Half-Life 2

[beatrix]

so..i finally activated my key with my steam account....
it's a very good game.....
specs:
2.4 p4
512 mb
msi geforce fx 5700 (Normal)
and it still runs perfect.....
i gotta admit....some of the parts are freking creepy.....i get goosebumps when head crabs and zombies just pop out of no where......i'm halfway there, right at Ravenholm ,(the scariest part of the game :eek2: )...
so....what do you guys think about the game....??

[jazz]

i think they overdid it a little with the puzzles, as i'd like to just go in and shoot everything, but overall i'd say it's the best game last year.

[beatrix]

yeah...the puzzles are annoying....

[jazz]

and the whole steam account thing creeps me out.

[beatrix]

yeah.....really sucks....vavle seems so booty-tight....i gotta admit...great security measure...but it's so buggy and is a bitch to deal with..

[EvAn]

and the whole steam account thing creeps me out.
Same here man.....here's one for you

I was impressed when I tried it at my buddies house so I decided to download the 750mb demo they released. 45 minutes later, my 750 mb download turned into a THREE GIG download of HL2 and Steam in it's full form......oh and the demo didn't even work on my pc :up:

[The Judas Cow]

Just deactivate steam, you can run it in offline mode.

HL2 pwns

and quit your bitching about the puzzles, that's what makes it unique

[Bruce]

Don't Expect Half-Life 3
Turns out, the Half-Life 2 Episodes are part three.

http://pc.ign.com/articles/711/711560p1.html

June 6, 2006 - In a recent interview with Eurogamer, Valve revealed that the just-released Half-Life 2: Episode 1 and the forthcoming Episodes 2 and 3 will serve as the third game in the series. Rather than make gamers wait another six-plus years for Half-Life 3, the developer thought people might appreciate playing the game in smaller chunks if they didn't have to wait as long.

"The original Half-Life took us two years to develop," said Gabe Newell, managing director, Valve. "With a considerably larger team Half-Life 2 took us six years to develop, so we thought if we were going to continue our trend with Half-Life 3 we would basically ship after we had all retired. We're trying to come up with a better way of getting more timely updates to our customers and also come up with something that didn't have the complexities. Projects increased logarithmically with how much we tried to do, so if you tried to put twice as much content or technology into a box it ends up taking you four times the amount of work, right, and so we're trying to figure out a better solution."

As for why the name of the episodes were changed from their original codename Aftermath: "I think that Aftermath was almost a temporary name. I always thought of it as Episodes One through Three because that's how we planned the products out. I think people thought we'd need a name for them, and Aftermath ended up being more confusing than helpful. Probably a better name for it would have been Half Life 3: Episode One, but these three are what we're doing as our way of taking the next step forward..."

Throughout the interview, Newell refers to the episodes as Half-Life 3, and points out that they aren't considered expansions. Whereas Half-Life was about the G-man grooming Gordon Freeman to be a hero, and 2 was about how the G-man uses his creation, the episodes (Half-Life 3) focus more on the G-man and how he reacts when he loses control of Freeman.

Though Episodes 1-3 take place after the events of Half-Life 2, Newell doesn't rule out the possibility of returning to the Half-Life 2 timeline, though.

Finally, Newell also warned fans not to expect a Half-Life movie anytime soon, as he had some unkind words to say about the script treatments Hollywood has offered: "They all sucked!"

[Bruce]

http://pc.ign.com/articles/718/718697p1.html

"Half-Life 2: Episode Two Update
Valve gives us a quick but awesome new glimpse at its upcoming Half-Life 2 extension.
by Chris Roper

July 13, 2006 - At an EA press event held today, Valve's Gabe Newell presented us with a couple new tidbits and a short new teaser for Half-Life 2: Episode Two. The teaser itself is essentially a shortened version of the trailer you see after finishing Episode One, though three scenes stuck out as being new.

At the start, a large steel bridge slowly buckled under its own weight, breaking away from its supports and its edge at the side of a cliff. Snapping off a bit, the bridge tilts down a little more towards the drop below as a few girders fly off into the distance. Panning down, Alex is seen hanging from part of the wreckage, just as we'd already seen in the original trailer.

