So...

[DeltaBlast]

...if Counter-Strike: Source is supposed to be released at the same time as Half-Life 2, but CS:S isn't nearly complete (according to the front page and the thread accompanying it), where does that leave HL² (and it's release)?

Maybe even september is optimistic?

 

[Whezzy]

That had to have been a old build the the old german video was atleast 1.5-2 months old . and it had a auto shottie and the bodys fell uniqly

 

[Mr.SqueeZ]

maby it will be a stand alone release? i dont hope so!!!:O

 

[Someone]

There's no real evidence as to how far along CS:S or HL2 are though, so I wouldn't worry too much. All we know is what they displayed and played today, and not the actual state of the game and everything attached to it sitting behinds valves doors.

This may have been an older build, or a build where models/animations/sounds were still being tweaked and there for weren't included. Plus, maybe they're holding back final models etc to add some surprise?

Although, it does concern me that, if the game is only a month or so away from being gold and shipped to VU (as Valve have stated they will do in August), than why isn't Valve starting to promote it more and more and more? That seems a bit odd for a game that will be this huge, but I could be wrong.

I think late Sept at the earliest might be a realistic date...but who knows? No one really knows what's going on behind their doors.

 

[Mr-Fusion]

All we know is the game is finished and being tested.

From the point of view of someone who is closely following the development, the testing period is the most frustrating. You're being told the game is done but it's still a good 4 months till release, at best!

As someone who followed the development of the Diablo 2 1.10 patch for 18 months i've really grown a hatred for the testing phase. I remember over the months on battle.net Geoff Frazier (Blizzard employee) would tell us how progress is going. He'd say they have a release candidate which will be tested for 2 weeks. 2 months later no patch. Then he'd pop up again and tell us a new release candidate is ready for testing and the patch could be out very soon. 4 months later and nothing. It went on for a long time.

Eventually Blizzard did something totally unexpected. They released a beta 1.10 patch for the community to test.

This is what Valve will be doing now. They have a release candidate ready, they run it through the testers. For example such bugs will show up
-Player can get stuck on the ground in map X
-Combine soldier spawns inside a wall on a street in map X
-If your mp7 runs out of ammo and you switch to the RPG, mp7 automatically refills on ammo.
-ETC!!!

They go back and fix all these bugs for 2 weeks and get a new release candidate ready. Run it through the testers who compile a whole new bunch of bugs. Repeat, rinse, wash in cold.

Now the problem (by problem i mean admirable quality!) with Valve is that they are perfectionists. They'll test and test and test till the cows come home. And when it's perfect Gabe will say "Hmm it's too perfect..somethings not right...PUSH THE RELASE DATE BACK AnOTHER MONTH FOR MORE TESTING!!".

Is September optimistic? Yes, it's insanely optimistic when you consider who we're dealing with. As for CS:S that would require a lot less testing than a full blown single player game.

edit: shit i didn't realise i crapped on so much. No-ones gonna read all that!! :farmer:

 

[riTuaL]

I read it, and as much as I try to be optimistic, I don't see HL2 being released in August or September. I'm thinking October earliest..

 

[Citizen 1150421]

i am tired.... all this waiting. i agree. this testing can easily push the game a few months forward. but i remeber somewhere gabe or doug or cliff saying that they will release cs:s with hl2 but will constantly be updating it..

at the same time if they choose to take another year out to perfect all their games that are coming out in one time.. i will let them..

 

[DeltaBlast]

The game is shaping up nicely, but nadomola also reports that it is still in a quite unfinished state, so there were missing animations, weapon models and a lack of Terrorist and Counter Terrorist player models present.

That doesn't sound like testing to me. That sounds more like pre-beta :/

 

[Whezzy]

It was a early build it was missing He said that they all died the same way. witch they dont. and there is no auto shottie. witch there is. and if you look at the menu from one of the pics it has the old picture in the backround. so clearly it is old.

 

[Shuzer]

I'll make a bet that CS:S does NOT come out on the day HL2 comes out.
CS:S != HL2, has nothing to do with HL2, other than sharing the same engine

It's even got a different team within VALVe working on it..

 

[madiL]

Now, i'm not worried about the simultaneous (spelling?) release of HL2 and CS:S, i'm just waiting for HL2 for now, CS:S can wait. But what i would like to know however, is wether or not CS:S will be freeware, like CS was meant to be in the good old days. I mean, i'm not planing on paying what, 30-40€ for HL2? And then paying something like 25-35€ for CS:S. I just can't see how you can turn a freeware game, and turn it into an addon wich you have to buy, just because valve bought it. Dear god, i mean Gabe.. don't do this! Keep it freeware like in the good old days!

 

[wonkers]

I wish I knew what they were thinking. We are getting ancy and violent. Valve can't push this game past summer. Someone will get hurt.

 

[ThomasToad]

Shuzer you're avatar is really freaking me out What's that from anyways, anything to do with the ring?

Anyways, from what nadomola said it seems they are just missing a few models I dont consider that to be too incomplete of a game.

 

[Strifer]

There is a rumor that says that CS:S might be released with HL2. I'm talking about that single + multi edition. Who knows...

 

[DeltaBlast]

There is a rumor that says that CS:S might be released with HL2. I'm talking about that single + multi edition. Who knows...

It was stated in the german video of CS:S. It might not be a confirmed fact, but it's farther along than a rumour

 

[RoguePsi]

Yeah, the German video said CS:S came FREE with HL2, atho as mentioned, thats yet to be confirmed. If it you do have to pay for it, it'll be somethink like £/$10.

 

[Rygir]

a £ and a € are not exactly equal value

I'm more worried about the small glitches, like how a steel barrel bounces around like a cardboard box...I'm not sure they'd consider it a bug...

And the animations seemed more jerky than in 1.6 ?

My experience with Earth & Beyond beta testing was that in the very early days of beta cycle (more than 4 months away from release for sure) objects were missing, later on there are small typo's and small errors are occassionaly a place holder, but really missing objects? well I suppose that if you're testing a game where the gameplay is tuned, you just need to test the stability and stuff those things don't matter as much though?

 

[evil^milk]

They're still tweaking, I doubt the HUD will stay that way and I did notice something cool - running is more fluid now, the player model actually strafes and runs instead of twisting its whole body by the waist down to run towards a certain direction.

Anyway, I'm hoping CS:S and/or the rest of the mods will be included in a seperate disc inside the HL2 box called, "Mods," so you have a nice little extra to install after you finish the game

 

[ferd]

Why wait for a revised version of CS?

And once again, the game is coming out around the time it was planned, Valve have always pointed out a GOLD date in August, and a RELEASE date in the "Fall"

And yes, September is quite optimistic

 

[Dr. Freeman]

I'll make a bet that CS:S does NOT come out on the day HL2 comes out.
CS:S != HL2, has nothing to do with HL2, other than sharing the same engine

It's even got a different team within VALVe working on it..

what about the theory of CS:Source and other Source conversions being packaged in the Collectors Edition?

u don't think they can finish that stuff in time for a Collectors Edition release?
i feel that if the Collectors Edition does not include the Source conversions, it will be alot less appealing.

i think it would be a nice little gift.. sort of saying "hey thanks for sticking by our side through the year delay, heres some goodies!"

 

[hildigrim]

Man, the collecotr's edition is waaaaaaay to expensive for me, i'm only 15 years old....but i don't really care.
I only hope that they put cs:s in the normal edition of hl2(sp+mp), to thank the community... :cheers:

 

[Dr. Freeman]

Man, the collecotr's edition is waaaaaaay to expensive for me, i'm only 15 years old....but i don't really care.
I only hope that they put cs:s in the normal edition of hl2(sp+mp), to thank the community... :cheers:

i highly doubt Source conversions will be included with the SP+MP version of HL2... right now i'd say its up in the air as to if even the Collectors Edition will have it.. :|

seriously tho.. if the Collectors Edition is gonna cost a good coin, then it better have some Source conversions... its only fair.

 

[ferd]

why make such a fuzz about it, I hope HL2 MP will be nothing compared to CS:S...simply because CS:S isn't that good at all.

Why?

Because it's CS!

 

[DeltaBlast]

I thought I'd bring this topic back up, seeing the CS:S betas will be held later this summer...

From my point of view there are 2 options: HL² WON'T include CS:S for free when you buy it, and HL² will release on time, or HL2 will be delayed beyond fall if it has to include CS:S ;(

 

[dangerousdarrin]

I agree with ferd by saying CS isn't very good. I just didn't like how it played.

Especially when it was hard with everyone flaming you about being a newbie and all this junk. It pissed me off, but hopefully source will have a bit different of a feel so other CS masters don't destroy everybody the first day it comes out.

I think Valve would be so smart to release the source version of CS, TFC, and DoD because a lot more people would buy the collector's edition. But on the other hand, it would be kind of a shame for the people that have little money, and I bet they'd be pissed off that they can't play all these new source games.

Imagine that; not very many people are playing multiplayer on Half-Life 2, cause they're all playing the other source mutliplayer games. I for one would like to try out Day of Defeat first, if that were to be included with the games.

Well, just thought I'd get that all off my chest.

 

[Lanthanide]

As someone who followed the development of the Diablo 2 1.10 patch for 18 months i've really grown a hatred for the testing phase. I remember over the months on battle.net Geoff Frazier (Blizzard employee) would tell us how progress is going. He'd say they have a release candidate which will be tested for 2 weeks. 2 months later no patch. Then he'd pop up again and tell us a new release candidate is ready for testing and the patch could be out very soon. 4 months later and nothing. It went on for a long time.

Heh, I knew the guy who was single-handedly coding the 1.10 patch quite well, and if you thought that Geoff was annoying... Still, it did mean that I got some input into the actual contents of the patch, as well as the 1.08 and 1.09 patches that he was in charge of also.

You can thank me for stacks of 12 keys, throwing potions dropping in stacks (and being more powerful), also quivers/bolts being upped to 350/250 and a bunch of other small things like that (forgotten most of what I contributed), as well as a lot of the ideas behind the 1.09 unique item re-design.

 

[CrazyHarij]

That's a pretty, haha.