Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Valve Releases Counter-Strike 1.6 Installer

Posted by simoniker on from the all-steamed-up dept.

Thanks to Blue's News for pointing out that Valve has released the Counter-Strike 1.6 installer for Steam, the broadband delivery platform for which "over 200,000 new accounts have been created" since its official launch on Friday. The 379mb install, helpful for those who can't get swift downloads from Steam itself, is available from Gamer's Hell, Worthplaying, and FilePlanet (reg. required).

14 of 41 comments (clear)

  1. After a rough start... by preric · · Score: 2, Interesting
    which included release delays and (still) major lag in Steam downloading, updating and general functionality, I am pleased that those problems have leveled out to a point where Steam is actually usefull.

    While frustrating to the rest of the non-broadband world, I think this is the real future, just as downloading a movie to your TV will (hopefully) circumvent movie rental stores. And with over 200,000 accounts on Steam, it looks like I'm not alone!

    1. Re:After a rough start... by BigKato · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Downloading movies will never be as popular as going to the theater or renting, especially if the system is anything like Steam. How many people have fast enough broadband to download movies in the amt of time it takes to run down to the local Blockbuster or Hollywood. There is no reliability in the delivery via broadband. Anyways I would prefer Netflix.com over a downloaded movie that would probably be only viewable once.

      I think you're also excluding a lot of people if you don't have rental stores. This may shock some of you but there are people out there who have no use for the internet and are getting by in life without it.

      --
      So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.
    2. Re:After a rough start... by preric · · Score: 5, Informative
      Um, it doesn't shock me at all that people don't have broadband (let alone internet) but I believe (just as newspapers have seen a steady decline in sales since (at some level) enough readers can find what they need online), as Valve does, that this new system will be a money saver for both them and the consumer.

      Will broadband systems for software and entertainment take over the traditional systems tommorrow? Probably not. In ten years? Maybe.

      A perfect example would be the shipping company UPS. Last month, they decided to switch from their 'traditional' system of filling out paperwork for each box (lame when you ship a dozen or so random boxes each month) to a computer system. So basically, the consumer walks into a branch, logs in using his precreated account (works anywhere) types in the receivers name and zip, and then clicks 'print'. He sticks the label onto his box, and takes it up to the cashier. While this is a total timesaver for me, I watched as an older lady (mid 70's) came into the store, was told to make an account (after she asked a clerk for paperwork), and promptly stated that it was ludicrus, leaving to walk across the street to the Postal Annex, which uses the same system except addes an additional charge.

      Okay, while that isn't the greatest analogy, you see where I'm going. Are there plenty of people who won't be using Steam for purchasing Half Life 2? Totally, just as there are plenty of people who purchase CD's in stores instead of using iTunes or something. But it's not like the online systems are starving for consumers. They ARE growing, and that can't be bad!

  2. BitTorrent link by Chris+Pimlott · · Score: 4, Informative

    steaminstall_cs-exe.torrent

  3. I've had the opposite experience by fireduck · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Downloaded the steam non-beta client right after the original story was posted to slashdot. the beta client wouldn't uninstall through window add/remove. eventually found the correct unwise.exe command line to get it out.

    Installed steam and pretty much left the computer while it updated itself, I'm guessing it took several hours (what with the thousands of other people doing it simultaneously).

    Then it died at some point while trying to transfer my existing content (HL and whatever mods I had installed through regular means). So we had to re-install steam and go through it all over again. (where it didn't want to transfer existing content anymore, for some reason)

    After several more hours, I finally have steam working properly, so I try and play HL. Does nothing after pressing the install button over and over (install, wait 10 minutes to see if it's doing anything, no? click HL again and repress install). Eventually, half a day later (literally), it finally opens the progress window. Have to download it (400+ MB). So, after what it predicts to be 140 minutes, apparently it has HL. (I went to bed at this point). Get up, try to run HL, steam crashes with some memory address is can't access or whatever. Reboot, retry several times, same problem. Steam is crashing on load (far before it gets to loading HL)

    The stupid client seems to keep corrupting itself. So for now, I've given up. Steam FAQ doesn't address this, and they've taken the steam forums down temporarily.

    I seriously can't see how they can distribute HL2 through this method. Regardless of how much cheaper it is to purchase HL2 through steam, I'm buying the retail version, simply because I want a freaking executable I can run. (this presuming they don't hide the HL2 executable behind steam; and only use steam as the cd-key verification tool. which is a big presumption at this point).

    Steam beta eventually worked for me (after a few initial corruptions of the client requiring re-installs), but I don't have 13 hours to install steam, update steam, install HL only to have it corrupt itself again.

  4. Cache download by BrookHarty · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Steam makes the static cache file, but doesnt display the percentage of the download. So you look at your HD you have a 360 meg file, but its just a container.