This looked a fair bit more complex than what you'd normally find in a scripted cutscene, primarily because it employs Valve's new "cinematic physics" technology. Blending keyed animation with Source's Havok physics model, the new technology will allow Valve the ability to create cutscenes that are much more complex than previously possible simply because of the use of physics objects. This was the only example shown for cinematic physics during the event, so we'll have to see just what else is possible at some point in the future.

The second new scene in the demo showed a Strider attack a tiny village (or just a shack, really) with a slew of freedom fighters returning the attack via assault rifles. One blast from the Strider destroys the shack, just before a tripod shows up to help with the attack.

The final new scene we noticed showed a Vortigaunt fighting a series of the new tripods in a cave. Surrounded by nearly a dozen of the tri-pedal creatures, the Vortigaunt uses some sort of area attack to knock them all away.

On top of Source's new cinematic physics feature, the engine has also been updated with soft particles and a few other minor tweaks. Gabe Newell did mention that Episode Two will feature not only new environments (one of which being giant outdoor spaces) and creatures (ala the tripods), but new weapons as well.

Of course, this was only the start of the presentation as Gabe Newel went on to announce Team Fortress 2 and Valve's new experimental title, Portal. Read those stories if you haven't, because both are at least as impressive as the Episode Two teaser."

[james]

and the whole steam account thing creeps me out.

I think it's a great idea.

[Bruce]

It's not too bad. I just hate the slow-ass fluctuations in down speed.

Finish Ep. 1 yet?

[B]

TF pwns all.

[james]

It's not too bad. I just hate the slow-ass fluctuations in down speed.

Finish Ep. 1 yet?

Almost. Near the end of Exit17, I think...I got hooked on Prey multiplayer. That game has pretty good performance. Plays much nicer than Quake 4 on my machine.

[jazz]

I think it's a great idea.
you think gay sex is a great idea.

[Bruce]

you think gay sex is a great idea.


Not that there's anything wrong with that. :whistle:

[B]

:gay:

[Person]

I really, really hate steam. I can't play online on the same server with someone else at the same time playing my legal copy of HL2 on one of my computers, which has the same IP ... fuck off, thanks.

[Chuck S]

Half-Life 2: Portal
Valve's innovative surprise game could just be the shizzle we've been waiting for.
by Douglass C. Perry
July 14, 2006 - What better way to open up your company gamers' day then to have acclaimed designer Gabe Newell casually walk on stage and in ho-hum fashion demonstrate the coolest thing since the invention of the word "shizzle?" Can't really think of one myself.



But that's what happened. Representing Valve, the creators of Half-Life, Team Fortress and Counter Strike and the most radically independent software developer in the business, Newell walked up on stage at Electronic Arts -- the biggest and most ominous game publishing company in the world -- and explained Valve's dedication to episodic content, to be published by EA. Then he showed us a killer list of games and innovative ideas. The preposterousness couldn't have been more shocking. The irony couldn't have been thicker. The shiz-nittiness of it couldn't have been more shizznitty.

But seriously, shizzle aside, the Portal demo blew our minds. In the demonstration, Newell walked us through the concept. I'll back up a step. If you've played or heard of Humanhead's Prey, then you know the game offers organic portals throughout a giant sentient alien ship. The portals are dimensional doors into different areas in the ship, and they're graphically and conceptually well implemented and work seamlessly. They're also stationery. In Portal, a seemingly independent game that ships with the PC version of Half-Life Episode 2, and the bundle of Half-Life 2, Episode 1, 2, and Team Fortress 2 on Xbox 360 and PS3, players use a tool that creates portals on the fly. Yes -- a gun that creates instant openings through walls that transport you in the bat of an eye to another place.

Seems simple enough, but how is Valve applying the design into actual gameplay? I'll use Valve's examples. Say you're in a room and you can't jump over the giant 10 foot chasm in front of you, but you need to get to the other side. Easy! Whip out the portal gun, aim it at a spot on the floor on the other side of the chasm, and then create a portal on your side of the chasm. Then walk through it. It's like an Easy Bake Oven recipe. For-snizzle.

