Half-Life 2 Interview Illuminates

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Half-Life 2 Interview Illuminates

Posted by simoniker on Thursday July 17, 2003 @08:19AM from the frothing-fanboy-fanaticism dept.

As part of the continuing Half-Life 2 media blitz, GameSpy has an interview with Valve's Doug Lombardi about the much-heralded FPS sequel. This insightful interview has info on who'll be returning: "A few of your friends from Black Mesa are in Half-Life 2, and they are sort of immediately your allies; like some of the scientists and Barney the security guard character", as well as more on system requirements: "I think that Valve tries very hard to support as far back with system as we humanly can, and in this case we're going back to a Pentium II 800 with 128mb of RAM, but as get up to a Pentium 4 class you'll see better water and better effects." Meanwhile, the third direct-feed Half-Life 2 movie, 'Kleiner's Lab', is available via Steam, Gamers Hell, BitTorrent via GameTab, and most of the other usual online stockists.

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Article by Anonymous Coward · 2003-07-17 08:30 · Score: 0

Doesn't seem to have much in the way of new information
Wow! by Anonymous Coward · 2003-07-17 08:31 · Score: 0

a Pentium II 800! Too bad PIIs only went to 400 (IIRC)
1. Re:Wow! by eggsome · 2003-07-17 13:32 · Score: 1
  
  450mzh was the fastest/final Intel PII.
  
  --
  If they made a movie of your life, would anybody buy a ticket?
bit-torrent link for this one too up on gametab by speedbacon · 2003-07-17 08:34 · Score: 3, Informative

http://www.gametab.com/files/torrents.php?fuse=55
WooHOO by Anonymous Coward · 2003-07-17 08:45 · Score: 0

Looks like my p3-800 with 256MB with be alright after all. I know it won't look as good but that's not too important. To me at least.
Pentium II 800? by Asprin · 2003-07-17 08:46 · Score: 3, Funny

"I think that Valve tries very hard to support as far back with system as we humanly can, and in this case we're going back to a Pentium II 800 with 128mb of RAM, but as get up to a Pentium 4 class you'll see better water and better effects."

Pentium II 800?

I thought they peaked at, like 450!

My old PC is worse than I thought.

--
"Lawyers are for sucks."
- Doug McKenzie
Backward compatibility by Mike+Hawk · 2003-07-17 08:48 · Score: 0, Flamebait

IE people with slow computers will force the whole community to play to the lowest common denominator. They will have the settings so low that fog and grass and trees and rain and whatever else will disappear, leaving anyone with a system powerful enough to handle these things at a disadvantage. Thanks valve. I wish you would leave some of these old PC's behind. It is 2003 already.

Look at what they did with Enemy Territory. It includes punkbuster and through pb settings an admin can limit how much a client can play with their cvars and still be allowed on that server. This makes sure everyone sees the same rain and fog and trees and grass. If you were a serious gamer you wouldn't be rocking a PII 800.

Valve has just basically invited (and really forced) everyone to stay in Half-life 1 level graphics for another generation.
1. Re:Backward compatibility by NiceGeek · 2003-07-17 09:05 · Score: 1
  
  I would think that the less punishing the system requirements, the more people will be able to play (and buy) the game. As the owner of a not-so-state of the art system (1.2 Duron, GeforceFX 5200), I'm glad that I'll be able to play.
2. Re:Backward compatibility by Anonymous Coward · 2003-07-17 09:20 · Score: 0
  
  How much has even been released about HL2's multi-player? You're forgetting the biggest draw of HL, SINGLE PLAYER! Single player is where you can take advantage of your insane Pentium10 8million terahertz machine with bajillions of gigs of ram, and a graphics card that can render an infinite number of polygons (with all effects on) in zero time, running off a power supply that is essentially an 18-wheeler cab without wheels.
  
  Besides, if the HL2's default admin utility doesn't allow the admin to force players to a certain spec, mods to the admin utility will fill in the gap. I think some of today's more popular mods (Day of Defeat) wouldn't even run on the minimum required set up for HL (though I could be wrong).
3. Re:Backward compatibility by Krypto420 · 2003-07-17 09:32 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  ...Valve tries very hard to support as far back with system as we humanly can, and in this case we're going back to a Pentium II 800 with 128 of RAM, but as get up to a Pentium 4 class you'll see better water and better effects. For folks who want the ultimate experience, they'll want the latest ATI card, and the fastest processor available from AMD or Intel. The game engine is scalable. In other words, the better your computer/graphics card the better looking HL2 will be as the game engine will up the detail, textures, polycount, etc. I think it's a pretty neat concept and can't wait to see how it works out. I will be very irritated if my buddy's P2 looks as good as my XP 2800+ ;)
4. Re:Backward compatibility by Bobtree · 2003-07-17 10:10 · Score: 1
  
