HL2 + Steam = CRAP!

[Gooberlx2]

Originally posted by: Gooberlx2
I can understand that argument both ways. Yes, I think it's stupid for Valve to require an online app to play an offline singleplayer game...in the sense that disabling that requirement is a PITA of jumping through hoops and settings (so this thread would have me believe). And it's also a feat to get it working for LANs I gather.

OTOH, when I first installed the game last week (yea I'm a little late to the whole HL2 scene) I thought it was very convenient to have steam grab and update all the files for me. Honestly, with computers nowadays, the overhead that steam produces should be negligible compared to a plethora of other apps/processes one has running in the background. Hell, ever keep a couple IE windows (or FF tabs) open in the background?

 

[DurocShark]

Originally posted by: Gooberlx2

Originally posted by: Gooberlx2
I can understand that argument both ways. Yes, I think it's stupid for Valve to require an online app to play an offline singleplayer game...in the sense that disabling that requirement is a PITA of jumping through hoops and settings (so this thread would have me believe). And it's also a feat to get it working for LANs I gather.

OTOH, when I first installed the game last week (yea I'm a little late to the whole HL2 scene) I thought it was very convenient to have steam grab and update all the files for me. Honestly, with computers nowadays, the overhead that steam produces should be negligible compared to a plethora of other apps/processes one has running in the background. Hell, ever keep a couple IE windows (or FF tabs) open in the background?

Quoting yoursefl?

Nobody's denying the convenience of Steam auto-updating the game. It's the inconvenience of it MAKING you auto-update. I didn't see any option during installation to disable Steam or the updates. Plus the "security validation" crap took as long as the downloads. Come on. If Steam asked for a CD key up front during installation, then it could verify in the background while performing the rest of the install. Why wait until after it's installed?

 

[kurt454]

Originally posted by: rstrohkirch

Originally posted by: Kurt454

I played HL2 through a couple of times when it first came out. Backed it up with SteamBackup. I wanted to replay it with my new 7800GT vid card. Initiated the backup. Went to launch the game. It began downloading updates. 2 hours later, I gave up. I am on dialup.

I am stuck in a rural part of the country that will not offer broadband for the next 10 years, or more.
My situation may be unique, but I can guarantee that I will not be buying HL3. If I want to play my copy of HL2, apparently I will have to update the machine all night long. That is ridiculous for a single player game.

In the steam properties for any of valve's games there is an option that says "do not update content for this game"

Have you tried this?

If I can find that option, I will try it. All I want to do is replay this stupid game with my shiny new PCIe 7800GT.

 

[jjones]

I haven't bothered with HL2, or anything Steam for that matter. I have considered buying HL2 and then cracking it so you don't have to use Steam to play single player. The whole concept of being required to be online in order to play the game in single player bothers me. What happens if you lose your internet connection? Are you just SOL for playing the game until your connection comes back? Sounds too stupid to me.

Edit: And you might say, "Well, everyone has internet and if it goes down it won't be for long." I just went through hurricane Wilma and two weeks without internet. I played all the games I had purchased but hadn't played yet because I've been playing UT2004 almost exclusively for the past 1-1/2 years. Games like Far Cry, Max Payne 2, COD, Doom 3 and others. If I'd had HL2 I would have been SOL. Glad I didn't waste money on it.

 

[rstrohkirch]

Originally posted by: jjones
I haven't bothered with HL2, or anything Steam for that matter. I have considered buying HL2 and then cracking it so you don't have to use Steam to play single player. The whole concept of being required to be online in order to play the game in single player bothers me. What happens if you lose your internet connection? Are you just SOL for playing the game until your connection comes back? Sounds too stupid to me.

Edit: And you might say, "Well, everyone has internet and if it goes down it won't be for long." I just went through hurricane Wilma and two weeks without internet. I played all the games I had purchased but hadn't played yet because I've been playing UT2004 almost exclusively for the past 1-1/2 years. Games like Far Cry, Max Payne 2, COD, Doom 3 and others. If I'd had HL2 I would have been SOL. Glad I didn't waste money on it.

You don't have to be online to play the game, you simply have to set it to offline mode.

 

[kurt454]

Offline mode is only available after you have to sit through hours of forced updates. One year from now, I can pop my DVD of Fear in, and begin playing the single player game immediately. Not so with HL2. I am apparently going to have to update steam overnight to be able to play this game. If I drop the connection, it may take several nights. I can't tie up the phone line in the daytime.

Forced updates should not be required for a single player game.

 

[Malak]

Originally posted by: rstrohkirch
You don't have to be online to play the game, you simply have to set it to offline mode.

You have to be online to set it to offline, and it won't stick.

 

[acemcmac]

steam fvcking sucks. It's going to take 120 minutes to finish "updating...."

 

[Schnozzinkobenstein]

Originally posted by: kurt454
I played HL2 through a couple of times when it first came out. Backed it up with SteamBackup. I wanted to replay it with my new 7800GT vid card. Initiated the backup. Went to launch the game. It began downloading updates. 2 hours later, I gave up. I am on dialup.

I am stuck in a rural part of the country that will not offer broadband for the next 10 years, or more.
My situation may be unique, but I can guarantee that I will not be buying HL3. If I want to play my copy of HL2, apparently I will have to update the machine all night long. That is ridiculous for a single player game.

Ah kindred spirits! I too have just bought a 7800GT, and, like you, I live in a borough of a population of only 450 people, so I shan't be getting broadband for +10 years either. I tried updating the stuff, but I could only get around 1MB/hr even though I usually get from 7-10, so I gave up.

Another bad thing about $team is its huge CPU drain. Whenever I start it up, it freezes my comp for like 10 seconds before even doing anything. It also seems to waste about 75% of my (dial-up) bandwidth doing nothing.

 

[h7o]

You know what the sad part about steam is? It's never been easier to pirate games. No need to torrent or "borrow" a game from a friend.

 

[Schnozzinkobenstein]

Yeah, my siblings and I have been LANing off of just one copy of HL2/CSS for a while now.

 

[Tbirdkid]

still not nearly as bad as bf2 updates. the last one... was so huge, that it took hours to download. its a good thing i set it to do it overnight.

 

[Goosemaster]

Originally posted by: Tbirdkid
still not nearly as bad as bf2 updates. the last one... was so huge, that it took hours to download. its a good thing i set it to do it overnight.

yeah....it clogged every freakin' server in the world

 

[John]

Guide to backing up steam

:thumbsup: