hours to download my game, I don't want to give Valve $23 more dollars in profit by buying via steam. It's pure ****ing greed... That fat **** Gabe Newell is laughing all the way to the bank "LOLOLOL those n00bs, let's overcharge them at the brick and mortar, give them less than they paid for! They'll think twice about that, won't they? HAHAHA. Make them buy through steam! It'll take forever, not work properly for a few days, they won't have a real copy of the game, and hey.. If steam ever goes down, they can never get another copy of the game! They're totally ****ed, and we're up $23 in profit per copy! ROFL PWNT.... <font size=1>Where's my donut?</font>"

[Animal]

personally i can do without having another cd just lying around.... got thousands already. Secondly i do think it is better that the developer gets a bigger share of the profits (makes sense doesn't it?). Finally i downloaded the rest of the game fine today and activation went perfectly no problems at all. So stop bitching.

back to the point i have been playing like a bit and i have got to a point in the canel where the bitch ass helicopter just shoots at you non-stop... any pointers as to how to get rid of it or where to go next cause i seem to be stuck in a cul-de-sac.

[^Ben]

There where only activation problems for about 1-2 hour(not acceptable i know)

Speak to vivendi about what comes in your retail box not valve.

And the greed thing is just stupid, valve is a company, companys are in buisness to make as much money as possible, All companys try to maxamise their profit margins(intel,amd,MS and so forth)

Oh, and if steam went down how would you authenticate a retail copy? Have you looked on the discs? They are just the preload files that we got about a month ago.

The reason we get DOD: S(Because you can get HL: S in the collectors edition IIRC) Is because the publishing rights are tied to activision not vivendi.

Animal just look around for doors or little docks that you can park near.

I never realised this(NOT A SPOILER) but the guy who voice acts Barney does the voice for G-Man aswell.

Oh and btw Thrax ;)

http://www.rlearm.com/i/g/hl2/d1_trainstation_010011.jpg

[Thrax]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/Thrax/thebirdman.gif Steam, Valve, and Gabe Newell.

[^Ben]

Lol :D

Gabes a nice guy.

[primesuspect]

thrax:

I understand your concerns, but it still seems like a comfort issue to me.

One thing that really makes me shake me head (this is not directed at you, thrax) is that people bitch and bitch and bitch about games - no matter how good they are. This game is arguably one of the best video games ever made. But look what it took to make that - it took five years, millions upon millions of dollars, and hundreds of people. That's a major undertaking. Now some big shot publisher comes along and just because they have the distribution channel and the industry clout, and the bankroll, they just buy up the rights to distribute the game. They take the lion's share of the profits, leaving valve, the people who agonized over this game for five years of their lives, with a measly $7 per copy sold. Valve says - screw the "label" - we're gonna make our own content distro system.

Now, apply this model to the music industry. When an artist tries to self-publish, nobody bitches. Everyone's like, "yeah! Fight the man! down with the labels!"... What's the difference? Vivendi is just a major record label-type of company. Nobody's saying "Yeah valve! Fight the man! Down with the labels!" - instead they're saying "Valve! you bunch of greedy ****s! We want to pay $20 and get a CD and this and that and oh, this level sucks, and oh the physics aren't as realistic as you hyped them up to be, and oh, and oh the end was lame and the enemies were too easy, and gabe you're fat! omg valve blows my ass! make things better next time!"

Well christ, they can USE that extra $16 per copy to make a better game next time.

[^Ben]

This man speaks da troof!

:clap:

[GnomeWizardd]

ok gravety gun = teh win for valve. BTw can anyone in short tell me the story of halflife 1? never played it

[^Ben]

Gordon freeman causes a resonance cascade that opens up a portal to xen(alien world) and xen's population decides to drop into blackmesa. You go to xen and kill the thing that is the source of the power(aint played it in a whil) after you do that they can take over xen. And the GMAN makes you work for him.

Bang HL2

[Crazy Joe]

Microcenter has it on sale for $39.82 this week so it is cheaper than the bronze package on Steam... BB PM'd it for me...

[Access_Denied]

I just thinking, how long does 3Gb take to download?

Considering a 700Mb ISO takes me about 170 minutes, that's a long time.

And I is stuck. How the hell do you get out of the Route Kanal level? That one where you ride that hydrofoil thingie across the radioactive lake? Bugger.


well im sure your better off them myself.. it just took me 8 days to get a 728MB Divx file..gotta love crappy dialup

[keto]

HAHAHA Who remembers bunny hopping from Quake1?? IT'S STILL THERE IN HL2, or maybe they put it in as an homage/joke. Just like it sounds, hit your space bar repeatedly as you run along (now hopping), you will be going AT LEAST twice as fast, maybe more. AFAIK id software even got rid of it in Q1 with a patch, then brought it back due to popular demand? I may be remembering that wrong, that was like 7 years ago.

Took me quite a while to figger out how to get past the big steel gates in the canal but I did and that's where I've got to now.

[pseudonym]

I agree with thrax. What a f*cking ripoff. Jerks. I wouldn't complain if it was the same price but its not. I get less AND I never ONCE heard I could backup the files on CD or DVD till it came out so don't go throwing that in my face. It wasn't exactly highly publicized. By the time I buy the game and find that out, I'm screwed. Either make it cost the same or don't do it at all *******s.