  Exactally. Welcome to the PC game market reality.
5. Re:Backward compatibility by Jahf · 2003-07-17 10:18 · Score: 1
  
  Take a look at the movies that are coming out. They are not going back to the common denominator. The government guy movie is quite impressive, facial animations -and- resolution. It also gives a good contrast to the tech 5 years ago by showing the old version in the first shots.
  
  --
  It is more productive to voice thoughtful opinions (reply) than to judge (moderate) others.
6. Re:Backward compatibility by realdpk · 2003-07-17 10:18 · Score: 1
  
  I'm far less interested in the single player than I am in the engine and the tools it will come with to develop multiplayer mod/levels.
7. Re:Backward compatibility by Nonki · 2003-07-17 11:08 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  It is a neat concept, one that's been around since before Quake 1. Every FPS or graphics-heavy game has settings for model complexity, texture detail, resolution, anti-aliasing, etc. Do you play computer games?
8. Re:Backward compatibility by Mike+Hawk · 2003-07-17 12:49 · Score: 1
  
  Wow, the parent got modded both insightful AND flamebait. I guess I'll have to consider that the highest possible compliment meaning I captured the discussion perfectly and two people had nothing to add other than completely agree and completely disagree. The flamebait is off base because I provided a concrete example of both the negative aspect of allowing slow PCs to continue on as well as a solution another game made. If you think I am paranoid, just watch the difference between an RtCW competition (no tight PB controls) and an ET competition (very tight PB controls). The RtCW game will look like a field of grey with axis and allies running around, but hey its got a low min spec!
9. Re:Backward compatibility by Anonymous Coward · 2003-07-17 13:37 · Score: 0
  
  I think mulit-player is where you need the most horsepower. With single player, the devs can control how much is going on at any given time. Sure a faster computer is always better, but I'm sure they've gone through the SP game and optimized it.
  
  Playing online is totally different. You never know when you're going to have lots of people on your screen at once, with guns blazing, explosions going off, etc. That's where you need a good PC.
10. Re:Backward compatibility by PainKilleR-CE · 2003-07-18 01:04 · Score: 1
  
  The best multiplayer mapmakers, however, design their maps the same way the single player maps are designed, with careful planning and knowledge of how the game will be played. You do what you can to keep the player from seeing too much of the map at once (kills framerates on lower-end computers, especially once all of the players are in there), and to keep the flow moving through certain areas.
  
  Usually the SP game can take much more advantage of the computer's capabilities in terms of level design, while the multiplayer game will bring the computer to it's knees with even the most simple maps (go play sq1 for TFC with a half dozen people).
  
  What you really need is not so much a good PC as good knowledge of your PC's limitations and the game's options for getting the most out of it. Once you tune the network settings and limit the framerate appropriately, it takes a lot to bring even a mediocre computer to it's knees.
  
  --
  -PainKilleR-[CE]
11. Re:Backward compatibility by Zathrus · 2003-07-18 01:50 · Score: 1
  
  No, it means there was one stupid moderator and two who realized you're clueless.
  
  The flamebait is onbase because you don't know what you're talking about. Just because someone is running a P3-800 doesn't mean everyone else is going to be scaled back to their level of detail. The game will adapt to whatever settings you want... if you're doing multiplayer then the admin may enforce some options (I'd imagine they'll enable this in HL2 MP since it's already in HL), and then those who can't handle that level of gameplay will just have to find a different server.
  
  You didn't provide a concrete example, you provided meaningless spewage.
12. Re:Backward compatibility by Teddeh · 2003-07-18 03:25 · Score: 1
  
  "They will have the settings so low that fog and grass and trees and rain and whatever else will disappear, leaving anyone with a system powerful enough to handle these things at a disadvantage.
  
  I don't think it'll be like that. I think it'll be more of a draw distance/texture quality/texture effects/particle FX/water FX tradeoff. Getting rid of landscape objects/environment effects client-side would be bloody stupid. Every player would just turn off the eye candy to gain an advantage.
  
