Just info I sent to some friends regarding the HL/CS updates - might be helpful to others.
***************************************************
As with any update, it should be understood that there would be bug issues that could make it a very frustrating experience if you are one of the many who's system doesn't match the minimum requirements. These recent updates to HL and CS are prime examples. I figured I'd give ya'll some input in the event you don't read the site FAQ's or are so frustrated with your upgrade that you want to throw your comp out the window. I would recommend keeping an eye on the news sections of the following websites:
Planethalflife.com
Planetcounterstrike.com
Fileplanet.com
Much of the information I give you here is obtained from those sites.
*FIRST OF ALL, IF YOU JUST DON'T WANT TO MESS WITH THE PATCH, DON'T. OR IF YOU'VE INSTALLED IT AND DON'T WANT TO TAKE THE TIME TO TROUBLESHOOT THEN UNINSTALL YOUR HALFLIFE/CS AND ONLY UPDATE TO THE VERSION PRE-1.8/1.3.
It is important to note that once the updates are installed, you can only play on the servers that are updated and if you're not updated then you can only play on the non-updated servers. Don't worry about whether you'll have available servers either way though - many, many servers are not upgrading to the new patch until the majority of issues are worked out. Should you update and not be sure which servers are compatible, just look for Server names that include "1.8" or "1.3" in the heading (depending on whether you're playing HL or CS. There are more updated servers that don't contain the "1.8/1.3" but for now, the listed servers should suffice.
The two most noticeable problems with the new updates affect users who run "ATI" brand or variant video cards and have sound cards that do not support full duplexing. To find out which brand/variant of video card you have look in the hardware or device manager listings via the "System" icon in your Control Panel. The card or chipset should be listed under the "Display Adapters" heading in the device list. The same list is also where you will find information about your sound card.
Unfortunately, further information on determining which chipset you are running ranges from simple to in-depth and I couldn't possibly provide you comprehensive troubleshooting steps via e-mail. The best help I could give you w/out actually working your system is to determine which brand/model/chipset of the hardware you are concerned with - then download the most current drivers from the related website. Note that if your soundcard does not support full duplexing (info can be found via manufacturers website) then even a driver update won't correct an issue with using the voice chat. Other than the voice chat however - assuming that you don't have a video problem you will be able to play as usual.
The good thing about sound cards now is that they've become relatively inexpensive. You can pick one up that supports full duplexing for $25 - 30 bucks. Oh, and to use the voice chat feature of HL/CS you'll need a headset/mic combo. Those range from $15 cheapos to $80+ professional sets.
Back to the issues: Valve has indicated that they will be releasing a patch to address the ATI brand sound card issues. An article I read said that the patch would be released today (Friday, September 21). There are certainly other issues that haven't been reported yet but be sure that Valve will address them as soon as they are able.
Myself, I updated both HL and CS. Installing the updates prompted me to test my soundcard/microphone settings. These tests won't complete successfully if you don't have a compatible sound card so if you don't want to dig into the device properties to figure out if you're compatible, this step will inform you. My first few attempts to connect to some of the updated servers were disappointing - I couldn't connect. I checked out a few gaming sites and forums and noted some of the problems people were having with their ATI cards and that changing the video rendering from OpenGL to DIRECT3D or software rendering allowed them to play (This setting is found in the Configuration menu under Video within the HL/CS game menu). I don't have an ATI card (the one I'm on right now is a Prophet 4500 64MB) but I changed the setting to D3D and then Software rendering to see if there was a difference, and there was. Although the video was crappy (that's technical for not as good as OpenGL) I was able to play.
It took some time to get used to the Voice Chat feature. Well, I'm still not used to it but I can definitely see where this dramatically enhances game play. The caveat here is that if you're not set up right you won't have a good experience with it, similarly if other gamers aren't set up right they sound like crap. I tried a few different settings and found what I think is an acceptable result for the time being - I am confident that with more play and troubleshooting I'll have mine set up pretty good. I did notice though that the voice feature seemed to work better/worse in different servers. A lot of the good/bad experience once being able to play, had to do with whether or not all the gamers were set up right for chat. Some of the communication sounded like our Crypto transmissions during the Gulf War - meaning that it was all garbled and there were also games where the com's were great, sounding like my teammate was next door.
It's somewhat frustrating to know that I can't just go home tonight and jump into a game knowing it's all going to work like butter. But, if I don't want to use the voice chat feature I don't have to. It can be disabled in the configuration menu or just don't put on the mic. Quite a few people who played in the updated servers still used their text chat option.
A humorous side to the voice chat regards a lot of banter and joking before the update was available in that once the voice chat is a viable tool - we'd know that we've been fragged by the 12 and under crowd
This in my experience has certainly turned out to be true! Well, perhaps not so many 12 year olds but there were definitely obvious indications that many of the voice-enabled players had yet to hit puberty And there's the girl gaming posers. Not that there aren't many girl gamers out there but there are quite a few boys being found out or having to change their screen names because their voice doesn't quite match their nick. Of course, there is the whole transvestite/cross dressing factor but we'll leave that for another review.
So, I just wanted to get a hold of you Spook and Ameba to give you a heads up on the new updates. There is a lot more that the updates change like the addition of the spectator mode (which is cool) and upgraded textures and graphics and - well I'll let you do some site reading on your own. Eventually, the bugs will be addressed and everyone will be up to the 1.8/1.3 versions. I'll keep one of my comps on the previous patch to play w/ya'll if you don't want to upgrade just yet.
Just be patient. It's a good upgrade. But there's a learning curve and a trial by fire.
