Half-Life 2: Episode One

[Unkno]

Originally posted by: Trikat

Originally posted by: Unkno

Originally posted by: HamburgerBoy

Originally posted by: Unkno
i don't know what your doing wrong, but there was never any downtime........there might be a few slow updates but i don't really need to play EVERY single minute, i'm willing to wait...i have never had any serious problems with steam....all the problems that i have encountered are client based, which means it's simply as easy as deleting the .blob file and everything works easily.

It's gotten better, but there used to be many problems with Steam giving an error saying "Sorry, can not connect to Steam. Please try again later." up until just recently.

...i have used steam all the way back in it's beta (with cs 1.6 beta)........even in the beta stages, there has only been one or two instances where it cannot connect to steam and a simple restart of the program works.

Unfortunately I have had steam screw up so many times. For one their friends program worked for such a small amount of time. They locked it up and HAVE NOT fixed it until recently I think.
Also the program is just buggy as hell and would constantly delete favorites or server lists. They HAVE NOT fixed that yet. And from what I see there is not fix soon as they DO NOT care.
There were also several in game bugs that were left alone for long period of times. I guess that doesn't have anything to do with steam, but steam sucked in the first place.

Edit: Another thing I realized. They would sometimes update the game and lag up EVERYBODY who was playing. It was such a bitch. I do not understand why they did that in the first place, but people at steam have no common sense.
Also back in the day steam would constantly go down, because they screwed up on their side. A patch would follow soon later. Sometimes those patches would work, but lag ****** up.

The friends network was shut down a while back.....they have a beta on the newer version which should be coming out soon...

never notice server list deleting favourites....

the only game bug that had really got me pissed off was the image one that caused everything to be shinny...

lagging up while an update is somewhat normal.....the client is updating and so are the servers....

 

[linkgoron]

3 games with 3-4 hours for 20-30$ a pop, of 50$ game with 12-16 hours... Bad move valve... Oh wait...

 

[Icepick]

Valve is really trying to milk as much money out of Half Life as possible (Not that there's anything wrong with that necessarily.) I'm intrigued about the new Half Life expansion, but will wait until there are plenty of user reviews of it out before I purchase it.

I believe that they dropped the "Aftermath" name for this expansion in favor of the Episode 1, 2 naming convention in order to get more out of this release. In my opinion they simply split the Aftermath expansion in half and will sell it in two parts and still charge as much for each episode as the Aftermath package was originally going to go for. This way they can stretch the income from this latest effort. They're probably speculating that due to the enormous popularity of Half Life 2, they can get away with doubling their revenue for the expansion this way.

Still, I'm curious to see how this is received by the hardcore gaming community and am anxiously awaiting their consensus on this expansion.

Here's a blurb on the upcoming Half Life: Episode 2 expansion.

 

[Topweasel]

Originally posted by: linkgoron
3 games with 3-4 hours for 20-30$ a pop, of 50$ game with 12-16 hours... Bad move valve... Oh wait...

Its $18.00 if you pre order, 20 if not and you get 6-8 hours. their hope is to get it to 6-8 months a release but probably 8-12, which menas in 6 yrs they will release 6-8 eppisodes or 36-64 hrs playing. So 2x-4x the amount of play time, and we will be playing it more often.

So a huge benifit to us and increased and continuous revenue for them. I have no problem with that. I have already Pre-ordered Sin, I pre-ordered DOD before it came out, and I plan on doing the same with HL2 EP-1.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Topweasel

Originally posted by: linkgoron
3 games with 3-4 hours for 20-30$ a pop, of 50$ game with 12-16 hours... Bad move valve... Oh wait...

Its $18.00 if you pre order, 20 if not and you get 6-8 hours. their hope is to get it to 6-8 months a release but probably 8-12, which menas in 6 yrs they will release 6-8 eppisodes or 36-64 hrs playing. So 2x-4x the amount of play time, and we will be playing it more often.

So a huge benifit to us and increased and continuous revenue for them. I have no problem with that. I have already Pre-ordered Sin, I pre-ordered DOD before it came out, and I plan on doing the same with HL2 EP-1.

i like to make a contrast.

Oblivion has probably 300 hours of superb gameplay and better gfx than HL2 . . . and i spent $40 the first day it came out [and have been playing it every day since then . . . which is amazing since i hated Fantasy RPGs]

i'll check out Ep1 when it is $10 or less
. . . and has stellar reviews


i can wait to see what happens.

 

[gorcorps]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: Topweasel

Originally posted by: linkgoron
3 games with 3-4 hours for 20-30$ a pop, of 50$ game with 12-16 hours... Bad move valve... Oh wait...

Its $18.00 if you pre order, 20 if not and you get 6-8 hours. their hope is to get it to 6-8 months a release but probably 8-12, which menas in 6 yrs they will release 6-8 eppisodes or 36-64 hrs playing. So 2x-4x the amount of play time, and we will be playing it more often.

So a huge benifit to us and increased and continuous revenue for them. I have no problem with that. I have already Pre-ordered Sin, I pre-ordered DOD before it came out, and I plan on doing the same with HL2 EP-1.

i like to make a contrast.

Oblivion has probably 300 hours of superb gameplay and better gfx than HL2 . . . and i spent $40 the first day it came out [and have been playing it every day since then . . . which is amazing since i hated Fantasy RPGs]

i'll check out Ep1 when it is $10 or less
. . . and has stellar reviews


i can wait to see what happens.

You can't comapre those... different genres AND quite a few years apart. The gfx in Oblivion better beat HL2 since they had 2-3 years to work on it. The point's taken but you can't compare playtime of an RPG and a FPS.

 

[Topweasel]

Originally posted by: gorcorps

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: Topweasel

Originally posted by: linkgoron
3 games with 3-4 hours for 20-30$ a pop, of 50$ game with 12-16 hours... Bad move valve... Oh wait...

Its $18.00 if you pre order, 20 if not and you get 6-8 hours. their hope is to get it to 6-8 months a release but probably 8-12, which menas in 6 yrs they will release 6-8 eppisodes or 36-64 hrs playing. So 2x-4x the amount of play time, and we will be playing it more often.

So a huge benifit to us and increased and continuous revenue for them. I have no problem with that. I have already Pre-ordered Sin, I pre-ordered DOD before it came out, and I plan on doing the same with HL2 EP-1.

i like to make a contrast.

Oblivion has probably 300 hours of superb gameplay and better gfx than HL2 . . . and i spent $40 the first day it came out [and have been playing it every day since then . . . which is amazing since i hated Fantasy RPGs]

i'll check out Ep1 when it is $10 or less
. . . and has stellar reviews


i can wait to see what happens.

You can't comapre those... different genres AND quite a few years apart. The gfx in Oblivion better beat HL2 since they had 2-3 years to work on it. The point's taken but you can't compare playtime of an RPG and a FPS.

QFT

300 hrs on a FPS and I kill myself. less then 50 hrs on RPG I kill the developers.

 

[Fox5]

Originally posted by: VIAN
Here it is people. Aftermath has officially been renamed (E1) Episode One. E1 will be the first in a series of regularly released episodes.

I'm intrigued. But mostly curious about how much they cost and about how much content they deliver.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6144151.html

A series of regularly released episodes? And the first coming out 3 years after the original release date? Don't hold your breath for number 2 coming out anytime soon.
You know, if they actually do split a game into multiple episodes, how will they handle difficulty? Each one is a stand alone product, but usually games get harder as you get farther into it.
They also better just not split up 1 normal game into several, who would pay for the final hours of halflife or halflife2, or most fps's? The ends of games usually suck and seem rushed together.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Topweasel

Originally posted by: gorcorps

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: Topweasel

Originally posted by: linkgoron
3 games with 3-4 hours for 20-30$ a pop, of 50$ game with 12-16 hours... Bad move valve... Oh wait...