    At least now you can download a complete cache file, which should include all the basic levels... (Bitch when you join a server and you dont have that level, and you have to wait for the download.)

  5. Smelly Pile of Steam by xQuarkDS9x · · Score: 4, Informative

    I've talked to a lot of clan folk in IRC lately for some CS and TFC clans I know - a LOT of people are not happy with Steam.

    And to be honest I can't blame them. The close to 400 meg download apparantly only has CS 1.6 but doesn't include TFC 1.6. Plus Steam also shot up the system requirements for Half Life from a 133mhz machine with a decent 3D video card to at least a 1ghz CPU with lots of ram and NTFS Partitions.

    I just pray they don't use STEAM with Half Life 2 - who need's STEAM to auto patch your installation whether you agree to it or not.

    --
    You must master your joystick like a fisherman masters bait! - Gimpy
  6. Can anyone verify if steam == spyware? by cyranose · · Score: 3, Interesting
    I found this link today claiming steam is possibly collecting info on kazaa usage.

    Steam gets tricky by siN For those of you metalheads who are also online gamers, it has come to the attention of the gaming community that Steam by VALVe software, the program that is used for the mod Counterstrike, has been (and still is) gathering huge amounts of information off of personal computers that have Steam installed. To quote: "1) Browse to steam dir 2) Search for gcache.gcf 3) Open the 400+ meg file in a hex editor 4) Search for 'kazaa' and 'mp3' ---- 5) Ponder 6) Curse and uninstall steam" The question is why is Steam looking at Kazaa user names, mp3 contents, HTM records, and more? Those suspect of these activities are pointing fingers that these actions might somehow be linked to the RIAA and it's attempt to browse through users files and folders in a vain attempt to see what people are downloading. Just a heads up.


    I don't have steam installed yet, so I can't verify personally. But maybe someone here can, and hopefully reply if they find the kazaa and mp3 strings in said steam files. True of false?
    1. Re:Can anyone verify if steam == spyware? by cyranose · · Score: 3, Informative

      Answered my own question with a little more searching. Apparently, Valve knows about this and reports it's due to the filesystem reusing old blocks, not their code.

    2. Re:Can anyone verify if steam == spyware? by xQuarkDS9x · · Score: 2, Insightful

      To be honest Cyranose I do not trust VALVE's answer on this. I suspect they ARE doing something in the background that could possibly be spyware related and are just trying to use some "good feeling answers" to quiet the masses.

      Maybe I am right - maybe I am not, who knows. The point is VALVE has effectivly ticked off a lot of hardcore half life players whether it was TFC/CS or some other mod with this STEAM crap.

      --
      You must master your joystick like a fisherman masters bait! - Gimpy
  7. The Patching game by xQuarkDS9x · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Funny how people always thought with Half Life patches that they needed to download all the incremental version patches seperately (Ie 1004 to 1008 then to 1010 etc) when all people needed to do was install Half Life then DOWNLOAD the FULL upgrade patch (which last time was around 70 megs or so) and install it.

    Plain and simple. STEAM is aimed towards the AOL crowd who is often too stupid to unzip a zip file - never mind patching a game.

    --
    You must master your joystick like a fisherman masters bait! - Gimpy
  8. Right to complain by xQuarkDS9x · · Score: 3, Insightful

    People have the right to complain especially seeing how VALVE has handled STEAM from the get go. Problems galore since the beta release and now the non beta release - plus the fact STEAM is so bug ridden and shoots up system requirements that it is killing off a lot of the players the TFC and CS community HAD to begin with.

    Besides STEAM won't be running free games forever - eventually they will want people to use credit cards to play "future" games on it.

    --
    You must master your joystick like a fisherman masters bait! - Gimpy
  9. Steaming by Little+Dave · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Phew... what a stinking turd Valve have laid on us. My attempts to "upgrade" my perfectly operational HL/CS installation has led to me now having two completely broken games. Steam is a hideous Frankenstein's Monster of a delivery mechanism, that only a mother could love. It locks up, goes quiet for hours on end, fails to keep you informed about what it's doing, crashes, doesn't terminate properly, hogs resources and ultimately, doesn't let you play any games.

    I wonder if I can get a refund for a five year old game? ;)

    Even more worrying is the fact that Steam has informed me that my HL key entitles me to one month free subscription. Erm, hold on? What does this mean? After the one month (by which time I might just have a working game again) I have to pay to play HL/CS? It doesn't say as much, but it also doesn't suggest otherwise.

    Bums I tells ya! No-good cads and bums, the lot of 'em.

    --
    http://www.davetansley.com - you proba
  10. Local mirros by __aafkqj3628 · · Score: 2, Informative

    For the transfer-limit imparied in NZ, there are local mirrors out there for you (see http://203.96.92.95/files/halflife/steam/).

    (I will still maintain that I will reluctantly download 400megs of stuff that I've already got installed!)