  "an admin can limit how much a client can play with their cvars and still be allowed on that server"
  
  Although HL2 won't use Punkbuster (IIRC), I would think it would allow some of that kind of functionality to server ops. If your PC can't handle the GFX load required, you leave or play the HL2 slideshow. :)
  
  "Valve has just basically invited (and really forced) everyone to stay in Half-life 1 level graphics for another generation."
  
  Are you an id fan? That's FUD, plain and simple.
13. Re:Backward compatibility by Mike+Hawk · 2003-07-21 19:33 · Score: 1
  
  Clearly sir, you are the one who does not know of what we are discussing. No, everyone is not AUTOMATICALLY scaled to the lowest PC's LOD. That is not what I am claiming. If you had ever played in a gaming league, however, you would know that this is what happens. Everyone trys to turn off all the settings. I wouldn't have had to go into more detail, but you are clearly ignorant of this side of gaming. What you IMAGINE will happen is all well and good, but I live in reality. I appreciate the quality of gameplay being locked at a certain level (and yes, graphics do enhance gameplay when there are trees to hide behind and walls that have color to blend in with, etc) by the publisher. When an engine can be scaled back this far, it will be. Period. When one person turns of trees and textured walls, EVERYONE will to stay competitive. Your ignorance of this situation astounds me. Perhaps you are the type of guy who goes to a PC club to play Counter-strike and stab someone and calls himself an informed gamer. Good day.
Hype for Half-Life 1? by czion3 · 2003-07-17 08:50 · Score: 1

Did Valve hype Half-Life 1 this much I can't remember? Anyone else thing Half-Life is the best game of all time(monkey island comes close)?
1. Re:Hype for Half-Life 1? by Dugsta · 2003-07-17 09:10 · Score: 0
  
  well the reason that its been hyped up this much is exactly that ... because it has been dubbed the sequal 'greatest game of all time' which I'd say is a pretty fair statement myself, there have been very good games since which I'd say come close (GTA3, Max Payne to name a couple) but nothing (in my opinion) that beats the original HL, the fact that I can go back now and play it right through and still really enjoy and also the fact that the engine is still VERY popular (counterstrike etc.) just proves its worthy for its status
2. Re:Hype for Half-Life 1? by lidocaineus · 2003-07-17 10:44 · Score: 1
  
  Can someone explain this to me? I liked Half-Life when it came out, played some CS, but what always places HL at the top of people's greatest games list? It seems like a great FPS: really nice AI (especially for the time) and a story progression that occurred 'in place', but those two things somehow vaulted it over *everything*?
  
  That, and the fact that it still used some overdone FPS stereotypes at the time makes me wonder why games like the Thief series, Deus Ex, and System Shock 1/2 have never had such fanatical fanbases. While those games do have fans, they don't seem to inspire the same kind of crazed lunacy HL fans bring to the table. Am I missing something? Reinstalling and playing it now seems... boring, honestly. And I guess my last nitpick was how Sierra/Valve liked to push forward how 'normal' Gordon was; an average Joe type with regards to weapons and such, yet he's taking out SpecOps guys halfway through the game. Uh huh :P
  
  Note that I am an avid game fan (both PC and console for a long time) and I'm not knocking HL; I'm just curious as to how people see it as such an amazing game.
3. Re:Hype for Half-Life 1? by gorgon_123 · 2003-07-17 11:22 · Score: 1
  
  While I don't think H-L 1 was the best game ever, a quick trip over to Gamespy tells us that there are currently 84,320 people playing Half Life, with BF1942 in second place with a paltry 8,440. Link to those live stats.
4. Re:Hype for Half-Life 1? by Anonymous Coward · 2003-07-17 13:34 · Score: 0
  
  That's due to the low system requirements for Half-Life. Anyone with 'a computer' can pretty much play it.
5. Re:Hype for Half-Life 1? by Jad+LaFields · 2003-07-17 15:35 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Well, all those other games you mention came out after Half-Life (except System Shock 1), and in some ways were influenced by HL.
  
  It's no surprise that HL was big when it came out, it was astounding, AI like no other game, graphics that beat pretty much all but Unreal, a fairly realistic gameworld (much less fantasy than Unreal, Quake, et al), the story, the pacing. But why is it still considered so great today?
  
  Because it does everything right. By now, nothing is a standout, graphics are clearly dated, AI in someways has been done better, there are far more realistic games, more innovative playstyles. But Half-Life still offers one of the most complete package of not-top-line but really great "components" in one incredibly polished and well-designed game.
  
  I loved Deus Ex, it had a better story and more depth to the gameplay, but was less immersive with cutscenes that "took you out of the action". I only played a demo of Thief, and I really liked the gameplay, but I didn't feel like I could play an entire game of just sneaking around. Half-Life had its sneaking parts, its puzzle parts, its run-and-gun. I played a demo of SS2, got stuck on a stupid piece of equipment, had to play the first half of the level again (I forgot to save), and enjoyed it, but it left a bad taste in my mouth. From the reviews, I hear there are no other people in the game, but that they "talk" to you through logs, which sounds somewhat uninteresting to me.
  
  And lastly, I've still NEVER seen a game that comes even CLOSE to the level design and the monster design of HL. The head crabs are truly ingenious.
  
  Wow, I haven't played the single player game in years, but just right now I shuddered, remembering about the sound they make. Now that's a good game. =)
  
  Oh yeah and about the "normalcy" of Gordon... I really didn't catch all that much "pushing" of that angle at all, but you might have read different previews than me. I felt that they pulled off their real intention perfectly: to really not even have the character "Gordon Freeman", but to have YOU, there, and just happening to be called Gordon... it worked for me... I still imagine I can take down an entire squadron of highly trained Marines =)
  
  --
  [SIG] It's like putting a moose in the blender -- a recipe for disaster!
6. Re:Hype for Half-Life 1? by PainKilleR-CE · 2003-07-18 00:55 · Score: 1
  
  Did Valve hype Half-Life 1 this much I can't remember?
  
  I'm not sure if it was Valve that hyped it so much, or that it just had so much hype, but HL was extremely hyped up. It was on magazine covers something like 2 years before it came out. There were videos displaying the 'cool never-before seen' special effects straight out of old platform games (ie sliding on water and/or ice, breaking through floors, etc). We saw about 1/4 of the scripted sequences before the game even came out, and watched the whole game get scrapped for an engine rewrite.
  
  On the other hand, this is exactly the reason why Valve denied that Half-Life 2 was even being done until now. That, and maybe the fact that they've been promising us Team Fortress 2 for 4 or 5 years and will deliver HL2 first.
  
  Anyone else thing Half-Life is the best game of all time(monkey island comes close)?
  
  I don't even think HL is the best FPS game ever, let alone best game of all time, but most people don't seem to agree with me ;)
  
  --
  -PainKilleR-[CE]
Just found the current Doom3 specs estimate by Mike+Hawk · 2003-07-17 09:39 · Score: 1

Gamespy reports JC himself has stated these are the target min specs for Doom3 for comparision.

1GHz CPU
256MB RAM
GF1 or Radeon 7xxx series card

No mention of the minimum card for HL2, though they do shamelessly plug ATI in general. Sell out, with me oh yeah...

All just for comparison.
1. Re:Just found the current Doom3 specs estimate by Anonymous Coward · 2003-07-17 13:39 · Score: 0
  
  As opposed to every other game selling out using the "NVIDIA: The Way It's Meant To Be Played" campaign? Hooray for Valve promoting ATI for a change.
2. Re:Just found the current Doom3 specs estimate by PainKilleR-CE · 2003-07-18 01:07 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah, considering that Valve has screwed users of both cards at one point or another, with one update that messed up the player textures on nVidia cards (some percentage of the time) which they blamed on nVidia's drivers for about a year and a half, and another update which completely did not work on ATI cards, and needed a patch for the patch.
  
  Not to mention how many changes they had to make to the game to keep ATI users from cheating, even inadvertently, since the cards really liked rendering the walls invisible.
  
  --
  -PainKilleR-[CE]
3. Re:Just found the current Doom3 specs estimate by junkgrep · 2003-07-20 16:33 · Score: 1
  
  There is a very good reason for them to push ATI (though to say they've been plugging it is downright silly: they were at the ATI booth at e3, big deal): only ATI cards have any chance of working with FSAA at the moment in HL2.
.exe? I don't think so by realdpk · 2003-07-17 10:34 · Score: 1

Is there a BitTorrent for the file in any other format?
1. Re:.exe? I don't think so by realdpk · 2003-07-17 10:42 · Score: 0, Troll
  
  My mom doesn't have a dick - she's female. Are you retarded or something?
2. Re:.exe? I don't think so by Anonymous Coward · 2003-07-17 13:41 · Score: 0
  
  It's in Bink format, that's why the .exe extension. It has sort of a built in codec & player. So many people are complaining that it's an .exe. GET A FUCKING VIRUS SCANNER IF YOU'RE SO GOD DAMN PARANOID!
3. Re:.exe? I don't think so by gakido · 2003-07-18 03:32 · Score: 0
  
  Some of us only run windows for games. It'd be nice if we could watch this movie in mpeg instead of rebooting.
4. Re:.exe? I don't think so by gakido · 2003-07-18 03:35 · Score: 0
  
  that's supposed to be mpeg<1|2|4>
HL2 for linux. by sirmikester · 2003-07-17 11:22 · Score: 0

I hope that a version comes out for linux, or at least one that works with winex. Are you listening valve, pretty please?