Its $18.00 if you pre order, 20 if not and you get 6-8 hours. their hope is to get it to 6-8 months a release but probably 8-12, which menas in 6 yrs they will release 6-8 eppisodes or 36-64 hrs playing. So 2x-4x the amount of play time, and we will be playing it more often.

So a huge benifit to us and increased and continuous revenue for them. I have no problem with that. I have already Pre-ordered Sin, I pre-ordered DOD before it came out, and I plan on doing the same with HL2 EP-1.

i like to make a contrast.

Oblivion has probably 300 hours of superb gameplay and better gfx than HL2 . . . and i spent $40 the first day it came out [and have been playing it every day since then . . . which is amazing since i hated Fantasy RPGs]

i'll check out Ep1 when it is $10 or less
. . . and has stellar reviews


i can wait to see what happens.

You can't comapre those... different genres AND quite a few years apart. The gfx in Oblivion better beat HL2 since they had 2-3 years to work on it. The point's taken but you can't compare playtime of an RPG and a FPS.

QFT

300 hrs on a FPS and I kill myself. less then 50 hrs on RPG I kill the developers.

what you fail to realize is that Oblivion plays exactly like a FPS . . . it is a Hybred RPG/FPS . . . just like Deus Ex was a Hybred FPS/RPG

i HATE Fantasy RPGs
[except Oblivion]


. . . and i have just *broken* Oblivion . . . a legal way to make your character SO powerful it is just like a Walkthru . . . now there is ZERO resistance from the Biggest Baddest most Powerful and Multiple Enemies. . . . {fortunately it took 200 hours to get there and also fortunately, the story is interesting enough, so it is like a SuperHero Movie and i want to see it all}
:thumbsup:

 

[Madwand1]

I'm willing to give it a shot -- the HL series has built up a ton of good will by having produced some great gaming. But if it turns out to be a cheap money mill / teaser-type addiction builting cash grab again, then I'll drop it. I just don't need any more crap like that. If it's good, and satisfying, I'll continue buying. If I feel like I'm being milked, I won't.

 

[mb]

Originally posted by: crownjules

Originally posted by: Atheus

Originally posted by: biostud
If they just build in some kind of torrent like distribution of games in steam there would be no problems with the speed.

But then anyone could request (segments of) files from peers, circumventing security. You could have every peer authenticate other peers before sending the file, but that would require a user database on all peers, which would also destroy the security model.

You're telling me they couldn't create a system where you centrally authenticate/verify and then it allows your client to go out and find the file segments from other authenticated users?

Why would anyone want to waste their bandwidth to let others download the game files from them? I'd rather just download all my stuff from Steam and have nothing uploaded from my computer than be downloading and uploading to and from a bunch of random people. Maybe for people with super fast connections.. but certainly not on a 3mb/768kbps connection.

 

[Injury]

Originally posted by: supafly

Originally posted by: crownjules

Originally posted by: Atheus

Originally posted by: biostud
If they just build in some kind of torrent like distribution of games in steam there would be no problems with the speed.

But then anyone could request (segments of) files from peers, circumventing security. You could have every peer authenticate other peers before sending the file, but that would require a user database on all peers, which would also destroy the security model.

You're telling me they couldn't create a system where you centrally authenticate/verify and then it allows your client to go out and find the file segments from other authenticated users?

Why would anyone want to waste their bandwidth to let others download the game files from them? I'd rather just download all my stuff from Steam and have nothing uploaded from my computer than be downloading and uploading to and from a bunch of random people. Maybe for people with super fast connections.. but certainly not on a 3mb/768kbps connection.

I agree, the first thing I do when I go to play games is turn off my BT client, AIM and anything else that I have running. There is no need to use a torrent-like system for a weekly update that is usually no more than a couple MB. If you have broadband it takes a minute or less to get an update.

There are only two gripes I have about steam.

