HL2 Synergy players!

[thecoolnessrune]

Not only do we now have a truly COOP version of HL2 (precisely like playing through HL2 as well as episodes 1 and 2 as if they were single player), but it was also chosen as one of the MODs to join the new MOD category on steampowered, which means the client will be automatically updated just like your steam games from hereon out!

This is awesome to me, but the site is getting hammered because I can't even start the download yet. But I've been looking forward to this for a very long time!

Cheers to the Synergy mod! :beer:

Linkage

 

[JohnAn2112]

Sweet! I'll check it out. Thanks for the link!

 

[Canai]

You can also install it by going to your "My Games" in Steam and looking in the uninstalled games. I already had an older version of Synergy installed so it didn't have to download much.

 

[FP]

Is the gameplay/storyline any different? Are there more enemies when playing coop?

 

[HeXploiT]

I'll wait for a review. The Doom 3 co-op was terribly fun but it had too many darn bugs. Doors closing and locking some players behind, the next level not opening even though you have the key-card etc...

Hope this one is better.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

@binister: The people who create the servers can either play through the storyline with parameters they set or set custom maps which add all sorts of interesting dynamics. It's interesting to see what map makes do with models and physics

@Perry: Synergy has been out for several years now this is just the first time that the COOP system itself has been so tightly integrated with the game. Previously Synergy was loaded onto a dedicated server and customised versions of the maps were made with those considerations in mind.

Now the OB (Orange Box) edition has completely revamped the way it works by getting Steam's blessing. It now runs based as a modification to the game itself, sharing resources etc. etc. This is no longer a build up of a 3rd party mod but a modification closely aided by the help of Valve developers. There were several bugs reported this morning and they're being patched but so far it seems to run stably.

So far I can't play, the switch to running on Steam means it joins the list of some of the Steam games I can't play because college blocks them. I got to email a network admin about that shit.

 

[slightlyhuman]

man it won't go past 'downloading starting' on my steam games list, wtf

 

[RPatrick]

How is Synergy working now ? Does it run well, any problems with lag ?

Would this be a good way for a couple of friends to play Half Life 2 for the first time ?

 

[RPatrick]

After several hours of HL2 coop campaign gameplay, I can report that the steam supported Synergy software is excellent !

It is very simple to setup a listen server for playing with a friend or two. The only tricky part I see is figuring out which particular map to load for starting out on. It appears there is no way to save your progress, so you'll have to figure out the name of the map you stopped on, in order to begin there again in a future session. That is not too hard considering that the names of the maps are descriptive. Once you start the session, the maps will auto load as levels are completed in the correct order.

I've seen no major (or even minor) bugs in the latest version on Steam. My friend did get dropped during a level change, but that only happened once so far.

Neither one of us have played any of the HL2 games before. The cut scenes and story line are both intact, and we are thoroughly enjoying it !

I've not tried any of the dedicated internet servers, so I can't comment on those. If you are looking to create a private game with a good friend or two, I can't imagine anything being much better than this.

 

[BassBomb]

Just wondering if this affects your actual HL2 install... as in are you able to play regular HL2 while synergy is installed?

 

[natebigdawg]

Is there a limit to the amount of players that can play co-op on this?

 

[RPatrick]

Installing Synergy has no effect on your regular single player installation of Half Life 2. It does share resources with the original install, but does not change how it plays.

If you've got an average cable internet connection, I've heard you can host up to 3 or 4 players without bandwith problems, although I believe the single player campaigns will allow 8 players or maybe more, I can't remember exactly. I believe there are user created maps on dedicated servers that can host 20 + players .

 

[bunnyfubbles]

can't say I'm impressed

the one game I played thus far was laggy as shit (despite good ping) and the whole extremely limited ammo/supplies problem with HL2 in general is made that much worse with extra players

I also don't remember having to jump-duck so god damn much just to get over the most simple steps...

 

[RPatrick]

In my game with one friend hosted on my PC, there was no significant lag.

As far as the ammo goes, that is a problem when you are playing with people who are just doing their own thing. I recommend playing with good friends who want to play together. Whoever picks up the ammo and health packs can distribute those items to the other players via an assigned key press. This game is about experiencing the campaign with others as a team, not about trying to get the most kills or pickup the most resources. If the ammo supply was increased, then everyone would be fully loaded up and going hogwild on the enemy making the gameplay too easy. Not much reason for teamwork in that scenario. Synergy is designed to preserve the single player experience in HL2 and all the episodes.

The word on jumping is that in the single player version of HL2, the program automatically ducks for you when you press only the space bar. In Synergy you must duck jump manually to reach the same height. I'm not sure why jumping was done differently in Synergy.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Well the lag wasn't normal lag, reaction times would be fine, it was actual game lag, probably whenever physics happened to be involved more than normal. Perhaps the server I was on was just a complete piece of shit or something, but it made certain parts and aspects almost unbearable.

I don't mind teamwork at all, but I'd rather not have to completely penny pinch the ammo, it makes the game a chore more than it is fun. I don't need 10 guns with 10 bullets each, I just need 1 gun with 100 bullets. Also, other than the magnum, the guns' accuracies are complete crap, and the AI was able to hit us with ease when we could unload entire mags on them from the same distance and only hit 5% or so at best.

Maybe it was just that one server but it was such a bad experience I don't really even want to give it another try. I'll give myself some time to forget the bad experience and then go back and give it another shot, but I'm not going to hold my breath.

 

[Jimmis Atha]

enable V Sync to avoid lag