HL2 Newbie Questions :)

[tylercruz]

Hi All,

First, let me introduce myself. Many years ago, I bought Half Life, and really enjoyed it's single player play. After it was beaten, I played TFC for about a year and then never played another FPS since.

So I am not your typical hardcore FPS person who knows all the latest info and such about HL2; I just play it for the sheer thrill of the game, and will be waiting for TF2 to come out, which I will play religously

What's funny is that I have the ideal life to be a gamer. I don't have a job, and I just sit at my computer all day and night (when I don't go out and do stuff). I make my living from my websites, which I spend about 20 minutes a day working on, and the occassional other side job stuff such as photo restoration, online poker, etc. But the majority of my income comes from my websites. So basically I can't wait for HL2 to come out, because I've been so bored lately, and there are no good games out

With that said, here is my question:

I've noticed that people are starting to receive their Steam-ordered merchandise already. Can these people play the game, or do they have to wait for something first like a registration code they will get online or something? I do not fully understand the system of Steam, and the pre-ordering etc. If somebody could elaborate on all of this, it would benefit me greatly.

 

[oldagerocker]

What websites do you run? or are you a freelance webdesigner?
The Steam people have the game loaded into their account, they are awaiting the big unlock.. everyone with cds/dvds will have to type in a code to proove they bought the game then it will unlock for them too.

 

[giant384]

u have to wait for the game to be activated on the 16th

 

[Voodoo_Chile]

Yup,everyone has to wait for 16th of November basically.

And Welcome back to FPS-dom.You've missed abit

 

[Ownzed]

You can order HL2 with 3 different packagers: Gold, Silver, Broze. You can play HL2 when it's released the 16th. The cd key will automatically be put into your account.

 

[Wildhound]

You've missed abit

Not really actually. There's been very little worthwhile in the FPS world since HL.

 

[Voodoo_Chile]

Not really actually. There's been very little worthwhile in the FPS world since HL.

I was trying to think of some titles to counter your statment,I drew a blank
If he only played the orgional he missed OpFor. So he did miss something.And Unreal 2k4 is always good for a laugh

 

[Analognovelist]

Ummm... Yeeeeeaaah... Battlefield?

 

[fragShader]

Deus Ex
but u could say it's an RPG not an FPS

EDIT omg i spelt dues ex

 

[tylercruz]

Thanks guys, that helped. So what happens to the people with the early steam ordered packages? They install it and see a screen awaiting a CD-Key? And they have to get it online or something? Or does HL2 authenticate itself online, and thus need a live internet connection to be installed?

oldagerocker - I gave up freelancing a long time ago. Market is too saturated for freelancing in web design, and people can always outsource to countries like India for a tenth of the cost I run a small network of sites... nothing special

Man.. I want to play HL2 NOW. I can't wait.. how do you guys wait? I need some sort of drug to calm me down... I wish it was the 16th now.. (Might have to wait till the 17th since I live in Canada).

 

[Bandages]

Ummm... Yeeeeeaaah... Battlefield?

battle-wha? Oh....that game? ...yeah...

 

[fragShader]

tylercruz - it needs internet to activate.
preloaders just have HalfLife2 listed as "Coming Soon" in their Steam - My Games window.
come 12am PST on the 16th the files will be unencrypted and they can play
retail buyers will have to enter some proof of purchase (dunno what it is - i got steam version), then their files (which are the same as the preload files) will be unlocked too.

EDIT: to make it clearer, the retail version just installs Steam and the preload files from a CD/DVD, and uses different purchase authentication.

 

[Voodoo_Chile]

Man.. I want to play HL2 NOW. I can't wait.. how do you guys wait? I need some sort of drug to calm me down... I wish it was the 16th now.. (Might have to wait till the 17th since I live in Canada).

Well if you think you have it bad,most of us have been waiting almost continuously since Sept. 30th.(I know everyone has but to a larger degree)
I really wanna play this game however unless Valve already has some High-Priced Lawyers on the case or a "hacker" who just by some strange coincidence "find" the activation codes waiting in his inbox......
We're gonna be waiting till the 16th,Might I suggest a game of CS:Source or a RPG/Point and Click adventure to past the time

 

[Ownzed]

Ummm... Yeeeeeaaah... Battlefield?

Yeah, Ever since I played BF 1942 that was my favorite WWII game of all time! I loved it. I still do. I play BF Vietman.

 

[tylercruz]

tylercruz - it needs internet to activate.
preloaders just have HalfLife2 listed as "Coming Soon" in their Steam - My Games window.
come 12am PST on the 16th the files will be unencrypted and they can play
retail buyers will have to enter some proof of purchase (dunno what it is - i got steam version), then their files (which are the same as the preload files) will be unlocked too.

EDIT: to make it clearer, the retail version just installs Steam and the preload files from a CD/DVD, and uses different purchase authentication.

Thanks a lot

 

[Ownzed]

Your welcome.

 

[Bandages]

Yeah, Ever since I played BF 1942 that was my favorite WWII game of all time! I loved it. I still do. I play BF Vietman.

I personally enjoyed Call of Duty more. I'd still prefer it over any other WWII game. Although its hard to compare it to BF, because BF is such a unique game.

 

[Half-death]

I'm not so sure so I would like a confirmation on this; I heard Gold and Silver editions contain the source version of the original HL (HL: Source). Is it true?

Are there any modifications to the game other than graphics? Perhaps the physics engine?

 

[f|uke]

There's been very little worthwhile in the FPS world since HL.

Deus Ex
Call of Duty
System Shock 2
Far Cry

..still, not a lot to show for 6 years of the industry. (and none a masterpeice on the level of HL)

 

[Dragoro]

Half Life Source uses the new physics engine, but basically has the same graphics.


As for FPS missed. Definitely Far Cry, and Doom 3 is pretty dang good as well.

 

[cidd]

:dork: Another "newb" question that's been bothering me since re-watching the binks... are they in dx8? or maybe the 2003 ones? Reason for my concern is the dx9 showcase thing from Sep 2003, with the shiny surfaces (the antlion is so beautiful), compared to the binks (bugbait? Antlions not shiny) I know its been mentioned, but there have been conflicting reports on these very forums, so i just wantd it cleared if possible :dork: