Half-Life 2 (PC)

[Concept]

I am now officially bored with the wait. With the pre-loads I at least felt like we were getting somewhere but eveything has gone a bit quiet. Please just release the damn thing.

We may be in for a long wait...

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/09/24/news_6108100.html

Remember the six month delay for Condition Zero? It looks as though VUG is considering the idea of delaying Half-Life 2 to try and force Valve's hands in the legal battles they face against each other.

This could turn very ugly. And we could in all probability be seeing 2005 for Half-Life 2 if VUG goes down this alley again.

[Concept]

Half-Life 2...

Ever get the feeling it's all one step forwards, two steps back?

[nips]

That's it... I'm sending out hate mail.



To Concept:

STOP HYPING AND TAKING IT AWAY!!! YOU BASTARD I HATE YOU AND I AM GOING TO EAT YOUR CHILDREN!!! TWICE!! THEN MAYBE YOU'LL UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH THIS HURTS ME.

I HATE YOU!!! AND YOUR FACE!!!

From your dear friend:

THE GUY WHO's GONNA KILL YOU>!!

[Ish]

That would suck. Really really suck.

And would be a great way for VU to generate hatred from gamers. Just what a publisher needs!

[Ciaran]

I wonder if valve would be bold enough to release on Steam if they went down this route?

[gizmo1990]

VU can not afford for this to happen. They may shake their rattle but thats all they can do.

It comes down to one thing... the US holiday season.

[Spatial]

This did cross my mind when the whole lawsuit thing was announced, but I dare not say it as it might have jinxed everything ( yes, I am that powerful )

gizmo1990 is right. VU can't afford to pull a stupid stunt like this. Not only do they need the money after recent troubles but they'll piss everyone off royally and hoards of people who were going to buy the retail version will download it via Steam instead.

Knowing that this lawsuit was on the cards is that why Valve spent so much time and effort on Steam ?

If VU delayed the game unreasonably I think one of two things will happen. The game will be leaked by someone at VU and find its way onto the interweb. Or Valve will give VU the big finger and release it on Steam anyway siting breach of contract or something.

On thing is for sure, HL2 better be a belter when it is finally released otherwise it will be remembered more for its problamatic development than its gameplay !

Oh, and sorry if any of that doesn't make sense as I am extremely hung over

[ascender]

Can't see Valve leaking HL2 - they'll want to, and need to earn money from it. Releasing it on Steam would be an option if they want to make a point. Like you say, if VU delay it, it will only cause them bad press and much bad feeling. They'll also want to make as much money as possible out of it, so they'll want it on the shelves asap.

I guess the problem is that we just don't know what's going on behind the scenes and probably never will know the full story.

[ascender]

Does anyone how know the updated HL (HL:S ?) will be distributed? I know its in the limited edition boxset of HL2, but will the only option for the rest of us be to d/l from Steam at a cost?

[Concept]

I think the Collector's Edition (with HL/CS: Source) is still going to be sold over Steam, bar the t-shirt and the edited strategy/making of guide. Hopefully it should be cheaper than the suggested retail $80 price tag too.

[Tom Salter]

http://www.steampowered.com/status/survey.html

LOL @ some of the ****e hardware on there. Most people on a GF4MX? :\

[Concept]

I took that automated survey a couple of days ago, and it's relatively pointless in certain aspects for Valve. Taking a sweep of my system, the test indicated I had a AMD 2Ghz processor, yet failed to recognise it was an Athlon 64 3200+. Also it stated my GPU renderer was OpenGL even though I'm using a DirectX 9 ATI card.

But yes, I was surprised at how the majority in the conducted poll have been found to be using relatively ancient hardware for the most part. Certainly Valve's biggest audience based on those findings won't be able to run Half-Life 2 anywhere near it's potential.

I also found it ironic that after getting into bed with ATI, the majority of Valve's audience are using OpenGL as their main game renderer.

[Zapp$ter]

I took that automated survey a couple of days ago, and it's relatively pointless in certain aspects for Valve. Taking a sweep of my system, the test indicated I had a AMD 2Ghz processor, yet failed to recognise it was an Athlon 64 3200+. Also it stated my GPU renderer was OpenGL even though I'm using a DirectX 9 ATI card.

But yes, I was surprised at how the majority in the conducted poll have been found to be using relatively ancient hardware for the most part. Certainly Valve's biggest audience based on those findings won't be able to run Half-Life 2 anywhere near it's potential.

I also found it ironic that after getting into bed with ATI, the majority of Valve's audience are using OpenGL as their main game renderer.

Or maybe the automated survey mistook other people's GPU renderers for OpenGL like it did with yours?

[yashiro]

Concept, the clock frequency for an A64 3200 is 2000Mhz.

All modern cards support OpenGL and DirectX9. It's down to the game engine to startup using the right interface.

[Concept]

I know it's 2000Mhz, but collection of just the clock frequency is hardly a true reflection of performance, and if this survey is supposed to help Valve obtain a true reflection of their audience's technology, then it could be slightly more accurate.