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Half-Life 2: Episode One

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My only problem with the steam concept is that you need to connect to the internet. I know you can use the offline mode but that didn't always work for me. My game PC has a stripped down version of XP and no FW or A/V. I don't really want to connect to the internet with that machine.
 
Originally posted by: Sheik Yerbouti
<<<<<<<<<<< waiting to see if my Valve folder can pass the 10GB mark :disgust:

Yea, I'll probably get it too.
Click to expand...

true that. my valve folder was at about 12.7 gb before this...i should check and see what it is now...
 
Originally posted by: apoppin
Originally posted by: ArchAngel777
Originally posted by: apoppin
Originally posted by: Topweasel
Originally posted by: linkgoron
3 games with 3-4 hours for 20-30$ a pop, of 50$ game with 12-16 hours... Bad move valve... Oh wait...
Click to expand...

Its $18.00 if you pre order, 20 if not and you get 6-8 hours. their hope is to get it to 6-8 months a release but probably 8-12, which menas in 6 yrs they will release 6-8 eppisodes or 36-64 hrs playing. So 2x-4x the amount of play time, and we will be playing it more often.

So a huge benifit to us and increased and continuous revenue for them. I have no problem with that. I have already Pre-ordered Sin, I pre-ordered DOD before it came out, and I plan on doing the same with HL2 EP-1.
Click to expand...

i like to make a contrast.

Oblivion has probably 300 hours of superb gameplay and better gfx than HL2 . . . and i spent $40 the first day it came out [and have been playing it every day since then . . . which is amazing since i hated Fantasy RPGs]

i'll check out Ep1 when it is $10 or less
. . . and has stellar reviews


i can wait to see what happens. 😉
Click to expand...

Well, Oblivion came out almost two years after Half Life 2. So you cannot really compare the graphics between the two. Also, the frame rate in HL2, resolution for resolution is about 4 - 6+ times faster. As for the play time, can't argue there.

This isn't to say I like HL2... I don't. But, still, lets not completely rip it a new hole.
Click to expand...
actually i DO [did] like HL2 . . . and gfx is not the deciding factor in a game - for me.

i was just giving a comparison

and Oblivion is a hybred RPG/FPS . . . DE does get compared to HL. 😉

and as to "add ons" . . . Oblivion is a 'rip' . . . i tried two of the "$1.89 Quests" . . . Orrey takes about an hour - maybe 2 - and Wizard's Tower just gives you a new home and the convenience of a couple of enchanting Altars and teleports to the Mages guilds. 😛

i won't be doing any more paid add ons for Oblivion - except for their expansion packs . . .


-------------------
Originally posted by: LanceM
I'm not so sure I could take a 300-hour action FPS...

Some games are better off being short, and I'll gladly pay the same price.
Click to expand...
i have 265 hours into Oblivion and it is still "quality" gameplay and writing [sure some of the Quests are a bit lame . . . but generally the quality is consistently excellent] . . .

and it's looking like more than 400 hours 😛
:Q

😀

Level 19 and i am STILL waiting for it to get hard . . . [moving the difficulty slider all the way to 'hard' just gives you less hit points . . . "Chameleon Gear" is the way to go - ~90% coupled with Sneak and Strong Blade makes you darn near invinvible.

and i just made "arch-mage" last night :Q
😀

. . . so it'll be "awhile" before i get to Ep1. 😉
Click to expand...


good god 265 hours? where do u find the time ! i get in an hour a week at best
 
Originally posted by: crownjules
Originally posted by: Atheus
Originally posted by: biostud
If they just build in some kind of torrent like distribution of games in steam there would be no problems with the speed.
Click to expand...

But then anyone could request (segments of) files from peers, circumventing security. You could have every peer authenticate other peers before sending the file, but that would require a user database on all peers, which would also destroy the security model.
Click to expand...


You're telling me they couldn't create a system where you centrally authenticate/verify and then it allows your client to go out and find the file segments from other authenticated users?
Click to expand...


I heard they hired the guy who invented BitTorrent to implement exactly this in Steam. Personally I've never had terrible download speeds, usually I'm 100K+ down - the issue is just that there is SO much to download the first time you run a fresh install from CD or if you pre-load a game that it ends up taking forever. A pooled bandwidth system would let us highbandwidth guys saturate our connections and probably save a few hours so I'm all for it 🙂
 
Yes, I can see the appeal of putting a few hundred hours into Oblivion (I've completed only one main quest and only the mage guild recommendations and am at 35 hours). But I can't see myself putting that much into an FPS.
 
Originally posted by: CalvinHobbes
My only problem with the steam concept is that you need to connect to the internet. I know you can use the offline mode but that didn't always work for me. My game PC has a stripped down version of XP and no FW or A/V. I don't really want to connect to the internet with that machine.
Click to expand...

Then don't buy the game. The requirements are clear as day.
 
Originally posted by: otispunkmeyer
Originally posted by: apoppin
Originally posted by: ArchAngel777
Originally posted by: apoppin
Originally posted by: Topweasel
Originally posted by: linkgoron
3 games with 3-4 hours for 20-30$ a pop, of 50$ game with 12-16 hours... Bad move valve... Oh wait...
Click to expand...

Its $18.00 if you pre order, 20 if not and you get 6-8 hours. their hope is to get it to 6-8 months a release but probably 8-12, which menas in 6 yrs they will release 6-8 eppisodes or 36-64 hrs playing. So 2x-4x the amount of play time, and we will be playing it more often.

So a huge benifit to us and increased and continuous revenue for them. I have no problem with that. I have already Pre-ordered Sin, I pre-ordered DOD before it came out, and I plan on doing the same with HL2 EP-1.
Click to expand...

i like to make a contrast.

Oblivion has probably 300 hours of superb gameplay and better gfx than HL2 . . . and i spent $40 the first day it came out [and have been playing it every day since then . . . which is amazing since i hated Fantasy RPGs]

i'll check out Ep1 when it is $10 or less
. . . and has stellar reviews


i can wait to see what happens. 😉
Click to expand...

Well, Oblivion came out almost two years after Half Life 2. So you cannot really compare the graphics between the two. Also, the frame rate in HL2, resolution for resolution is about 4 - 6+ times faster. As for the play time, can't argue there.

This isn't to say I like HL2... I don't. But, still, lets not completely rip it a new hole.
Click to expand...
actually i DO [did] like HL2 . . . and gfx is not the deciding factor in a game - for me.

i was just giving a comparison

and Oblivion is a hybred RPG/FPS . . . DE does get compared to HL. 😉

and as to "add ons" . . . Oblivion is a 'rip' . . . i tried two of the "$1.89 Quests" . . . Orrey takes about an hour - maybe 2 - and Wizard's Tower just gives you a new home and the convenience of a couple of enchanting Altars and teleports to the Mages guilds. 😛

i won't be doing any more paid add ons for Oblivion - except for their expansion packs . . .


-------------------
Originally posted by: LanceM
I'm not so sure I could take a 300-hour action FPS...

Some games are better off being short, and I'll gladly pay the same price.
Click to expand...
i have 265 hours into Oblivion and it is still "quality" gameplay and writing [sure some of the Quests are a bit lame . . . but generally the quality is consistently excellent] . . .

and it's looking like more than 400 hours 😛
:Q

😀

Level 19 and i am STILL waiting for it to get hard . . . [moving the difficulty slider all the way to 'hard' just gives you less hit points . . . "Chameleon Gear" is the way to go - ~90% coupled with Sneak and Strong Blade makes you darn near invinvible.

and i just made "arch-mage" last night :Q
😀

. . . so it'll be "awhile" before i get to Ep1. 😉
Click to expand...


good god 265 hours? where do u find the time ! i get in an hour a week at best
Click to expand...

i stopped posting here 😉

😀

and no TV

and not too much sleep the past 3 weeks either . . .

[it's worth it]
:heart:
 
Originally posted by: daniel1113
Originally posted by: CalvinHobbes
My only problem with the steam concept is that you need to connect to the internet. I know you can use the offline mode but that didn't always work for me. My game PC has a stripped down version of XP and no FW or A/V. I don't really want to connect to the internet with that machine.
Click to expand...

Then don't buy the game. The requirements are clear as day.
Click to expand...

Yes, I understand that they tell you the requirements up front, but what if they said that you *had* to own an ATI card and an AMD processor, that would certainly bother people, in the same way forcing you to connect to the internet does.
 
Well Elder scrolls bored me to death so i guess ill stick to FPS and games like GW so i dont have to make a life out of playing a game!
 
The final pre-loading phase of HL2-Ep1 started yesterday. I suggest preloading now as the servers will probably be getting hammered on thursday when the game is finally released.
 
Apparently there's yet another part of the game to be downloaded. I'm doing it now. It doesn't seem to be very big.
 
I have tried to look it up, but does anyone know how long this will be? Ill be damned if i pay $20 for a 1 hour game.
 
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