Now that you have the idea, apply the concept to multiple floor puzzles. How do you get from floor one to floor four? Let me introduce you to my little friend, the portal tool! Now introduce objects, such a boxes or keys, that can be ported to open more complicated doors, and you've got something else to talk about. Lastly, and just for the fun of it, create endless loops of portals for mind-bending fun. The examples we witnessed were of a soldier falling infinitely through a continuous loop of portals in floors and ceilings. And people chasing each other in circles through portals in walls. It's all really wild shizzle, we must say.

Again, and this is the last time I'll use the faux word "shizzle" in this article, what we saw was a mere demonstration. The demo used in-game footage mixed with slide show images to cleverly make Valve's point. What remained unclear was whether Portal was a standalone game or not, or whether Portal was strictly for single-player gaming or whether there were multiplayer opportunities. When we spoke with EA, the reps were unable to answer if the gameplay was part of Episode 2's single-player game or if Portal was a fully independent entity. Newell's presentation indicated it was a standalone single-player game on its own. When phoned, no Valve representative was able to return our calls prior to deadline.

We'll have more on Portal as soon as humanly possible.

[Chuck S]

Here's the link:


http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/718/718908p1.html

[Person]

you really could have edited your post. I know that Doug Perry guy is the Xbox editor at IGN, so the link wasn't needed anyway :P

[james]

The Team Fortress 2 shot looks awesome. Can't wait for that.

[Chuck S]

you really could have edited your post. I know that Doug Perry guy is the Xbox editor at IGN, so the link wasn't needed anyway :P


:doh2:

[Bruce]

Half-Life 2 Orange and Black Box Contents
What's inside the box?
by Hilary Goldstein

http://pc.ign.com/articles/755/755915p1.html


January 16, 2007 - Since being revealed last year, fans have been eager to get a hold of Valve's Half-Life 2: Episode Two, which includes the games Portal and Team Fortress 2. When gamers race to the store in late summer for Episode Two, they'll be faced with two choices. Both Black Box and Orange Box editions will be made available, each with slightly different content.

The Black Box is only available on PC and includes Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Portal and Team Fortress 2. It retails for $39.99.

The Orange Box is available for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 and includes Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episodes One and Two, Portal and Team Fortress. It retails for a modest $59.99.

In other words, The Black Box edition is for PC gamers who already have Half-Life 2 and it's first Episode. The Orange Box is meant for everyone else, so that they can experience the full breadth of the Half-Life 2 saga.

Yeah. I think I'll be sticking with PC. :nod:

[KenKill75]

I'll pass gas.

[Keith Moon]

- Finally, I can make doors.

[Bruce]

:five:

[Keith Moon]

- Do we have a date on when they'll hit the shelves?

[Bruce]

You, you wanna make doors...together?


:faint:

[Keith Moon]

- Why of course. I can't make 'em by myself. :nanner34:

[Bruce]

Wow. I'm tingling in places I've never tingled before.

:hug2:

[Keith Moon]

- Pics plz, when you get time... 'kay? :hailo:

[Bruce]

Half-Life 2 Bundle Delayed Again
EA quietly pushes Valve's big bundle into the fall.
by Douglass C. Perry

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/762/762648p1.html

February 7, 2007 - Electronic Arts issued a press release today, one designed to officially name the Half-Life 2 bundle for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360, and one with a new upsetting fact seamlessly woven into the text. Yes, there is the Half-Life 2 Orange Box and the Half-Life 2 Black Box, but there is also a delay. Yes, Half Life 2 Orange and Half-Life 2 Black are delayed until fall 2007.

In case you weren't aware what was inside the boxes, the Black Box is only available on PC and includes Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Portal and Team Fortress 2. It retails for $39.99. The Orange Box is available for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 and includes Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episodes One and Two, Portal and Team Fortress. It retails for a modest $59.99.

"In less than 18 months, we've shipped 10 new products to retail outlets with EA Partners," said Gabe Newell, co-founder of Valve. "The Black Box and The Orange Box represent a new approach to publishing multiple products, on multiple platforms and we know through our experience that no organization in the industry is better equipped to successfully launch new product types on multiple platforms than EA Partners."

