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Half-Life 2 Targeted for Summer Release

Gudlyf writes "According to CNN Money, Valve's director of marketing Doug Lombardi announced that the company is 'currently targeting this summer for the completion of Half-Life 2'. From the article: 'Valve does not plan to reveal any additional information until the time surrounding the E3 trade show, where the game will once again be shown this year. E3 will be held in Los Angeles May 12-14.'" The game was delayed following a previously covered code leak, and the article also notes: "Arkane Studios, an independent French developer that created the critically-acclaimed role-playing game 'Arx Fatalis,' has licensed [Half-Life 2's Source engine] for a forthcoming title [as has Troika's Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines]."

68 of 414 comments (clear)

  1. OK by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    So, does this mean that halfway to summer, it will get delayed again? And then half way to the new date, a new delay? And half way to that date....

    Who knew Half-Life was the estimated time to release?

    1. Re:OK by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      And the amazing thing is that after being delayed literally an infinite number of times, it would still be released! Isn't calculus interesting?

    2. Re:OK by SphericalCrusher · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Half-Life 2 did have an official launch date at some point in time... until Valve was attacked by a group of hackers that stole the source code and maps for the game project. Hopefully there won't be any delays this time -- no reason to be, unless they get hacked again.

      --
      "Instant gratification takes too long." - Carrie Fisher
    3. Re:OK by erasmus_ · · Score: 4, Funny

      Heard around here? Damn, that sounds pretty reputable and solid to me. Now I'm off to spread that rumor as fact on all future Half-Life 2 related articles. I know I can count on you to join me.

      --
      Please subscribe to see the more insightful version of th
    4. Re:OK by Junior+J.+Junior+III · · Score: 4, Funny

      Screw waiting for Half-Life 2... I'm holding out for Half-Life Forever.

      --
      You see? You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!
    5. Re:OK by zenobr · · Score: 2, Informative

      "It may be more work for the lawyers, but the programmers are definitely not going to be involved in this. No, it was clearly just an excuse, because they were way behind schedule."

      If you don't see how this effects the release of the game you obviously have no grasp of what "integrity" is. With the code leaked to hackers, hackers will make cheats A LOT quicker and likely harder to patch against and/or detect, which will then sacrifice all integrity of the online portion of the game... some of us don't want HL2 to be just like CS on the first day of release, thanks.

      --
      If you can't beat your computer at chess, try kick-boxing.
  2. Until then, there's always... by tcopeland · · Score: 4, Informative

    ...DOOM.

    With updated source code available, plenty of improvements, and lots of ways to create your own maps, there's plenty to do before HL2 comes out!

    1. Re:Until then, there's always... by thelasttemptation · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Well to be honest, that's your own fault. ID never announced a release date so you should have waited as it wasn't them who lead you astray...

    2. Re:Until then, there's always... by grub · · Score: 4, Informative


      I'm going bananas waiting for Thief 3 :(

      At least ThiefMissions.com has new missions to play for Thief, Thief Gold and Thief 2.

      Mod me to oblivion but I must have Thief 3!!

      --
      Trolling is a art,
    3. Re:Until then, there's always... by BadmanX · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Ugh...after Ion Storm butchered Deus Ex: Invisible War by designing it for the Xbox first, I'm NOT looking forward to Thief III any more; I know it'll simply be more of the same - low frame rates, inconsistent graphics, small areas and shallow gameplay.

  3. Linux version? by Chuck+Bucket · · Score: 4, Interesting

    will there be a Linux version finally? (perhaps that could be some of the mystery?)

    I would buy it, if it was out for Linux.

    CB

    1. Re:Linux version? by MooCows · · Score: 4, Informative

      Nope, Half-Life 2 is pure DirectX only (versions 6 to 9, quite impressive compatibility really).

      So unless you'd want to fight through it with WineX, you'll not be able to run it on Linux.

      HL2 is by the way the main reason I still have a windows box running here ;)

      --
      The path I walk alone is endlessly long.
      30 minutes by bike, 15 by bus.
    2. Re:Linux version? by fsmunoz · · Score: 2, Troll

      No, HL2 is windows-only.

