I can't seriously be the only one who is ready to kill someone over this game. That's how amazing it's going to be.

I just got my copy from Best Buy, installing it now.

Arrrrrrrrrr hurrry up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Anyone with me on this?

Lucky bastard, the game isn't suppose to be out until the 16th! I'm a little scare that they screwed it up. At least Counter-Strike will be good :)

I'm not gonna buy it yet, I can't even run it on my PC. I'm upgrading in January or February. I'm waiting for the nforce4 and Xpress200. I don't want to wait that long.

Yeah, I was just at Best Buy and I didn't see it, but then again, I wasn't really looking for it. From the screens and videos that I've seen of it, it looks like it's gonna be really sweet, and if I had a job, I might buy it. But no job = no money, so I'm going to be waiting a while. I'm gonna have to overclock more to get it to run good too, so I'll need a new heat sink for my video card, which costs even more money.

i love this game even though i've never played it!.....yet.....
but it would have been so much better had they released it a year ago like planned. it would have been the greatest game around by far. unfortunatly theres other games out now that are almost as good as it and will take its fire away. and the hypes gone away due to them pushing the released date further and further back.
Luna you lucky bastard. have you played it yet! tell me it's sexy!

Well even though I own the game, I can't play it yet.

I still have to wait till Valve activates it :(

They will be doing sometime between now and the 16th.

Well even though I own the game, I can't play it yet.

I still have to wait till Valve activates it :(

They will be doing sometime between now and the 16th.

Can you at least play online or LAN with it? It would be stupid to force people to buy multiple copies if they want to install it at work or something like that to play LAN. They don't need multiple copies just for that.

I can play CS Source online.


The system is based on the Steam client. You have to have an internet connection to play the game.


Once you register your CD to your steam account though, you can play at any computer with an internet connection. Actually, you can download the steam client on any computer, log in, and download Half Life 2 to that computer and play it. All you need is your login.

I know what they did with the steam client, but I doubt I can log into my account more then once at the same time or having the same cd key for more then 1 account. I guess we won't be playing Counter-Strike at work :(

well yea, it can't be done more than once at the same time. However, if you are all behind the same IP at work, and use the same login, you could probably do a LAN.

I'll have to give it a try here, I have my XPS notebook and then my desktop with CS Source on it. They are both behind the same IP so i'll test it out later.

I play this, Halo, Timesplitters 2...dont understand the difference. =o

I play this, Halo, Timesplitters 2...dont understand the difference. =o

... ?

I mean...i hardly see a difference between 1st person shooters other than the weapons. And...characters? But nothing worth spending another $50 on. =|

I mean...i hardly see a difference between 1st person shooters other than the weapons. And...characters? But nothing worth spending another $50 on. =|

This game is going to be AWESOME! There is a SIGNIFICANT difference between this game and most first-person shooters, and I will try to explain why. Nearly EVERYTHING in the areas is interactive. I watched an example on the net of people making it trying it out, and they set loose a beam that knocked over ALL their enemies. THAT is uber! You can use barrels and things like that. Anything around you can be used on enemies; to slow them down or kill them or whatever. I am not really great at explaining this. Maybe someone else can explain it even better?

I mean...i hardly see a difference between 1st person shooters other than the weapons. And...characters? But nothing worth spending another $50 on. =|

Whatever floats your boat.

I mean...i hardly see a difference between 1st person shooters other than the weapons. And...characters? But nothing worth spending another $50 on. =|

I guess the same applies to movies? It's all the same thing, except for the characters and weapons they use?

If someone can claim it comes within [..] that of FarCry I will be very impressed. FPS wise I think FarCry has it downpat, but I'm hoping HL2 has better gameplay. *shrugs*

Either way, I can't play it until I get a new computer, which is looking at coming up soon!@#!

Put simply, for my simple Australian friend here, Half Life 2 will pwn the pants off Far Cry, bend it over the hood of that jeep you're so fond of gunning people down with, and... well, yeah...

:D

I got the collector's box on pre-order! :D

-Mike

Umm... I *think* I'll get this game in the mail. I preordered it over a year ago, and I've been twiddling my thumbs ever since. Just swaying on my chair. You know, the usual.

But seriously, the graphics on this game look incredible, the engine will be great without a doubt, interacting with every object is definately a bonus (I even saw you can pull letters off the wall on the side of buildings and throw them at enemies)... and let's not forget the online capabilities. Half-Life had some pretty incredible mods like TFC, Counter-Strike and The Specialists which I still play to this day. Oh, and the single player looks great from the movies I've seen... HL1's story was pretty great, I thought.

This game is going to be AWESOME! There is a SIGNIFICANT difference between this game and most first-person shooters, and I will try to explain why. Nearly EVERYTHING in the areas is interactive. I watched an example on the net of people making it trying it out, and they set loose a beam that knocked over ALL their enemies. THAT is uber! You can use barrels and things like that. Anything around you can be used on enemies; to slow them down or kill them or whatever. I am not really great at explaining this. Maybe someone else can explain it even better?

I'll add on to this.

To put it simply, the game has the most advanced physics engine the world has ever seen in a computer game.

Basically everything around you will act / move / react just like it would in real life. If you see a barrel in front of you , you can shoot it with your gun to knock it over. However the barrel might not fall over if the speed of the bullet and point of impact do not create enough force to make it fall over. It really is that advanced. Aiming for the very top of a barrel will cause it to fall over easier, where as if you shot it in the center that would only push the barrel back.

In the game you will be given a gun that will allow you to pick up smaller objects (anything around the size of a barrel). You can then use these ojects to your liking. You can pick up a old rusty saw blade and thrust it into an enemy (which might chop him in half, or take off a limb depending on where it hits) Even so, some enemys might still be alive even after you chop them in half and will crawl after you. You can do almost anything... fire a tang of gas into the wall causing it to explode. Anyone near the explosion will be set aflame and scream in agony. The game gives you unlimited options as to what you can do.


Basically any object in the game is subject to the advanced physics engine. There are objects everywhere, unlike most other games where everything is stuck to the floor. If you see an empty can sitting on the street, you can shoot it around. If a box is hit with a bullet it will shatter intro fragments of wood.


A really good (but long) video of in game play can be found here http://www.fileplanet.com/files/120000/123983.shtml
It's over 500mb


It's not just the physics, but the game as well that make it awesome. The world design, ships, AI, and weapons are going to make it a game that we will never forget.

Also, the vehicles are vastly improved. In Half-Life 1, it was just a 'train' on an invisible track, that could only move forwards and backwards at three speeds. HL2 has actual vehicles now, so you are free to roam on them wherever you wish. I've actually had a go on a car in the game, and they roll over and all sorts, and it's not a simple case of just turning, you do need to watch your speed or you can fall off a cliff edge or whatever.

I've also seen an in-game video of the same car, and the player almost fell off the edge, but managed to climb out and hit/shove the car back to safety before returning to the road.

The skies impressed me, too. The clouds move and stuff, it looks perfect.

Also, the vehicles are vastly improved. In Half-Life 1, it was just a 'train' on an invisible track, that could only move forwards and backwards at three speeds.
LOL those trains were the BOMB! so funny to run people over in :p
but HL2 looks so good simply because the physics engine is perfectly acurate to real world, and the graphics/visuals are picturesque! revelutionary, even though there are other games out now that are almost as good :(

Reviews are starting to come out. I checked the review from gamespot and IGN. Gamespot says the story isn't that good and that the AI pretty much sucks. While at IGN, they don't complain about the story or the AI. Who to trust? So far gamespot gave it the lowest grade, at least according to gamerankings. Expect more reviews in the next few days.

I was kind of expecting that they rushed the story, or that they simply didn't care about it. I won't be able to play for the next 2-3 months, so it should be a lot cheaper then and I might not regret buying it. Only downside is that I want to play Counter-Strike now!!!

but from what i've seen of counter-strike 2, it SUCKS. it looks SO SHITTY. but i've heard the HL2 storyline's supposed to be pretty good. meh i'll soon find out.

but from what i've seen of counter-strike 2, it SUCKS. it looks SO SHITTY. but i've heard the HL2 storyline's supposed to be pretty good. meh i'll soon find out.

It's Counter-Strike updated for the Source engine, it isn't a proper sequel to it...

It's Counter-Strike updated for the Source engine, it isn't a proper sequel to it...
but i'm pretty sure they are released a CS2 based on the source (HL2) engine. it doesn't look that good. theres screenshots out there if you want to check it out though.

You're probably thinking of Counter-Strike:Condition Zero. It's pretty much the old CS game, but standalone and with a single player mode. They didn't update the graphics.

You're probably thinking of Counter-Strike:Condition Zero. It's pretty much the old CS game, but standalone and with a single player mode. They didn't update the graphics.
no, i know what condition zero is. it's single player i know. i'm not stupid. but i remember seeing a video of CS based on the source/HL2 engine. it looked good, but no where near as good as the other videos i've seen of the actual HL2 game. trust me there is a CS2 coming....but it sucks....