"Valve is one of the world's premiere independent developers and EA Partners is thrilled to help them bring the groundbreaking action games in The Orange Box and The Black Box to market as their publishing partner," said David DeMartini, vice president and general manager of EA Partners.

EA did not provide answers why the bundle was delayed. We'll have more shortly.

:shame:

[B]

lame

portal looks feckin cool tho

[Keith Moon]

EA did not provide answers why the bundle was delayed.




- Isn't it obvious? They need the extra time to make it all stupid and stuff.

[Keith Moon]

Valve: Our content will be free

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3159747

-

[Bruce]

"The 1UP Network is currently unavailable due to a scheduled upgrade.

This has nothing to do with the fact that we're playing the Halo 3 beta. Honest. "

[Keith Moon]

- Check back latur.

[Keith Moon]

Valve Keeping Downloadable Content Free
'You buy the product, you get the content.'
By Patrick Klepek, 05/22/2007

Whether it's charging for video strategy guides or a new weapon, Xbox Live has opened a completely new revenue stream for companies willing to produce additional content for games already released. PC companies such as Valve and Epic Games did the same thing on the PC years earlier, but often charged nothing for the added content. That hasn't been the approach in the console space, however, but Valve says they won't conform.

Speaking to Eurogamer, Team Fortress 2 Designer Robin Walker laid down a mandate for their approach to downloadable content. "You buy the product, you get the content," he said. "We make more money because more people buy it, not because we try and nickel-and-dime the same customers."

Consequently, additional maps, weapons, character classes or what ever else Valve and co. decide to produce for Team Fortress 2, Half-Life 2 or Portal will be free, no matter if you're playing on the PC, Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. According to Valve, introducing new, free content has repaid them with additional sales of the original product.

Epic Games has followed a similar philosophy for their Unreal Tournament series. Unreal Tournament 3's scheduled for a release on the same platforms later this year and given Epic Games' once public intention to release Gears of War content free, we'll be keeping a close eye on how the rest of the competition reacts to this new variable.





-

[Bruce]

Who else is getting the Orange Box besides me? No one. Say you're all too busy with Halo 3? Perhaps I should find a community more like-minded.

:truck:

[Keith Moon]

- More like Fruit Box.

[Bruce]

Whatever. :pout:

[Keith Moon]

- I'll probably get it down the long and winding road.

[Bruce]

Yeah. That and syphilis. :phi:

[Keith Moon]

- But on this game, I won't mind if you ROON it.

[Bruce]

Nope. I aint saying shit.

You just wait until Assassin's Creed come out. I'm gonna spill the beans on everything. :nod:

http://www.encircling.us/photoplog/file_1435.jpg

[Keith Moon]

- :rawr:

[jazz]

oh yeah, and

http://www.encircling.us/photoplog/file_2366.jpg

[greg]

i just found out yesterday that my boss' brother is on the development team for valve. :nanner9:

free copy plz? :innocent:

[Bruce]

:huh:

[dionysusolympus]

The Fruit Box is here!!! :woo:

[Bruce]

Hopefully I'll grab it after work. :nanner24:

[dionysusolympus]

cool. i'll pick it up this weekend. after i'm done with sp stuff, we can team up in team fortress sometime and kick some ass.

[Bruce]

Well, starting Friday through next week, I has no Live. :hrmph:

I'm watching my parents place. They live in the country on 24k dial-up. :faint:

[dionysusolympus]

Well, starting Friday through next week, I has no Live. :hrmph:

I'm watching my parents place. They live in the country on 24k dial-up. :faint:

it's okay. we can use darkensl... :what:

[MAGO]

:diowned:

[Bruce]

it's okay. we can use darkensl... :what:

In that case, yous guys might want to take a nap. I could be a while.

[Keith Moon]

- How much is the 360 version? If it's $60, I might consider it. What all comes in the box again? Will the HL games even have a graphical face lift or will they just be of PC quality graphics of yesteryear?

[dionysusolympus]

it will have Commodore 64 graphics. :dio2:

[Keith Moon]

- This is good newz.

