Questions and questions

[Malfunction]

Yeah, hey, I'm new to here, blah blah blah. Now, I've been following HL2 for a while now, getting bits and pieces of info about things, but now I have some questions.

Gabe Newell - Is he the head of the HL2 team? I know he's important, but what does he actually do?

What is the most recent speculated (or confirmed) release date for HL2?

And finally, can someone explain something to me? I know there will be four releases of HL2, SP alone, the normal retail SP & MP, which also allows for mods, the special edition of the second, and then Steam.

Now, my main confusion lies with the normal retail and Steam versions. I have tried to use Steam many times, but have all failed. So about two months ago I uninstalled it, and got rid of all its files, etc. Now, will the retail (second choice of purchase) come with a CD key to use to activate Steam? Because I had bought DoD retail a while ago, and after Steam just died on me, I gave up. I still have it I think, and the CD key, but I think if I used my CD key before, and I don't remember my log-in info, I cannot use it, correct? That is why I want to know if HL2 retail will in fact come with a CD key.

Now, onto the Steam purchase choice. I heard it's like $5.00 a month for the Steam subscription, which gives you access to buy games from it. So, say I subscribe, and buy HL2 from it, will I be paying anything other than the $5.00 a month?

Say I buy it through Steam, with my subscription, and after buying it, the next month I cancel my subscription to Steam. Will my HL2 be disabled for cancelling my Steam subscription?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Daiceman9]

The latest date from valve is this summer.

if you subscribe to steam you get all of valve's products for free, so if you subrcribe when HL2 comes out you will get HL2 and all of their games for $5 a month, you will pay nothing to get each individual game. When you cancle your subscription you are not able to access any of it anymore.

 

[Mr. Redundant]

1. Gabe is the Founder/Managing Director of Valve software

2.Summer (we are all waiting for E3, on the 14th for a definite date, hopefuly)


3. Steam has a built in feature now that you can ask for a verification e-mail to get back old accounts.
any Game that steam is compatible with (hl2 for instance) needs a cd key to be useable, you dont need a CD key for steam, you need it for the games steam runs.

4. Steam has a subscription option that you pay monthly for, and you get ALL GAMES ON STEAM FOR FREE, you dont need to pay any additional fees.. however as soon as you end your monthly subscription, you cant play the games on the plan. (think of it as a rental plan)

5. IF you cancel your subscription to "STEAMS SUBSCRIPTION GAMES" (not to steam itself, steam is free) then you lose all the games that you did not purchase "full price"

you dont need to have the steam subscription service to be able to buy games over steam, you can start buying games as soon as you install steam.
the games you rent however will be removed. (so say you got the subscription for monthly play, and realised you only liked say.. HL2, so you ended your subscription after purchasing HL2 and you would keep it, but lose the ones you didnt buy)

And welcome to the forums... now I bet someone will beat me to first post since I typed too much

 

[ferd]

You might want to find the answers yourself

 

[Mac]

are you sure its only $5/month, thought it was more like 10 USD.

 

[Mr-Fusion]

I don't think the prices have been finalized.

 

[Mr. Redundant]

also Be sure to check out ***THIS HL2.NET FEATURE*** for info on purchase options, and if you want to learn more about what steam might be capable of and where its heading... check out this excellent article by Chris_D
***HERE***

 

[DEATH eVADER]

are you sure its only $5/month, thought it was more like 10 USD.

I was pretty sure it was £5.99 for the UK, so it would roughly $10+ in the US (I'm afraid I'm not good at currency conversions)

 

[Malfunction]

Wow, thanks for the quick replies.

Redundant:

So you're saying I don't have to pay the monthly fee to just buy the games through Steam? Because, if so, I think I might have instantly changed my opinion on it. :naughty:

 

[marksmanHL2 :)]

Yup, Pay to play will be an Option

Valve decided to make it an option to give us more choice over how we pay. Not to earn them money off us all (Well not entirely)

 

[Malfunction]

Oh, wow, this changes EVERYTHING. Although I still think I'll decide to buy the retail version at a GameStop, just so I can have the nice box and booklet. :|

Thanks.

 

[Mr. Redundant]

Wow, thanks for the quick replies.