1 - The friends system is a piece of garbage and has been problematic for the 2 or 3 years that Steam has been out. It was entirely non-working for about 4 or 5 straight months and continues to be a pain. They basically need to make a dumbed down IM (more of ICQ than AIM) system out of it and it will succeed.

2 - They push advertisements on you constantly. Every time I turn on Steam I get some ad to download this or that... click for details!... oh, this game looks pretty cool... click deeper... $30! What a crap shoot. Additionally, I can't easily control what icons are in the "My Games" panel, and games they want me to buy are in it that I'm never going to buy... another cheezy form of advertisement.

Aside from that, I think the entire concept of Steam is great. Since it really is the first software of its kind (that I can recall, at least) It's no surprise that it has flaws.

 

[Noema]

I like Steam, for the most part. I am a firm believer in digital distribution, and things like Direct2drive and Steam are steps in the right direction, in my opinion.

Another advantage (for me, at least) to be found in Steam or D2D is that it allows those of us who don't live in the US or Canada to get PC games that would be almost impossible to aquire otherwise(legally - there's always the torrents but I am strongly opposed to piracy). Thanks to D2D I was able to get Oblivion on the day it was released.

I just finished HL2 (I know, I'm a bit late to the party but I waited until I had a decent video card before playing it) and I loved it. I can't wait for EP1, specially now that I found out that it will have HDR; the one thing I didn't like about HL2 was the crappy lighting and Lost Coast looks fantastic, so we can expect similar things from the upcoming episodes.

 

[zagood]

Wow...trailer 2 is out now, don't know how I missed that.
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/halflife2aftermath/media.html?mode=trailers

My problem is, for some reason Steam can't take my credit card, something about address verification. I'm going to have to buy it instore the DAY AFTER everyone else DLs from Steam.

Damn kids and their online distribution networks...back in my day to pass along information, we wrote messages on rocks and threw them at each other.

-z

 

[erikistired]

can't wait for this. i already ordered and preloaded the first sin episode. i have a short attention span, so these small doses are perfect. plus i still have time to play the other 20 games i'm trying to finish up.

 

[ArchAngel777]

Originally posted by: BFG10K

lol, each episode would have to be about $3 for me to even consider it. Steam needs to die.

I don't think I would use Steam even if they paid me to use it.

I would, depending on how much they paid me. If it was enough to purchase another rig, then I would build it and keep in running on the task tray and just use my other PC Actually, they would have to pay my power bill too and give me a few of those fancy chocolates in a box.

 

[ArchAngel777]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: Topweasel

Originally posted by: linkgoron
3 games with 3-4 hours for 20-30$ a pop, of 50$ game with 12-16 hours... Bad move valve... Oh wait...

Its $18.00 if you pre order, 20 if not and you get 6-8 hours. their hope is to get it to 6-8 months a release but probably 8-12, which menas in 6 yrs they will release 6-8 eppisodes or 36-64 hrs playing. So 2x-4x the amount of play time, and we will be playing it more often.

So a huge benifit to us and increased and continuous revenue for them. I have no problem with that. I have already Pre-ordered Sin, I pre-ordered DOD before it came out, and I plan on doing the same with HL2 EP-1.

i like to make a contrast.

Oblivion has probably 300 hours of superb gameplay and better gfx than HL2 . . . and i spent $40 the first day it came out [and have been playing it every day since then . . . which is amazing since i hated Fantasy RPGs]

i'll check out Ep1 when it is $10 or less
. . . and has stellar reviews


i can wait to see what happens.

Well, Oblivion came out almost two years after Half Life 2. So you cannot really compare the graphics between the two. Also, the frame rate in HL2, resolution for resolution is about 4 - 6+ times faster. As for the play time, can't argue there.

This isn't to say I like HL2... I don't. But, still, lets not completely rip it a new hole.

 

[LanceM]

I'm not so sure I could take a 300-hour action FPS...

Some games are better off being short, and I'll gladly pay the same price.

 

[warcrow]

Pre-loading HL2:E1 as we speak.

 

[Noema]

Originally posted by: warcrow
Pre-loading HL2:E1 as we speak.

Same here :thumbsup:

Can't wait to play an actual HL2 game (as opposed to loast coast which lasts less than 5 minutes) with full blown HDR

Nonetheless, If there are any vehicle sequences as annoying as Highway 17 I'll uninstall the games on the spot (well, probably not, but there better not be any!!)

 

[rwmega]

I'm going home tonite to start pre-loading HL2: Episode 1. Can't wait to play it June 1st!
I started pre-loading Sin: Emergence and have been playing the original version of SIN but it's pretty weak compared to the original Half Life. Storyline is fairly lame and the neverending guitar solos in the background are real annoying. Hopefully the new Sin will be better.

Lost Coast was a DEMO for HDR it wasn't intended to be an expansion.

 

[Ryland]

I will start the preload of HL2 Ep1 when I get home.

 

[erikistired]

my preload is done (so far)! unlike GR:AW i'll be playing this the day it's released instead of whenever stores get around to putting it on the shelf. valve and now EA (wow did i say that?) have it right, online delivery is certainly the way to go.

 

[Noema]

Originally posted by: rwmega

Lost Coast was a DEMO for HDR it wasn't intended to be an expansion.

I know, and I wasn't complaining. However, I would like to play with HDR in HL2 beyond a 5 minute tech demo, hence my comment

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: ArchAngel777

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: Topweasel

Originally posted by: linkgoron
3 games with 3-4 hours for 20-30$ a pop, of 50$ game with 12-16 hours... Bad move valve... Oh wait...

Its $18.00 if you pre order, 20 if not and you get 6-8 hours. their hope is to get it to 6-8 months a release but probably 8-12, which menas in 6 yrs they will release 6-8 eppisodes or 36-64 hrs playing. So 2x-4x the amount of play time, and we will be playing it more often.

So a huge benifit to us and increased and continuous revenue for them. I have no problem with that. I have already Pre-ordered Sin, I pre-ordered DOD before it came out, and I plan on doing the same with HL2 EP-1.

i like to make a contrast.

Oblivion has probably 300 hours of superb gameplay and better gfx than HL2 . . . and i spent $40 the first day it came out [and have been playing it every day since then . . . which is amazing since i hated Fantasy RPGs]

i'll check out Ep1 when it is $10 or less
. . . and has stellar reviews


i can wait to see what happens.

Well, Oblivion came out almost two years after Half Life 2. So you cannot really compare the graphics between the two. Also, the frame rate in HL2, resolution for resolution is about 4 - 6+ times faster. As for the play time, can't argue there.

This isn't to say I like HL2... I don't. But, still, lets not completely rip it a new hole.

actually i DO [did] like HL2 . . . and gfx is not the deciding factor in a game - for me.

i was just giving a comparison

and Oblivion is a hybred RPG/FPS . . . DE does get compared to HL.

and as to "add ons" . . . Oblivion is a 'rip' . . . i tried two of the "$1.89 Quests" . . . Orrey takes about an hour - maybe 2 - and Wizard's Tower just gives you a new home and the convenience of a couple of enchanting Altars and teleports to the Mages guilds.

i won't be doing any more paid add ons for Oblivion - except for their expansion packs . . .


-------------------

Originally posted by: LanceM
I'm not so sure I could take a 300-hour action FPS...

Some games are better off being short, and I'll gladly pay the same price.

i have 265 hours into Oblivion and it is still "quality" gameplay and writing [sure some of the Quests are a bit lame . . . but generally the quality is consistently excellent] . . .

and it's looking like more than 400 hours
:Q



Level 19 and i am STILL waiting for it to get hard . . . [moving the difficulty slider all the way to 'hard' just gives you less hit points . . . "Chameleon Gear" is the way to go - ~90% coupled with Sneak and Strong Blade makes you darn near invinvible.

and i just made "arch-mage" last night :Q


. . . so it'll be "awhile" before i get to Ep1.