Half-life 2 is out (and CS:Source)

[benu 1]

Or ones that will switch to warez because they cant play the legal versions.

Actually, i know a few guys who did just that. You know, you wait for a game and even BUY it and can't play it on your comp, because it doesn't work due to the copy protection overreacting. So you have to get a crack to use your ALREADY BOUGHT game. Then a new patch comes out. You need a new crack. Hassle. And you always have to put the cd in (which you never have to do if you use warez). After a few games people just get the warez version, cause that runs without hassles, ie it is BETTER than the crippled original product. This is really sad.

I can rent a game for 1€ a day, and if it is good i will buy it. But sadly too many games these days do not work due to overzealous copy protections. This testing in advance has saved me from more than one not working game... On the other hand it allows me to try out games i would not buy otherwise and has led me to buying games i otherwise would not have bought.

I for one will not buy a game that tries to force me to deinstall other software from my computer (Alcohol, CloneCD, Demon Tools, Nero, etc, pp). You know, i didn't buy that software to deinstall it. One game told me to deinstall the "debugger", whatever that meant (maybe MS VS?)...

Even "better" are games that want to install fucked up hidden system drivers on my pc. Star Force anyone? As if ASPI wasn't fucked up enough already in windows...

Actually, any game that requires administrator privileges is broken imho. There are enough games that can be installed by a restricted user with write access to the games folder.

[redface 1]

hear this: I have a very personal, physical problem with FPS that are mainly situated in interior spaces. I get dizzy and nauseous very fast.

this is why I simply couldn't play HL1. it literally made me vomit.

in fact OFP is one of the very few FPS that I can play without getting sick. It is the only game that makes me feel I'm really walking in a specific space, not just floating around. I retried CoD the other day: I don't have legs in that game, the floating feeling makes me sick.

has HL2 improved in this respect? or are outside environments still like corridors without a roof?

[Placebo 28]

Actually, i know a few guys who did just that. You know, you wait for a game and even BUY it and can't play it on your comp, because it doesn't work due to the copy protection overreacting. So you have to get a crack to use your ALREADY BOUGHT game. Then a new patch comes out. You need a new crack. Hassle. And you always have to put the cd in (which you never have to do if you use warez). After a few games people just get the warez version, cause that runs without hassles, ie it is BETTER than the crippled original product. This is really sad.

Discussions about warez and cracks are not tolerated under the forum rules and never have been, please refrain.

[John C Flett 0]

Well, that was a nightmare of an install procedure. Not least cause the actual installer is bugged and deselecting Counter Strike will crash it!

Having now had a bit to play with it I have to say I'm quite impressed with a number of elements. Gameplay seems solid but nothing special but it creates a very real feeling environment; solid physics, great character animation especially in the faces and very good storytelling. Really puts Doom 3 and those endless PDAs to shame.

 I'll need a lot more time to really judge but for now I feel positive. Just hope other publishers don't take a lead from their verification routines.

OK. Had a few more hours and I'm enjoying it. But is it just me or is anybody else getting this sense of familiarity. Almost like we could be in Nogova. Its not just the same eastern european style but also the strange desolation of abandoned homes with boxes and a few pieces of furniture scattered around. Alright, one game town looks pretty much like another but even so I keep getting a feel of OFP in the geography around City 17.

[shrike 0]

Anyone else getting motion sickness from playing HL2?

I've played FPS since Wolfenstein 3D and never experienced anything like it...terminal nausea after only a few mins of gaming. Just thinking about yesterday night's 5 mins of HL2 makes me feel sick again...  

Perhaps I should lower mouse sensitivity, I don't know. Any tips?

I'm using a 20" TFT so I am pretty much bound to refresh rate and resolution.

gah...

[Albert Schweitzer 10]

leave the light on in your room, dont sit to near to your screen. If you got any glasses, use them

[Colossus 2]

leave the light on in your room, dont sit to near to your screen. If you got any glasses, use them

Better do what he says, it's not good for your eyes to sit in a dark room

watching a screen. Take a brake once in a while.

[Monkey Lib Front 10]

Well, that was a nightmare of an install procedure. Not least cause the actual installer is bugged and deselecting Counter Strike will crash it!

Having now had a bit to play with it I have to say I'm quite impressed with a number of elements. Gameplay seems solid but nothing special but it creates a very real feeling environment; solid physics, great character animation especially in the faces and very good storytelling. Really puts Doom 3 and those endless PDAs to shame.

 I'll need a lot more time to really judge but for now I feel positive. Just hope other publishers don't take a lead from their verification routines.