[Bruce]

HL:2
HL:2 Episode 1
HL:2 Episode2
Portal
Team Fortress 2

[Keith Moon]

- I was hoping for a remake of HL1.

[Bruce]

I never finished that game. And never played anything other than a demo years and years ago before Buy HL2.

[dionysusolympus]

I never finished that game. And never played anything other than a demo years and years ago before Buy HL2.

the ending of hl1 was kind of gay ftw. :what:

[Keith Moon]

- Why no finish?

[Keith Moon]

- IGN: 9.5 (http://pc.ign.com/articles/825/825992p1.html)

9.5 Presentation
A well put together collection on all accounts. Each of the new games even has achievements for PC players so you can get as obsessive as the 360 guys.

9.0 Graphics
Valve and source still have it. The overall visual appeal is quite strong with Ep 2 and the brilliant Team Fortress 2. Portal, HL2 and Ep 1 aren't quite as good but certainly not bad at all.

9.5 Sound
Sound across all categories and games is really excellent. Music, voice work, sound effects... Orange Box has it all.

9.5 Gameplay
With so many amazing games to choose from, how can you go wrong? Even the "worst" of the bunch is impressive.

9.5 Lasting Appeal
Around 30 hours of single player gaming (if you include HL2 and Ep 1, which we are) and countless hours in the highly addictive Team Fortress 2. See you in a year.

[dionysusolympus]

awesome, but will they cross-platform (with pc mods)?

[Keith Moon]

- Prly not.

[dionysusolympus]

that'd be cool though. but it is a good deal for those who don't have a PC and didn't follow through every expansion, etc. on Steam, etc.

[jazz]

i already have three games that i want on queue. :shame:

[MAGO]

this game has been canceled.....

[dionysusolympus]

they should cancel the jets game because the jets suck so badly.

[MAGO]

i :wii: lly hope they beat your eaglols... :pray:

[dionysusolympus]

reno mahe >>> the jets.

and at least we can watch a somewhat decent game on Saturday -- LSU vs. Kentucky.

[MAGO]

yeah, that's going to be a very good game :five:

[Keith Moon]

- When will the Jets and Eagles play against each other this season?

[MAGO]

Sunday :gaynoes:

[Keith Moon]

- This Sunday?!!1 Srs?

[MAGO]

fo weazy, nilleazy....

[jazz]

reno mahe >>> the jets.

and at least we can watch a somewhat decent game on Saturday -- LSU vs. Kentucky.
i understand getting all excited over watching an lsu game, but kentucky? :yawn:

the only decent game i see for this weekend is ga. tech vs. miami.

[dionysusolympus]

i understand getting all excited over watching an lsu game, but kentucky? :yawn:

the only decent game i see for this weekend is ga. tech vs. miami.

tashard choice is still injured, isn't he?

[MAGO]

not by choice, get it?... :rimshot:

[jazz]

i think he's gonna play :shrug: the preview i read mentioned him as one of the weapons to watch out for.

[dionysusolympus]

i think he's gonna play :shrug: the preview i read mentioned him as one of the weapons to watch out for.

it looks he's playing, but he's slowly getting better and better. he's still not the multi-TD king that Darren McFadden is though.

[greg]

just bought teh o.b. !!!1 :nanner24:

[Keith Moon]

- Primarily for Team Fortress, since the rest is FPS, yes?

[Bruce]

:hrmph:

I stopped at K-Mart last night. They did not has. I'm probably gonna try elsewhere tonight.

[Keith Moon]

- Wait, is TF a FPS?

[greg]

- Primarily for Team Fortress, since the rest is FPS, yes?

nah, i figured i'd give everything a shot. i think portal kind of lured me in, though.

[greg]

:hrmph:

I stopped at K-Mart last night. They did not has. I'm probably gonna try elsewhere tonight.
my local bb only had 4 and they were in the back

- Wait, is TF a FPS?

yes

[Keith Moon]

- S'veet. :up:

[dionysusolympus]

picking this up Saturday...http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa274/no0od13s/HalfLife2betaHydra.gif.