Been looking forward to the game for awhile and got it over Steam. Looks awesome, even though for some reason i could never get into the Half Life games. Anyway, at 2am It'll be unlocked and I'll be busy for awhile :) .

On a side note, has anyone read message boards like the ones on rage3d.com? Some of the HL2 scare the crap out of me.

Reviews are starting to come out. I checked the review from gamespot and IGN. Gamespot says the story isn't that good and that the AI pretty much sucks. While at IGN, they don't complain about the story or the AI. Who to trust? So far gamespot gave it the lowest grade, at least according to gamerankings. Expect more reviews in the next few days.

I was kind of expecting that they rushed the story, or that they simply didn't care about it. I won't be able to play for the next 2-3 months, so it should be a lot cheaper then and I might not regret buying it. Only downside is that I want to play Counter-Strike now!!!

PC Gamer gave it a 98%, which I think is the highest score ever given out to a game. I'm not sure what HL1 got but it was damn close, if not the same.

I would not trust IGN or Gamespot to review a game to save my life though... The fact that they were able to sum it all up into Story / AI shows that they did a fairly quick review.




As for the CS: Source talk. CS Source does not look as good as HL2. It's just CS with some higher res texures and a new engine. Expect much more from HL2.


Arrr, 40 min till activation!!!

As for the CS: Source talk. CS Source does not look as good as HL2. It's just CS with some higher res texures and a new engine. Expect much more from HL2.

exactly: CS with some *slightly* higher res textures, and which runs 100 times slower :D

Forgot Valve was on the West cost

6 min till it's activated!

A few in game pictures I took.

Honestly, the detail rivals Doom 3 IMO, and might even surpass it.

Looks soooo nice. I wish I had a faster 3d card so I could play with full AA / Filtering.


http://www.luna-fx.com/Digital/files/photo/2004/11/16/t/1.jpg (http://www.luna-fx.com/Digital/files/photo/2004/11/16/1.jpg) http://www.luna-fx.com/Digital/files/photo/2004/11/16/t/2.jpg (http://www.luna-fx.com/Digital/files/photo/2004/11/16/2.jpg) http://www.luna-fx.com/Digital/files/photo/2004/11/16/t/3.jpg (http://www.luna-fx.com/Digital/files/photo/2004/11/16/3.jpg) http://www.luna-fx.com/Digital/files/photo/2004/11/16/t/4.jpg (http://www.luna-fx.com/Digital/files/photo/2004/11/16/4.jpg) http://www.luna-fx.com/Digital/files/photo/2004/11/16/t/5.jpg (http://www.luna-fx.com/Digital/files/photo/2004/11/16/5.jpg)

Every review so far was done by visiting Valve's studio. So not the best setting to try a game. Maybe we'll get better reviews in the next few days.

Those pics look nice, I want my new PC. Damn you nforce4 for not coming out sooner.

Luna: HL2 doesn't surpass Doom 3 in a technical sense... BUT WHO GIVES A SHIT?!?!

I decided to forego the collector's box and just buy the damn game today. i just played it for 2 hours, didn't even notice the time passing, and realised I'd blinked about thrice. I reckon I can sum it up thus so far:

Wow.

My only gripe so far is the time it took to unlock everything with steam. But hey, I should have expected it to be as busy ;) But yeah, It's just... wow. It's not often I'm left speechless. More detailed post after I've played a bit further.

Oh, and Luna... fancy a game of CS: Source sometime? PM me or something, IM info in profile ;)

-Mike

PC Gamer gave it a 98%, which I think is the highest score ever given out to a game. I'm not sure what HL1 got but it was damn close, if not the same.

Alpha Centauri got a 98% as well, and I believe that tomb raider did as well. HL-1 got a 97.

Anyone else having problems loading the game? The game times out as soon as I try to open hl2. The splash screen is there but the menus/everything else won't load. Apparently, there have been tons of problems today. Over as the somethingawful forums, hundreds of people have been postng about weird geometry, having no textures, in game crashes, audio static, and perpetual lock ups. I can't even load the effing game right now.
I've got:

Win XP
Centrino 1.7 Ghz
ATI MOBILE radeon 9600 series
512 RAM

Any ideas? Its strange because no error messages appear. The game just doesn't load.

Luna: HL2 doesn't surpass Doom 3 in a technical sense... BUT WHO GIVES A SHIT?!?!


How so?

The physics are better, and so is the detail IMO.

Oh, the physics are FAR more advanced than Doom 3, but it has been admitted by Newell that the Doom 3 engine produces higher detail levels... I'll try and find the article, but I think it's because Doom 3 is mostly enclosed, while the Source engine has much greater draw distances to figure in.

But, overall, Half Life 2 kicks the shit out of Doom. On so many levels. Sure, Doom gives you that palpable apprehension, almost fear, but Half Life 2 feels <i>real</i>. Strange, saying that about a computer game. But the way the NPC's walk around, they look genuinely frightened. Oppressed. It's marvellous.

And what about the magnifying glasses, eh? What a touch.

-Mike

PS: As for problems, the only gripe I've had is that it took effing AGES to register with Steam. But then again, it WAS the day of release... the game did crash once, but that was due to me being a complete fucktard and trying to Alt-Tab... :p

I thought the physics in D3 ... were ok. I still don't think they compare to Hl2.

The gravity gun really makes the game fun.



I'm still amazed that I can run this game at high detail and get such great framerates.

http://www.luna-fx.com/Digital/files/photo/2004/11/16/t/6.jpg (http://www.luna-fx.com/Digital/files/photo/2004/11/16/6.jpg)

You're all making me jealous, I want to play now. Maybe I should try overcloking my CPU, that could help a little bit. My videocard isn't that bad(Radeon 8500) but my TBird 1.3ghz is slowing it down.

I can play with all the settings on High, and 4x AA on 1024x768

Only thing I can't do is turn on the Filtering or else I get bad framerates


Sys Specs

AMD Athlon 64 3500+ (overclocked to 3800+)
1Gig Dual Channel OCZ Ram
Asus AV8-Delux Motherboard
Radeon 9500 Pro Video Card
Audigy 2 ZS

My video card is the biggest slow down :-/

I'll probably buy a 9800 pro just to get the filtering up to 4 or 8x

PC Gamer gave it a 98%, which I think is the highest score ever given out to a game. I'm not sure what HL1 got but it was damn close, if not the same.

Wow, I remember that they gave Duke Nukem 3D and Quake both a 96%. This game must've lived up to expectations. If only my Radeon 9700 pro wasn't fried, I'd be playing it right now.:(

Alpha Centauri got a 98% as well, and I believe that tomb raider did as well. HL-1 got a 97.

Anyone else having problems loading the game? The game times out as soon as I try to open hl2. The splash screen is there but the menus/everything else won't load. Apparently, there have been tons of problems today. Over as the somethingawful forums, hundreds of people have been postng about weird geometry, having no textures, in game crashes, audio static, and perpetual lock ups. I can't even load the effing game right now.
I've got:

Win XP
Centrino 1.7 Ghz
ATI MOBILE radeon 9600 series
512 RAM

Any ideas? Its strange because no error messages appear. The game just doesn't load.


I would do an uninstall of HL2, your ati drivers, and then go back and put on the latest drivers for your ati card (the omega drivers are probably the best.

Then do a fresh install of Hl2


I've had one lock up tha was really bad (i was reduced to 1fps and tons of static)

However, new audio drivers for my Audigy card fixed that.

Thanks for the help Luna. The game started working for apparently no reason. Now that i've got it working, its great. yes, it really does beat the shit out of Doom 3 on just about every level.

I'm stuck in 'entanglement' at the part with the three gun turrents and the mob of bad guys with the little spinny blade disk things. Anyone else gotten here?

Sys Specs
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ (overclocked to 3800+)
1Gig Dual Channel OCZ Ram
Asus AV8-Delux Motherboard
Radeon 9500 Pro Video Card
Audigy 2 ZS

wow nice system ^_^

im gonna buy hl2 today. anyone trough right now ??
i think 98 % is a little bit to high for a pc game, even for hl2. it must be nearly perfekt then and not even hl2 is. gamestar got a 93 %.

No, Half Life 2 *is* damned near perfect :D

For comparison, here's my system:

Intel Pentium IVc 2.8GHz
Gigabyte K8PENXP Motherboard
1 Gig Dual Channel Kingmax RAM (PC3200)
Radeon 9800 Pro w/ IceQ cooler (clocked to 412MHz core/335MHz memory)
Audigy somethingorother

I run it at all High settings, 2xAA, 1152x864 resolution, and it goes fine :D

So, when are we getting the CS:Source games set up?

-Mike

So, when are we getting the CS:Source games set up?

I'm up for it if anybody wants to get a server going.


Still stuck at the same part.

I just beat the game

I can't wait to go back and do it all again on hard.

The ending was the most visually stunning thing I have ever seen in a game.


My only complaint for the game itself is the textures on outside levels were not very high. Inside buildings though, it was grand.

I was able to play the whole thing on high though with 4xAA


The enhanced gravity gun = the most amazing weapon ever made. Toss people around like rag dolls

+ another random pic

I beat the game a few days ago and I'm going through it again now. Personally, I loved the ending. I thought that the enemies could have been a bit smarter and tougher, though.

Oh, and sticking people to walls with the crossbow and summoning ant lions to eat people was pretty awesome as well.

The enemies were not the smartest, but it was still hard.

They had good formation, but the problem was with their speed.


Just way too slow.

i'm thinking of going to the all night internet cafe down the block from me and trying this game. they are offering a special still from when it came out.

then i'd get to try it, think it's worth it?

*waves hand like a Jedi*

Trust me... Luna will back me up. You DON'T need to try this game, it WILL blow you away.

It's simply stunning.

-Mike

God, this game rules so much.

I completed it, and now I'm going to start making maps for it... maybe even a small single player game. I have a plan, damnit!

Anyway, yeah, although I don't have the best PC ever (by any means), I was able to play and complete this game. Steam pisses me off big time with it's constant need to validate files (before you can play anything), and I even have to run it when using Hammer (the map-making thing). Generally, my only complaint about the whole experience of Half-Life 2 is the wait. The wait for the install to finish, the wait on the Steam downloading, the wait per segment of the game. But all that could be fixed if I payed a few hundred for a better PC, which I'm not going to do any time soon.

Hopefully I get into map-making like I did last time, because I really enjoy allowing people to play on my maps.

I'm actually glad that Valve took the time and effort to do all of that Steam validation work. Recently they busted about 20,000 people with hacked accounts. VALVe: 1 Everybody else: 0


Its a little different the second time through to say the least. once you know how to solve all of the puzzles, it really changes the pace of the game.

I was under the impression that there were hacks out there that acted as Steam emulators and thus they can't be busted since it doesn't involve activating Steam or creating a Steam account.

Certainly I have friends who have legitimently purchased the game who use such cracks because they cannot (and these are very intelligent experienced computer users) get Steam working and their support from Valve and the Steam forums has been non-existent.

Half-Life 2 is one of the best games I have played in years! Everything about it is awesome. Some people have said it's too short, but I can't really say, since I haven't finished it yet. I'm taking my time, savouring it ^_^

Ravenholm is terrifying! :eek:

I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE HL2 It RULES!!!! i've complited it 2 month ago. It's awesome! don't have words...

Its odd that I didnt find a thread for this, but I just bought the PC version and whats up with having to download it every time you want to play?

The search can be a tricky creature at times. I'm also unaware of anything like having to download it when you play it. I've been playing it recently in fact with no problems.

The search can be a tricky creature at times. I'm also unaware of anything like having to download it when you play it. I've been playing it recently in fact with no problems.


thats weird, I put "Half Life 2" just like that and nothing came up. Anyway, I realized you only have to download it once, the first time you play it. Does anyone play Counter Strike: Source?

Edit: I really hate Steam. If my internet goes down(which it does often) and its not updated, I cant play it. Stupid.


Edit: Since I was the last one to post, I will just edit my last post. I have a question about one of the missions. Im stuck on "Follow Freeman". I cant figure out how to get up to him. I put the cabinet against the rubble but it doesnt reach high enough. Any help would be apprieciated.

Im on "Follow Freeman" where you have to destroy the shield generators. They are all destroyed but Bernie is stuck on a group of rocks and wont move. He keeps saying follow me to the roof, but doesnt move. What do I do?

Load some previous saves? :p

Edit: I really hate Steam. If my internet goes down(which it does often) and its not updated, I cant play it. Stupid.

Um, you don't need to be online to play HL2.

There's an "offline mode" for a reason ;)

-Mike

Um, you don't need to be online to play HL2.

There's an "offline mode" for a reason ;)

-Mike

I figured that out after I posted that. Also, when barnie got stuck, I didnt realize it and like the last 5 saves I did had him stuck. I ended up going online and finding the level name and just reloading the map in that general area. Its all good now. Im in the citadel, a really confusing level.

I still say that Half Life 2 is a really good game, but its unfortunate its got those bugs, otherwise it would be a perfect game. Ive never played a game like this where I actually felt I was in an action movie.

EDIT: I just finished the game. Wow. Amazing. So I want to know everyone's theory on who the gman is.