      Once upon a time I actually played a lot of HL mods (to be honest HL itself i ok, but the true reason it was so popular was the mods - CS in particular). Configured wine, tweaked the settings, the whole monty. I also - like many GNU/Linux admins - administered servers, and public servers at that. The number of Linux servers was actually a reason why HL had so many players.

      After this it became clear that Valve really didn't give a damn about rewarding the Linux community with a client version. Much to the opposite, HL2 was being tought from the ground up to be Windows-only.

      To make it short I sold my HL CD's, shut the servers down and replaced them with Q3 and UT. Many Linux admins were doing the same, since it really looked like Valve was spitting in the face of the people that helped them. I have never touched HL since then (nor any of the mods).

      So, basically, I believe in supporting companies that support me (and the Linux community) for their effort. With so many good games of the genre available for Linux it isn't even difficult.

      HL2? No thanks.

    3. Re:Linux version? by MooCows · · Score: 2, Informative

      Yeah, the original Half-Life engine was a heavily modified Quake1 engine.
      Although I remember that it has a tiny bit of Quake2 code in it as well. (not sure though)

      And yeah .. Valve has sadly dropped OpenGL.
      Good thing we still have Carmack to keep OpenGL alive as a realtime 'pretty' 3D framework, not just for serious applications.

      --
      The path I walk alone is endlessly long.
      30 minutes by bike, 15 by bus.
    4. Re:Linux version? by eliza_effect · · Score: 2, Informative

      You are correct. Some of the renderer and network code was QII, I believe.

    5. Re:Linux version? by irc.goatse.cx+troll · · Score: 2, Informative

      " Nope, Half-Life 2 is pure DirectX only (versions 6 to 9, quite impressive compatibility really)."

      Maybe in the final version, but in the beta that leaked it ran fine under OpenGL. Not that I'd know of course, I just heard about it on the discovery channel. (/best excuse ever).

      For them to take it out now would piss off a lot of people, especially since the support was in at some point. It would be like microsoft buying out whoever made VirtualPC and cutting mac support..

      --
      Pain lasts, kid. Its how you know you're alive. Sometimes I think this growing up thing is just pain management-TheMaxx
    6. Re:Linux version? by thelasttemptation · · Score: 2, Interesting

      It's up for a vote this month, so if enough people vote for it, it'll be offically supported.

  4. Re:2004 Vaporware award by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Personally, I'm holding out for the Half Life 2/Duke Nukem Forever bundle pack.

  5. I thought it had already been released by Bingo+Foo · · Score: 5, Funny

    But wasn't it released already?

    --
    taken! (by Davidleeroth) Thanks Bingo Foo!
  6. Word. by Tirel · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Didnt Valve announce that they were going to release HL2 in february instead of december because of the source code leak? So what happened to change the release date to 'somewhere in the summer'?

    Or was the leak just a nice excuse for the clueless managers who wanted
    game shipped around the Christmas shopping spree?

  7. What is a... by chill · · Score: 3, Funny

    source engine engine? Did they actually license a programmer?

    -Charles

    --
    Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
  8. Not What my calculations say... by Slack0ff · · Score: 4, Funny

    valvetime("Summer 2004") = "Winter 2005"

    --
    Everyday You see me is the worst day of my life -Office Space
  9. This game is going to suck. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Remember how many cheats were written and used for Half Life, Counter-Strike, etc -- and that source was closed?

    Just imagine how much more the Half Life 2 and the Counter-Strike port of it will suck *this time* now that the source code had been leaked. This thing is going to be miserable to play online. :(

    1. Re:This game is going to suck. by PatrickThomson · · Score: 2, Informative

      The whole reason it's been delayed from Christmas was to change the game enough that compatible cheats couldn't be written with the leaked source code.

      --
      I am one of many. My idea is not unique, nor do I expect my voice alone to sway you. I speak in a chorus of opinion.
    2. Re:This game is going to suck. by ZorbaTHut · · Score: 3, Informative

      What I keep wondering is, why don't they, say, *make it not quite as hackable*?

      It's not like we don't know how to do it. You don't send the client information that they don't need (say, the position of players that they can't see), and you check to make sure the returned data is sane (for example, the player is traveling on foot more slowly than 200mph, the player isn't walking through solid obstacles, etc.)