--
In linux libertas
Other movies by TheOnlyCoolTim · 2003-07-17 11:25 · Score: 1

If this is the third movie, does anyone have links to the first two?

Tim

--
Omnia vestra castrorum habetur nobis.
1. Re:Other movies by erasmus_ · 2003-07-17 14:57 · Score: 1
  
  If you go ahead and install Steam, they're on there (use link from article above). Really easy to use and you don't have to wait in queues while being advertised to. Perfect.
  
  --
  Please subscribe to see the more insightful version of th
System Shock 2 by johannesg · 2003-07-17 21:26 · Score: 2, Insightful

SS2 is easily the scariest game I've ever played. One of the elements that helps produce that fear is the sense of being alone, the last human survivor on that once-proud outpost of humanity, surrounded by the twisted shapes of your former fellow crew members. So, the log system works well - you are not supposed to make contact with other humans.
That is not to say there aren't any - there are at least two other survivors (of which you catch a brief glimpse when they escape the ship using an escape pod) and there's of course dr. Janice Polito who is guiding you (by radio) through the first four levels.
But still - the logs tell the sad stories of the crew going about their daily business, unaware that they only have hours to live; the stupid decisions by the various commanding officers, leading to the disaster to follow; the desperate attempts to regain control of the ship, and later to simply survive. It's gripping stuff.
For some reason my copy of SS2 no longer works - the graphics completely fall apart when enemies fire at me, and in certain rooms. This didn't happen the first time I played it, but I've installed a new DirectX and a new Detonator driver since then. Has anybody else experienced this? Is there a solution for it? I'd love to play this game again, especially using those new models from SS2: Rebirth.
As for the other games you mention, I agree about Thief (it seems just too tiresome to play), Deus Ex is absolutely fantastic, and the head crabs from HL seem rather inspired by the movie "Alien" ;-)
1. Re:System Shock 2 by Jad+LaFields · 2003-07-18 01:46 · Score: 1
  
  I've always known that I never really gave SS2 a fair chance and so I kinda half talked out my ass during that part of the post, hoping you wouldn't notice. =)
  
  I agree that the log idea actually could be really cool, and the truth be told the best parts of HL were when the only humans around were ones trying to kill you. Especially if they barely seemed to be human at all (those ninja assassin women).
  
  Anyway, this almost makes me want to try to go pick up a copy of SS2, but with HL2 and DIII and DX2 coming out so soon, I'm not sure I'd get much chance to play it.
  
  Does anybody know if there will ever be a System Shock 3? I heard the company which made SS2 (Looking Glass?) went out of business, but that most of the members of the company went and formed another one and are currently working on Thief III... but my memory isn't great, so I don't know.
  
  Oh yeah, and about the headcrabs: definite inspiration from Alien... which is not a bad thing in any way. The best part of them was the way they were integrated into the levels: they always seemed to jump at you when you in some darkened, confined space and were preoccupied with doing something else (solve some puzzle). Valve varied the headcrab tricks enough that they suprised me almost every time =)
  
  --
  [SIG] It's like putting a moose in the blender -- a recipe for disaster!
2. Re:System Shock 2 by johannesg · 2003-07-18 05:54 · Score: 1
  
  System Shock 3 is unfortunately rather unlikely, since apparently the rights to the game are split over so many different parties. If that's true, it is a major shame because SS2 is crying for a sequel with modern graphics. Hell, I'd buy a remake (using the Doom 3 engine, perhaps) in a second.
3. Re:System Shock 2 by AllUsernamesAreGone · 2003-07-18 23:11 · Score: 1
  
  "the company which made SS2 (Looking Glass?)"
  
  Irrational Games, a splinter group from Looking Glass Studios, were the main developers but they used the Dark Engine technology from LGS and had engine/audio help from LGS.
  
  most of the members of the company went and formed another one and are currently working on Thief III...
  Nope. A lot of the old team have been taken on by Ion Storm Austin (which was going before LGS was shut down) who have the rights to develop T3 from Eidos.