Hope this helps
Good Gaming.
Sketcher
***************************************************
As with any update, it should be understood that there would be bug issues that could make it a very frustrating experience if you are one of the many who's system doesn't match the minimum requirements. These recent updates to HL and CS are prime examples. I figured I'd give ya'll some input in the event you don't read the site FAQ's or are so frustrated with your upgrade that you want to throw your comp out the window. I would recommend keeping an eye on the news sections of the following websites:
Planethalflife.com
Planetcounterstrike.com
Fileplanet.com
Much of the information I give you here is obtained from those sites.
*FIRST OF ALL, IF YOU JUST DON'T WANT TO MESS WITH THE PATCH, DON'T. OR IF YOU'VE INSTALLED IT AND DON'T WANT TO TAKE THE TIME TO TROUBLESHOOT THEN UNINSTALL YOUR HALFLIFE/CS AND ONLY UPDATE TO THE VERSION PRE-1.8/1.3.
It is important to note that once the updates are installed, you can only play on the servers that are updated and if you're not updated then you can only play on the non-updated servers. Don't worry about whether you'll have available servers either way though - many, many servers are not upgrading to the new patch until the majority of issues are worked out. Should you update and not be sure which servers are compatible, just look for Server names that include "1.8" or "1.3" in the heading (depending on whether you're playing HL or CS. There are more updated servers that don't contain the "1.8/1.3" but for now, the listed servers should suffice.
The two most noticeable problems with the new updates affect users who run "ATI" brand or variant video cards and have sound cards that do not support full duplexing. To find out which brand/variant of video card you have look in the hardware or device manager listings via the "System" icon in your Control Panel. The card or chipset should be listed under the "Display Adapters" heading in the device list. The same list is also where you will find information about your sound card.
Unfortunately, further information on determining which chipset you are running ranges from simple to in-depth and I couldn't possibly provide you comprehensive troubleshooting steps via e-mail. The best help I could give you w/out actually working your system is to determine which brand/model/chipset of the hardware you are concerned with - then download the most current drivers from the related website. Note that if your soundcard does not support full duplexing (info can be found via manufacturers website) then even a driver update won't correct an issue with using the voice chat. Other than the voice chat however - assuming that you don't have a video problem you will be able to play as usual.
The good thing about sound cards now is that they've become relatively inexpensive. You can pick one up that supports full duplexing for $25 - 30 bucks. Oh, and to use the voice chat feature of HL/CS you'll need a headset/mic combo. Those range from $15 cheapos to $80+ professional sets.
Back to the issues: Valve has indicated that they will be releasing a patch to address the ATI brand sound card issues. An article I read said that the patch would be released today (Friday, September 21). There are certainly other issues that haven't been reported yet but be sure that Valve will address them as soon as they are able.
Myself, I updated both HL and CS. Installing the updates prompted me to test my soundcard/microphone settings. These tests won't complete successfully if you don't have a compatible sound card so if you don't want to dig into the device properties to figure out if you're compatible, this step will inform you. My first few attempts to connect to some of the updated servers were disappointing - I couldn't connect. I checked out a few gaming sites and forums and noted some of the problems people were having with their ATI cards and that changing the video rendering from OpenGL to DIRECT3D or software rendering allowed them to play (This setting is found in the Configuration menu under Video within the HL/CS game menu). I don't have an ATI card (the one I'm on right now is a Prophet 4500 64MB) but I changed the setting to D3D and then Software rendering to see if there was a difference, and there was. Although the video was crappy (that's technical for not as good as OpenGL) I was able to play.
It took some time to get used to the Voice Chat feature. Well, I'm still not used to it but I can definitely see where this dramatically enhances game play. The caveat here is that if you're not set up right you won't have a good experience with it, similarly if other gamers aren't set up right they sound like crap. I tried a few different settings and found what I think is an acceptable result for the time being - I am confident that with more play and troubleshooting I'll have mine set up pretty good. I did notice though that the voice feature seemed to work better/worse in different servers. A lot of the good/bad experience once being able to play, had to do with whether or not all the gamers were set up right for chat. Some of the communication sounded like our Crypto transmissions during the Gulf War - meaning that it was all garbled and there were also games where the com's were great, sounding like my teammate was next door.
It's somewhat frustrating to know that I can't just go home tonight and jump into a game knowing it's all going to work like butter. But, if I don't want to use the voice chat feature I don't have to. It can be disabled in the configuration menu or just don't put on the mic. Quite a few people who played in the updated servers still used their text chat option.
A humorous side to the voice chat regards a lot of banter and joking before the update was available in that once the voice chat is a viable tool - we'd know that we've been fragged by the 12 and under crowd
This in my experience has certainly turned out to be true! Well, perhaps not so many 12 year olds but there were definitely obvious indications that many of the voice-enabled players had yet to hit puberty And there's the girl gaming posers. Not that there aren't many girl gamers out there but there are quite a few boys being found out or having to change their screen names because their voice doesn't quite match their nick. Of course, there is the whole transvestite/cross dressing factor but we'll leave that for another review.So, I just wanted to get a hold of you Spook and Ameba to give you a heads up on the new updates. There is a lot more that the updates change like the addition of the spectator mode (which is cool) and upgraded textures and graphics and - well I'll let you do some site reading on your own. Eventually, the bugs will be addressed and everyone will be up to the 1.8/1.3 versions. I'll keep one of my comps on the previous patch to play w/ya'll if you don't want to upgrade just yet.
Just be patient. It's a good upgrade. But there's a learning curve and a trial by fire.
Hope this helps
Good Gaming.
Sketcher
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