[Bruce]

They took that creature out. :hrmph: It was called the hydra. :lol:

[Bruce]

g8LBATzX4lE

[DJSteel]

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e308/DJHads/halflife.gif

[Bruce]

Jesus on a pogo-stick. Finally got it at my third stop. I was trying not to go out of my way.

[dionysusolympus]

Jesus on a pogo-stick. Finally got it at my third stop. I was trying not to go out of my way.

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e308/DJHads/halflife.gif

*

[Keith Moon]

- dio posting in the late hours?!!1 Somebody take a picture, plz.

[Bruce]

http://byrchewroot.com/images/moustache.gif

[Bruce]

Portal is interesting so far. It would be a good problem solving game for kids. I didn't get to play it much though.

[greg]

they get harder :lookup:

[Bruce]

Sometimes. I've found a couple to be easier than the previous. :shrug:

I'm only on like 9 or 10 though.

[greg]

well, yeah. some you get right away, while others take a few tries. i really enjoyed it, though.

here's a flash version:

http://portal.wecreatestuff.com/

[Bruce]

I haven't played very much at all but, I'm really not liking it so far. At least I'm not caring for one particular "enemy." :shame:

[Bruce]

I'm still finding it difficult to get into Episode 2. So far it's all the same. There's really been nothing new. :yawn:

[Keith Moon]

- Noah.

[Bruce]

Finally finished Episode II. Seemed like a waste. Didn't really push the pseudo-story any further. :shrug: The final battle was a real bitch too.

[Keith Moon]

- Half-Life is old news jews.

[Bruce]

At this point, I do feel the franchise has kinda run it's course. Episode II was rather pointless.

[greg]

i'm still in ravenholm :hrmph:

[dionysusolympus]

i'm still in ravenholm :hrmph:

you should stay there and gay up some crabheads. :what:

[greg]

omg that's exactly what i'm doing :what2:

[dionysusolympus]

:nanner24:

[Bruce]

i'm still in ravenholm :hrmph:

I started with EP II having all ready played the previous editions.

[Bruce]

seDRMDB_LsE

[Keith Moon]

http://www.rachellucas.com/sunny-yawn.jpg

[dionysusolympus]

I started with EP II having all ready played the previous editions.

I finished Episode 1. The ending was mehlicious.

Episode 2 is another story. Holy crap, it's like every chapter has a boss fight. I just survived the 6 Hunter ambush...and currently fighting the choppa (with its own bombs.)

[Bruce]

That part is kind of annoying. Actually, the whole episode is. Wait until the end. :byrche: And that comes rather abrupt. This episode seemed real short.

[dionysusolympus]

That part is kind of annoying. Actually, the whole episode is. Wait until the end. :byrche: And that comes rather abrupt. This episode seemed real short.

at least that part is whole lot less annoying than the Sandtraps level from HL2 and definitely less frustrating than the Nova Prospekt prison standoff.

[Bruce]

at least that part is whole lot less annoying than the Sandtraps level from HL2 and definitely less frustrating than the Nova Prospekt prison standoff.



You talking about having to move those skids across to avoid the ant lions? Yeah. That was kinda dumb. I liked Nova Prospekt though. :shrug:

[Keith Moon]

- :wsauce:

[dionysusolympus]

- :hotsauce:

[Bruce]

:sleep:

[Keith Moon]

- :hotsauce:

- tt.

[Bruce]

http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/qthering/VideoGames/Portal/portal_copy.jpg

[Keith Moon]

- Stop it.

[Bruce]

What's all the hub, bub? :shrug:

[Bruce]

1p0Yap5iG6o

[Keith Moon]

Pretty cool, but still and always no.

[Bruce]

UNO!

[Keith Moon]

:clap2:

[Bruce]

http://thumbnails7.imagebam.com/662/afa6ea6610585.gif (http://www.imagebam.com/image/afa6ea6610585)

[dionysusolympus]

Raf has a gay lawn with gay garden gnomes.

[B]

TF2 for the win.

PC version shits all over the Xcox360 version.

[dionysusolympus]

still see previous spoiler. kthx.

[B]

check this spoiler::annoyed2: