Half-Life 2 now preloading

[JustJon]

For anyone who was planning to purchase Half-Life 2 online through stream, you can start downloading encrypted parts of the game. Once the release date occurs, and you've downloaded all the pieces, the game will become playable.

This is also cool for those of us who bought ATI cards this year that came with the card for a free copy of the game. Not only can you get HL2, but you can grab all the old HL games for free right now.

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[TheKnicks23]

Oh shit, I forgot about this! Thanks a bunch Jon. But I got a few questions.

I bought a AIW 9600 Pro (yeah not that great now, but still should run the game) and I still have the activation code but haven't scratched it.

What exactly do I do with it?

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[HBox]

I can't fucking wait for this game. I'm pre-loaded and ready to go.

If you want to put in your activation code, downlaod Steam, and then log in. From the menu, choose Browse games. In the new window, there will be a button on the bottom saying Register a product I own. CLick that, and enter your code. I think people with those ATI coupons can download the Counterstrike Source Beta, which is Counterstrike using Half-Life 2's engine. So you got that goin for ya.

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This message was edited by HBox on 9-4-04 @ 3:46 PM

[TheKnicks23]

Alright, cool. I'm guessing that when the game is released in stores I can download a completely full copy of it for free?

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[HBox]

Yes, but there is going to be all sorts of version of the game. Valve hasn't announced them yet, but rumors are one version will be single-player only, one will be the standard verison with single and multiplayer, and there will be a collector's edition with god knows what. So what version ATi people will be getting is still a mystery. I doubt they'd dick you over and give you the stripped down version, but seeing as Valve still hasn't said anything it's all still a huge mystery.

But yes, the second that Half-Life 2 is released, you will be able to download it, and that will probably be before it's even in stores.

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This message was edited by HBox on 9-4-04 @ 3:56 PM

[JustJon]

We're guarenteed at least the single player. And yes, the CS Source is in my "Play Games" list.

And HBox's instructions are correct. Once you've done that, you click "Play Games" and a little AIM-like window pops up. Double click HL2 and it'll start going. And if you want to play TF, CS, etc. just double click it and it'll start dling as well.

I haven't grabbed any other, but I'm tempted to go back to my Team Fortress habit.

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[HBox]

Holy Flurking Shnit this game rules!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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[PanterA]

wow there are CS players on the board?

Cal-M right here, who wants to get pwned?

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[TheRealEddie]

A friend of mine is a coder for Steam at Valve. He's been sending me reviews of HL2 all week. Damn, I wasn't planning on getting this yet, but. it seems like its a hit.

I remember playing HL I on my bad ass twin Voodoo II 12MB cards running in SLI to get that mucho 1024x768 resolution. Damn that was hot. lol

Big A.S.S. #20261

<img src="http://www.princeton.edu/~eddie/webpics/eddiesig.gif">

[Ndugu]

i like battlefield 1942, you can fly planes and shit




"What are you liberals, on dope?"

[Wormwood]

just bought it today cant wait to get out of work so I can go home and play it

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save your breath I never was one

[booster11373]

wow what a crappy way to launch a game, i have mine since 2pm and have yet been able to play becuse you have to log into steam which is down, and then it tells you to visit the forums which are also down, now i know there worried about counterfeiting but this is insane

[TheKnicks23]

WHOA.

This game kicks ass on a level must games don't even touch. Took me awhile to get steam working, but it was worth it. Absolutely stunning.

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[booster11373]

how long did it take im going on 3 hours here??

[HBox]

If you are downloading the game for the first time now, it probably will take long. If I take all the pre-loading time I've done it probably adds up to a couple of hours, but that was downloading in off-peak times. This is a huge game; that's why they pre-loaded it. So, if you are downloading for the first time, expect it to take awhile.

However, if you if you are just unlocking it, it should only take 10-15 minutes. That's how long it took for me. I feel fortunate; I had no problems whatsoever, but that's apparently not the norm.

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[JustJon]

The game takes its sweet time loading up when I start up each time, but holy shit is it great!

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[Ndugu]

i have 128 graphics card and 768 ram, think i can run it?




"What are you liberals, on dope?"

[TheKnicks23]

^Yes. I've got a 2.4ghz, 512 ram, and a 9600 Pro and the game runs nearly flawlessly at 1024x768.

Not as demanding as I thought.

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[HBox]

Beat it Wednesday. This game rocked. I'm not the kind of guy to play games for hours on end, but I literally couldn't stop playing this one. It was SO good. It was so good, that it made San Andreas look like shit in comparison, so much that I can't even play that right now.

That being said, I know some of you are going to hate the ending. I thought it was good, but now I REALLY can't wait until 3. If it takes another 6 years, I won't be able to take it. There are still a lot of unanswered questions. The biggest one still being: [color=white]just what the hell is the combine?![color=navy] There are some hints towards the end, but nothing that leads to a conclusion. That was something I thought they'd explain. I mean: [color=white]It's still not even clear what the hell is under those masks![color=navy] That's the only thing that disappointed me.

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This message was edited by HBox on 11-20-04 @ 1:17 AM

[booster11373]

Just beat it, but very dissapointed in the story part of the game, not to give anything away but it just leaves you hanging at the end, furthermore did i miss something in the begining what the heck has happened since the first game there is not enough explantion

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[JustJon]

They tell you the following during the game:

The aliens could come through the portal at Black Mesa but not go back. The head of Black Mesa cut a deal with aliens to be their emmisary on earth in exchange for a high ranking position. The combine then take over and the dude runs the city.

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[HBox]

The Xen aliens from the first Half-Life are different from combine. The alien slaves from the first game were freed when you beat the boss in the first Half-Life, Nihilanth. That's why they are helping the rebels. if you hang around one of those vortigaunts and keep talking to them, they say a bunch of vague crap, but it seems that they indicate that the combine was controlling the Nihilanth.

The headcrabs were released worldwide in half-Life 1, and since they are just mindless things, they terrorized the countryside anyway and forced people into cities. What was left outside cities was symbolized in Ravenholm. And, once people started massing in the cities, that's when the Citadles started appearing in the cities. There are a bunch of articles posted on the wall in Vance's lab in Black Mesa East which suggest all this.

The backstory is there if you look for it. It doesn't spell everything out easily for you.

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This message was edited by HBox on 11-30-04 @ 10:16 PM

[HBox]

Valve just put Half-Life 2 Deathmatch on Steam. If you have Half-Life 2 you can now download it off Steam. I can't wait to start chucking sinks at people with my Gravity Gun.

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[TheKnicks23]

Wow, finally beat it last night. I kind of hit a wall at Ravenholm for a week and got back tracked with other games, so it took me a while.

But damn, that was the best FPS I've EVER played. The pacing and scripting made for an experience I've never had before in an FPS. Fighting the combine and striders was awesome. So was the driving and defending sequences. WOW.

Spoilers about the ending:

I heard a lot about the cliff hanger ending, but I actually really dug it. I loved how Dr. Breen tried persuading Gordon in the citadel. "You have destroyed so many things, but for what cause? Gordon can you think of one thing you have created?"

It was really thought provoking and hightened the story for me. Now I'm assuming Gman has the power to put Gordon in any situation at any time he wants. So he was obviously saved from the blast, but what about Alyx, Eli, and the rest of the city?

Also, along the lines of what Hbox said I still have no idea who the combine are and how Breen came to lead them. Are they humans or aliens from Xen?

Pretty damn cool.

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