Redundant:

So you're saying I don't have to pay the monthly fee to just buy the games through Steam? Because, if so, I think I might have instantly changed my opinion on it. :naughty:

nope you dont have to get the monthly subscription if you dont want it, all you have to do is download the steam Client... even if you dont own a single Valve game, the steam client download is free... and you can buy and download games directly from it.

the subscription option is there basically as a rental system, because in essence thats what your doing.. your renting Valve's games (all of them, including ones that come out), you will always have access to any Valve game as long as you have the subscription.
but you lose the games you havent purchased when you cancel your subscription.

 

[Daiceman9]

also Be sure to check out ***THIS HL2.NET FEATURE*** for info on purchase options, and if you want to learn more about what steam might be capable of and where its heading... check out this excellent article by Chris_D
***HERE***

Also go here to see ***MR. REDUNDANT KISSING HL2.NET'S ASS***

couldn't resist

 

[Chris D]

lol, leave him be He speaks sense

 

[Mountain Man]

Steam has a subscription option that you pay monthly for, and you get ALL GAMES ON STEAM FOR FREE...

I'm not sure what your definition of "free" is, but games over Steam are definitely not free. That's like saying, "Pay $20 for this magazine subscription and get 12 MAGAZINES FOR FREE!" The games aren't free, you just pay for them every month instead of per title. It's like buying a magazine off the news stand versus subscribing.

Personally, I still don't trust the integrity of electronic distribution, so I'll be getting my copy the old fashioned way, in a box.

 

[Beserker]

I said that they're releasing HL2 at summer but nobody believed me. *slap you all*
I know stuff...I'm special...

 

[SnowBall]

You know, it would be great if they announced the first day at E3 it was going gold that day.

 

[RblDiver]

Gabe Newell - Is he the head of the HL2 team? I know he's important, but what does he actually do?

Well, I suppose like Redundant said, his technical title is Founder/Managing Director (or something along those lines). ...I suppose a comparison could be the director of a movie. He is the one ultimately responsible for getting HL2 done and out the door to the publishers. He guides much of the production along, not doing everything by himself but being the main driving force. He has others who assist in the details (like writing, sound, etc). He is the one who sets milestones for the team (well, the publisher often wants certain milestones, but it is up to the producer (which is what I'd call him, it's the term we use at my school) to make those goals as well as set others to ensure those publisher goals are met), and is the one in charge of making everyone meet those milestones. If a team member is having trouble, he can get them assistance, if they are a trouble maker, he is responsible for removing them from the team.

He is responsible for keeping things going like I said. If someone on the team is slacking off, the publishers won't go to that person; instead, they'll go bust Gabe's ass and he in turn will have to bust the worker's ass. That's why many people you see who are blaming Valve for not getting HL2 out on time blame Gabe and not the rest of the Valve team. I mean, you don't see people yelling "Hey John Guthrie" (to pull a random name off of Valve's team page) "Hurry up and finish the levels you n00b," no instead they yell at Gabe, as he's the one in charge.

Doing Gabe's job is hard. Frankly, I don't think I ever want to be a producer.

...Unless the price is right, of course lol

 

[Mr. Redundant]

Also go here to see ***MR. REDUNDANT KISSING HL2.NET'S ASS***

couldn't resist

I been here since the dawn of time... errr Hl2.net is a part of me now... so Im kissing mine own ass!
then again I been drinking all night, so you can disregard this post.

 

[Varsity]

Gabe Newell - Is he the head of the HL2 team? I know he's important, but what does he actually do?

He's the founder and head, sure, but what does he actually do in regards to the game?

 

[Dr. Freeman]

Malfunction my advice to u as far as Steam goes is to install it

yes some times its a pain in the ass but mostly it works fine now.. if u wait til HL2 comes out.. and u decide u want to play HL2 online.. then u may have to wait longer since u wouldn't have Steam installed.. and to say the Steam network will be going through hell once the game is released is probably a huge under-statement.

better to install and have Steam running ahead of time than to try and do it once HL2 is released.. at least that my honest opinion. :E

 

[hollowgam]

You know, it would be great if they announced the first day at E3 it was going gold that day.

Very unlikely.
They start to do the discretionary acting animation on the 3/6/04
The game is not totally finished yet at this moment I guess.