Half-Life 2 (PC)

[Spatial]

So they're a day late with the pre-load ? Late again - what is going on at Valve ? Does anyone know what they're doing there or have any sense of timescale ?

The lack of an official announcement as to a release date is starting to bother me now.

Its all getting too much ! I've got to get out of here !

Gargggghhhhhhh !

:leaps through window:

[Concept]

There's an actual link you should be able to use on the Steam site when they get it working. If you don't use that. then yes, I presume Steam updates automatically, or the pre-load will be listed in the game's directory (browse or play) ready for you to install if you click the right button over it.

I don't think the content will automatically download onto your HD without Steam asking you first, or you choosing though.

Anyway, it's looking increasingly unlikely it's going to be any time in the (immediate) future. I'm not that bothered about the delay to be honest, although obtaining pre-load now would have been a nice gesture by Valve. A sign that things are moving along to the final steps.

The trouble is Valve's own PR work is abysmal to be quite frank. For example, releasing the bink files yesterday as subtle sweetners in not releasing the pre-load, will just mean when they do so again (release media that is), people may suspect bad news or another delay in the air. Just because of the prior timing.

You know, things like that just generally don't inspire great confidence, because they have knock on effects in my opinion, especially when they happen continuously.

That and the fact Valve haven't stuck to another date again, no matter how small this thing actually is. It hardly inspires confidence.

[Ish]

Given there not strapped for cash and after what happened last year you'd have thought they'd take the iD line of it'll be done when its done. Saves a lot of aggro all round...

[Concept]

Valve'd counter that argument by saying they haven't given a confirmed release date for the actual game release. In this instance though, they did give a date for the pre-load to begin, which wasn't met.

Like you say, I'd much prefer the 'done when it's done' line, than these small disappointing droplets lingering everywhere.

[Spatial]

What worries me is that a lot of people are going to be itching to line Valve and HL2 up for a slagging off over this thing

You can guarantee there'll be comments like :-

"Its a year late, and in all that time extra time its not as been made as revolutionary as it promised to be" etc etc

Doom 3 got a bit of this when it was released. While no game is everyone's cup of tea some people will use it as a yardstick with which to berrate the game instead of looking at its merits.

Still thats their perogative.

After viewing the Ravenholm Bink I am now aching for this game more than ever. It was a plesant surprise to find it went on longer than the E3 2K4 videos.

The lighting shown off in that vid is sublime - the shadows on objects and headcrabs is amazing.

Again in this format the quality of the game shines through. The audio for the onfire zombies is now more chilling than before, and the headcrab effects have been changed but still have that same `screeee` sound making it hauntingly familiar.

And its a bit odd in that vid when ( no real spoiler but just in case )Freeman explodes a zombie with a barrel and the headcrab gets blown off the host. The guys head is intact underneath and up until now the general assumption / consensus among the fanbase was that it always consumed the hosts head.

Its also the little things that really make the game stand out for me. I'd always assumed it was a hole in the building before, but when you launch paint cans at walls you can make paint slodges. I can think of hours of fun with just that alone.

That Bink does look a little rushed mind you. The ending is very slap dash which is odd as the others have all had a polished feel ( with the player really playing up for the recording ) and an arranged ending

[Concept]

What worries me is that a lot of people are going to be itching to line Valve and HL2 up for a slagging off over this thing

You can guarantee there'll be comments like :-

"Its a year late, and in all that time extra time its not as been made as revolutionary as it promised to be" etc etc

Doom 3 got a bit of this when it was released. While no game is everyone's cup of tea some people will use it as a yardstick with which to berrate the game instead of looking at its merits.

Still thats their perogative.

It's going to happen. I visited the forums over at Steampowered last night to see if they would be official confirmation or word from any Valve staff, but there wasn't anything of the sort regarding the pre-load. And to be honest, I don't blame a lot of the Valve team for not posting in Half-Life 2 fan support forums.

There were some pretty disgusting things being said. 'Let's assasinate Gabe', 'we don't deserve to be treated like this', **** like that, where the fanboys were taking it as some form of personal insult that the pre-load hadn't begun yet.

I doubt it hit them in massive waves that just maybe Valve are busy trying to get the game completely finished and out of the door during all these delays, and don't actually have the time to issue multiple reasons for why certain targets aren't being met...

That isn't suggesting I didn't find the pre-load delay disappointing though, but you have to remember it's not the end of the world like some have made it out to be.

If you look at the developer-fanbase communication objectively, then I think people bitching on forever about this have to realise that Valve has obviously done a lot to support the community. Answering emails, engaging in discussions, inviting non-press around to see the game and touring the office.

And all that after what happened with the hack... I think Valve has every right to expect the same faith back to be fair.

Unfortunately though, I can see people who already have it in for the game and almost secretly want to be disappointed, applying some warped sense of injustice to themselves that certain release targets haven't been met come the full unveiling of the game.

It did happen with Doom 3, and I can just as easily see it happening with Half-Life 2 if it doesn't turn out to completely smash over everything we've seen so far this year.

The pressure on Valve must be enormous at this moment in time. I don't think they have the time to be worrying about a few childish screaming fans out with their knifes at the moment.

[Ish]

The thing is after the tumultous ride since it was announced for shipping on 30th September 03 there's no way in hell its going to live up to the expectations of the majority. How can it with the way its been hyped.

To be honest I'm not expecting a revolutionary game. What I am hoping for though is a good looking game with decent AI (hopefully leading to some nice spontaneous feeling memorable encounters), some wicked scripted sequences, some cunning use of physics and generally just a bit more to it than your average FPS corridor shooter.

Given how most FPS games fail to manage that then I'll be pretty damn pleased if Half Life 2 does.

[Concept]

True. What I want to see is a continuation of the first Half-Life in the way the game plays, but with more depth in terms of characterisation, narrative, locale and physics.

Anything that heavily engrosses me and acts as a steady form of escapism is a worthy game in my view.

[Inertia_]

Having seen the new binks, the only way I can imagine this game disappointing is if it's too short.

Everything I've seen of HL2 says it's going to be every bit as revolutionary as we've hoped for. The environments are more realistic and more evocative than anything I've seen before (including Doom 3). Furthermore, Valve simply seem to operate of a different level to any other studio - their creative juices flow to a higher standard than almost anyone in Hollywood and their game design is consistently ground-breaking.

Take, for example, the opening of Half Life - arguably the greatest opening to any game ever. Both the HL2 trainstation and tenements binks that are currently online feature exposition, drama, innovation and intrigue that seem to easily match the achievements of the first game. The leaked beta hinted at what else lies in store - all as exciting, if not more so than what we've officially been shown.

I fully expect HL2 to be the greatest FPS of all time, probably the greatest PC game of all time and generally one of the greatest games full stop.

As a side-note - I'm sure it wouldn't be half the game it is had Gabe Newell and his boys ever paid attention to the loathesome 'fanboys' who contaminate his forums.

[Concept]

Oh, it's been horrid having to trawl through the wild conspiracy theories just trying to find a simple bit of concrete news as to the current state of this supposed pre-load. What surprises me even more is that Gabe bothers to post on those forums at all... (I know he did on HalfLife 2 Fallout not so long ago).

However, what particularly concerns me, is like Ish has pointed out, the amount of hype that is on this game is immense. Perhaps a release around San Andrea's own date wouldn't be too bad - At least the media attention might be more distracted then and not focused on tearing the game apart if it doesn't live up to everything promised so far in what we've seen.

[Inertia_]

I think Bungie's typically insipid hype and self-congratulation over Halo 2 will happily eclipse the release of HL2.

[Inertia_]

Sorry to double-post. Just to mention that the game's gone gold.

EDIT: I don't know why I bother funnelling these silly rumours into this forum. Sorry again, but it now hasn't gone gold.

I think I'm gonna set the spam filter in my brain to include the word 'valve'.

[Len]

They said end of Aug but official confirmation pls.

Linkage...?

[Concept]

You didn't half-set my heart racing there for a second, Inertia .

The trouble with Valve is, and I mentioned it before with their PR, is that they don't seem to officially release proper confirmations straight to the press a lot of the time. They do it in small drabs either through fansite based forums or on Steam so it takes a while for the news to filter through. Latest word from a Valve employee is that the pre-load begins tomorrow.

It's close. You can just tell... And what I'm hoping is that Valve have gone quiet and delayed whatever this pre-load is because Vivendi asked (or told) them to hold off until the game went gold. Perhaps when the game has been approved for production we just might to play it a few days earlier on Steam for those of us who want to buy it that way.

Although, I'm not sure how happy Vivendi would be about that, unless some of the profits Valve makes from selling the game through Steam are going back into the publisher's pockets somehow.

[Spatial]

EDIT: I don't know why I bother funnelling these silly rumours into this forum. Sorry again, but it now hasn't gone gold.

Too late I jizzed my pants anyway