If I'd known what I know now I'd dl the game. No one told me I'd be getting bent over a table.

[croc_]

I decided to try the "backup game files" thing with steam, so I backed everything up into a 3GB file. Reinstalled windows. Try to restore my files, "please insert disc two containing blah blah .dat" THERE IS NO DISC TWO?!!. Sigh ... so I guess I have to start over, not to mention dl the game again.

[^Ben]

Do you have steam installed while you are doing it croc?

Well when you want to backup the files use the program I showed a couple of peeps a page or so back.

I really like the ending, it leaves more questions open than closed, and it's a cliffhanger.

[TheSmJ]

Ok, I think I'm finished moving out all the mission questions/potential spoilers to the thread here (http://www.short-media.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23679). Anyone who still wants help, I'd recommend making a new thread with the word "SPOILER" in the subject (if you still need help).

I know some of you think I need to call the waaaaaambulance, but I hate getting tidbits of what's to come in a game before I was supposed to know, I'm going to assume I'm not alone.

[^Ben]

Alyx's voice actor.

http://www.merledandridge.com/OpeningBio.jpg

The GMAN and Barneys voice actor(kinda takes away from it :P)

http://www.mikeshapiro.com/images/Headshot.jpg

I'll post the other actors later ;)

[keto]

I just drooled on my wrist.

[^Ben]

Over which actor?

:P

[TheSmJ]

It's kinda hard to tell what she looks like from that pic...

[kanezfan]

take it from me, this is THE best game of all time. as far as steam goes, i love the idea. here's the thing, i decided to install HL1 for nostalgia's sake, so I get on steam, it says click here to register a product you own, it asks for the key code, i put in the key code, and then it downloads it for you, no CD required. i love it. i think it's a great idea, very convenient. why do you need a CD? i don't. and the game will patch itself automagically too i guess won't it? anyhow, while i do admit to currently playing the "demo," i will buy this through steam and not the cd version, i love the convenience.

[^Ben]

http://www.merledandridge.com/OpeningHomepage.jpg

Yah this game deserves your money, if you only buy 1 game this year let it be HL2.

[floppybootstomp]

well im sure your better off them myself.. it just took me 8 days to get a 728MB Divx file..gotta love crappy dialup

I feels for you. I remember d/l XP SP1 on dial up, took me 12 hours or so, I did get it OK though. 8 days? Must've been a good DivX file....

Those voice actors - I'm in love with Alyx and that Shapiro fella was seperated at birth from Donny Osmond.

This HL2 Water level is really quite good. Damn that poxy helicopter though.

I'm OK with Steam. I think so anyway, this morning I had a pop up box from Steam, asking if I would take part in a survey for them. OK. At the end I noticed they'd gathered info on my computer, including my IP address. Not too sure about that.

[pseudonym]

Ok, I'm starting to like steam now. Hey look, heres this old Half-Life CD lying around. Lets register it for fun and what do you know it works and I can grab everything from the HL platinum pack, pretty cool.

[Thrax]

Well, even if I wanted to buy from Steam, I can't. EMU has both their credit card approval servers, and their download servers blocked and/or throttled! Codename: Gordon is 40MB, and is reported to take 400 minutes to download. Awww, guess it looks like I'm going to the store! I hope Valve enjoys their $7 because their content delivery system is blocked by a hojillion campuses across the US.

[Squill]

OMG I HAVE IT! I'm done installing it and registering it, now it's 'unlocking game files' so we'll see how long this takes. It's killing me I wanna play now!

[KingFish]

I bought it this afternoon at EB Games but won't be able to install it until next week due to relatives coming in from Cali. Darn it! :(

[Squill]

All I can say is omg one of the best games I've ever played!

[keto]

I'm in Ravenholm and I want out. :eek:

[Squill]

yeah it's scary as hell in there. I'm glad I'm out but it's not that hard.

[Squill]

okay I just beat it, great game.

[tcith]

All right - I am not the fastest - but finnished - hmm ending a bit open - but then sequel be thy name - and they will have a block buster regardless with one - well isn't that good timeing - I got World of Warcraft today .....

My partner is gonna kill me .................

[bothered]

I refuse to read any posts in this thread. Little bothered has bought me HL2 for Christmas and I'll have to wait for it. It hurts but, I'll just have to be paitient.

[KingFish]

I finally was able to install and play the game for the first time today. I was quite impressed. The graphics are great. I absolutely love the gameplay. It's new half life yet it still is the old half life of sorts. So far I've gotten to the part where the head crab thingies make their debut. How far is that into the game (it seems like I've played quite a few hours so far)?

KingFish

[CB]

Don't worry, you've got a long way to go...

I just beat it, and I absolutely loved it.

I'm playing it again on 'Hard' difficulty...


And, yes, steam sucks, but it's their game, so we have to playit on their terms, if we don't like it, we don't have to buy it. Vote with your dollars. If you buy it anyway, then it was obviously worth it to you... and I got my B&M copy for $40 on sale, so it's not ripping me off.

[GHoosdum]

I bought my copy for free with an ATI 9600XT last year, so I'm not getting ripped off either. This game definitely gave me a huge return for what I paid for it... ;)