OK. Had a few more hours and I'm enjoying it. But is it just me or is anybody else getting this sense of familiarity. Almost like we could be in Nogova. Its not just the same eastern european style but also the strange desolation of abandoned homes with boxes and a few pieces of furniture scattered around. Alright, one game town looks pretty much like another but even so I keep getting a feel of OFP in the geography around City 17.

I would hardly compare the so called "towns" of OFP to City 17. btw ravenholm scared the bejebus out of me.

[Gadger 0]

Anyone else getting motion sickness from playing HL2?

I've played FPS since Wolfenstein 3D and never experienced anything like it...terminal nausea after only a few mins of gaming. Just thinking about yesterday night's 5 mins of HL2 makes me feel sick again...  

Perhaps I should lower mouse sensitivity, I don't know. Any tips?

I'm using a 20" TFT so I am pretty much bound to refresh rate and resolution.

gah...

Turn off vsync in video options, I think its under advanced. Your tft monitor is most likely running at 60hz, which is fine in windows, but put a fast paced game up there and it does make one feel sick.

[feersum.endjinn 6]

Anyone else getting motion sickness from playing HL2?

I've played FPS since Wolfenstein 3D and never experienced anything like it...terminal nausea after only a few mins of gaming. Just thinking about yesterday night's 5 mins of HL2 makes me feel sick again...

Perhaps I should lower mouse sensitivity, I don't know. Any tips?

I'm using a 20" TFT so I am pretty much bound to refresh rate and resolution.

Like previous posters said, move your display farther from you, at least far enough that you can see rest of room clearly in corner of your eye. Motion sickness happens because input you get from your eyes does not match what balance system in your ears tells you. Usually it is other way though, people get sick when they can feel motion but cannot see horizon to orient themselves like in airplanes. Maybe HL2 is just first game that is convincing enough for your brain

[Commando84 0]

I tried the sp part of half-life 2 and it was indeepth, it just feelt that you was in some evil place where people where supressed and all. city 17 where you start felt kind of like stalker the game enviroments but i only have tried 30 minutes at a internet café. but what i saw really made my mind up that im gonna buy it so i can play it and try the mods that surely will be released to it. A friend of mine that loves hl and cs much more than i do got into a depressed state when our time was up. he said that life wasn't worth living if he didn't get a new comp. to play hl 2 on

thats a really deep statement. The attention to detail and graphic is incredible in the game but i won't abondon ofp for hl2 will be doing mission editing and playing online , lan and so on at same time as i play hl2.

[bonko the sane 2]

one word of advice, for those who dont have a steam account, make one and insert your cd trhough steam program, dont do it from install cd menu or you most likely will wait forever.

About the game, its amazing, it far surpasses Doom3 any day of the week, and it runs smoothly.

[Sniper_Panther 0]

*Me installs hl2*

HL2- Pc can not run graphics card doesn't support blah blah blah

*re installs*

HL2- Pc can not run graphics card doesn't support blah blah blah

*re installs*

HL2- Pc can not run graphics card doesn't support blah blah blah

*Sits there for rest of life untill it installs*

[gandalf the white 0]

*Me installs hl2*

HL2- Pc can not run graphics card doesn't support blah blah blah

*re installs*

HL2- Pc can not run graphics card doesn't support blah blah blah

*re installs*

HL2- Pc can not run graphics card doesn't support blah blah blah

*Sits there for rest of life untill it installs*

had thesame thing happen to me with Delta Force: Land Warrior... so i upgraded

finished it btw...

[EiZei 0]

Well, it seems to run quite well on my crappy 1800+/512MB/Gf4Ti4200, too bad textures look like somebody poured paint remover on them.

Would getting 512MB more memory help me with my texture problems or do I need to go vidcard shopping?

[Radnik 18]

...i`m happy to see that HL2 SDK will be released for mod-ing !

[scfan42 0]

Well the SDK is already out...

I don't see the real problem people have with Steam, I actually like it (though I wouldn't like being forced to install it when you get a CD), I had no hassles with it. I bought the Silver package, since I never played HL1, with no problems. Everything downloaded fine, and then when Nov 16 rolled around, at 6 AM EST (when I wake up), I rebooted into windoze, turned on steam, told it to unlock HL2, and by the time my ten minute shower was over it was done. I played it for about twenty minutes, then I went downstairs to have breakfast then on to school. And I just found it hilarious to pick up trash and throw it at people

The game gets more fun closer to the end, when you get the uber gravity gun. It doubles the gun's power, allowing you to pick up much heavier objects such as the screens that Breen rants through, and Combine soldiers as well. But like the others have said, it gives far more questions than answers. Does it even give any answers?

Another thing is with the videos. I saw almost all of the videos, and I'm confused that I never saw the same scenes as in Striders, Traptown, Docks, Barricade, and that scene in some tunnel with Alyx and a tentacle. I think there's some multiple paths somewhere in the game.

As for CS:S, the only bit I've played it is offline, mainly in office, to try out the Source engine before HL2 was out. And that's what I plan to leave it at. CS:CZ was enough cheeziness for me, especially since I mostly prefer more realistic online play, such as OFP and AA, I don't want a FPS that takes real life and makes it arcade style. I'm not great at reflex-based FPSes, I get owned in UT2k4 online, and I get owned in the Natural Selection mod for HL1, but that's still fun.

And as for the mod I look forward to most, it has to be the Insurgency mod. It has the prettiest M-67 I've ever seen! I just hope they make it as realistic as I think it'll be.

[feersum.endjinn 6]

Another thing is with the videos. I saw almost all of the videos, and I'm confused that I never saw the same scenes as in Striders, Traptown, Docks, Barricade, and that scene in some tunnel with Alyx and a tentacle. I think there's some multiple paths somewhere in the game.

They were just scripted for E3, some say would "faked" - this caused quite bit of discussion all over net when that stolen version of HL2 leaked out last year.

[mick78 0]

I HATE THAT STEAM PROGRAM. IT IS THE DUMBEST THING EVER.

I read a review of HL2 where the reviewer said it was seemless. My game is nothing but seems.

Run forward for 4-5 minutes killing things, then you get a 'loading' screen which takes anywhere from 10 seconds to a minute, and then, on top of that, sometimes it downloads something from steam! this can take up to 2-3 minutes, seriously interupting game enjoyment.

and making you patch it is damn irritating as well. especially when what the patch is fixing is not explained. i wanted to play it yesterday, and had to download a patch that took 45 minutes to download then install. if I have to do that every second day or whatever just so it makes it harder for someone to pirate, i dont think this game will be getting much use at all.

NOT HAPPY JAN.

[The Frenchman 0]

And I just found it hilarious to pick up trash and throw it at people

Tehehe

[Gollum1 0]

Well, it seems to run quite well on my crappy 1800+/512MB/Gf4Ti4200, too bad textures look like somebody poured paint remover on them.

Would getting 512MB more memory help me with my texture problems or do I need to go vidcard shopping?

More memory won't help your image quality or much at all regarding HL2 for that matter, better go shopping, I suggest a 9800 Pro.

I upgraded to 1024 from 512 and it increased overall performance maybe by 15%. Running HL2 on 1024x768, 2x AA, high everything, and still works perfectly on my 9600 XT (2,8 P4, 1024 PC3200)!

Quote[/b] ]I think there's some multiple paths somewhere in the game.

There are none.

Quote[/b] ]I would hardly compare the so called "towns" of OFP to City 17

I wouldn't call a narrow scripted pipe that interrupts every five minutes to load a "town".

[berghoff 11]

I've completed the game. Amazing graphics and play very smooth too.

=) But too bad there's no multi-player in HL2, I would really like to do a DM with that gravity gun, that's quite the only thing missing in HL2 And no I don't like CS: S as MP.

[Postduifje 0]

I saw it at a friend of mine yesterday, and I must say the graphics are amazing, and the physics are even better. These stuff are an excellent base for a good game, shame they used it for just another game where you have to shoot everything that moves. The HL2 world exist of one long road that can only be travelled in one way, where you'll encounter al enemies. As in almost all other games, I get the feeling of claustrophobia. Don't get me wrong, it was a fun game to play for a while, but it's nothing more than that.

[Goeth 0]

About the game, its amazing, it far surpasses Doom3 any day of the week, and it runs smoothly.

You´re right about that, but if you need to compare hl2 to something then it´s FarCry, that is one tough competition.

[hellfish6 7]

I'm very much enjoying HL2 - I'm in Ravensholm now and I'm loving it. The saw blades with the grav gun are great!

I'm very impressed with how smooth it runs and how great it looks. I was expecting my computer to strain a bit (I have an Athlon64 3200 with a gig of RAM and a 128mb Nvidia) like it did with Doom, but I run at about 80 fps consistantly. This game (or, rather, the Source engine) is exactly why I bought my PC and I'm very happy to see I didn't waste my money.

I see HL2 as a game engine that came with a campaign. I don't particularly care if HL2's gameplay was good or not, but I am very much looking forward to DoD:Source and the Insurgency mod. Those two mods alone are worth $40 each if they were sold in stores.