      Obviously it's not nearly as possible to get rid of things like bots - we're pretty much stuck with those - but we should at least be able to constrain it to bots that play by the rules. Why *was* Half-Life so cheatprone?

      --
      Breaking Into the Industry - A development log about starting a game studio.
    3. Re:This game is going to suck. by roystgnr · · Score: 4, Insightful

      You don't send the client information that they don't need (say, the position of players that they can't see)

      And then you fend off the complaints of all your customers who notice that when someone comes around a corner in your competitors games, they can be seen smoothly running into view, whereas when someone comes around a corner in your game they instantly "blink" into position a fraction of a second later when the server has made sure that yes, you really can see them. Avoiding this doesn't mean your server has to send every player the location of every other player, but just sending clients the locations of enemies they might see soon would be enough to let cheaters get in the first shot in many confrontations.

      and you check to make sure the returned data is sane (for example, the player is traveling on foot more slowly than 200mph, the player isn't walking through solid obstacles, etc.

      Good advice, but it seems to have already been taken on the FPS games I've played. Did Half Life 1 really allow cheats like this without a modified server?

  10. OK so thats... by j0keralpha · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ... what, two more GPU revisions? This wont tax anything by the time it comes out!

  11. Woohoo! by barenaked · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Half-Life has had one of the longest lives (in terms of popularity) of any video game. I have gone back and played it (the single play) many times, and still do, and the game is from 1998. It is a timeless classic, and its modability has kept its multiplayer alive with CS and Firearms. Most people who actually know something about gaming would say this is the best game ever made.

    1. Re:Woohoo! by polyp2000 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Nah ... The best game ever made is David Brabens "Elite", anyone who knows anything about gaming knows that.

      --
      Electronic Music Made Using Linux http://soundcloud.com/polyp
    2. Re:Woohoo! by Reckless+Visionary · · Score: 2, Funny

      I don't think so, the best game ever made was "ET" for the Atari 2600. Great instructions too.

      --
      I think I'll stop here.
  12. Halflife 2 Trailer by Unreal7000 · · Score: 5, Informative

    For those who haven't seen the video, check it out here: http://www.gametrailers.com/gt_vault/t_halflife2_v ol1.wmv

    --
    "If it has screws, it was meant to be taken apart."
  13. E3 by nick_davison · · Score: 2, Interesting

    If E3 this year is anything like last year's, remember the fact that Vampire uses the same engine.

    The queue for Halflife was crazy, stretching around the booth and back again. Vampire on the other hand had hardly anyone interested in it. Knowing it was the same engine, I got about an hour with the guys, going wherever I wanted in the game, getting every last question I could think of answered - while the people who queued for twice as long for the H2 demo got a fraction of that.

  14. Re:Time to upgrade by MooCows · · Score: 4, Informative

    Here's an article on 64bit HL2

    " We have learned today from AMD and confirmed with Valve here at E3 that there will be a x86-64 port of the Half Life 2 client. This is in addition to the x86-64 port of the Counterstrike server that will be available soon. We saw the Half Life 2 demonstration and it looked amazing."

    --
    The path I walk alone is endlessly long.
    30 minutes by bike, 15 by bus.
  15. I'm saved! by Jad+LaFields · · Score: 5, Funny

    Thank god this was pushed back from it's previous release dates... now I might actually pass this semester.

    --
    [SIG] It's like putting a moose in the blender -- a recipe for disaster!
  16. Re:Did they fix anything beyond DRM? by Kenja · · Score: 3, Flamebait
    "The game was seriously incomplete"

    No, the stollen code was seriously incomplete. What was hijacked from Valve has no real bearing on what the state of the game is, was, or shall be.

    --

    "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
  17. Real reason for delay? by kneecarrot · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I would have more respect for Valve if they just came right out and said "listen, we are running behind. The game won't be out for a few more months." Instead they try to blame it on the source code leak. Sorry, I don't buy it.

    --

    I always save my last mod point to mod up a good troll. You people are too serious.

    1. Re:Real reason for delay? by minusthink · · Score: 5, Funny

      "The world is full of skeptics and naysayers. :\"

      I don't believe that for a second.

      --
      "when life gets complicated, I like to take a nap in a tree and wait for dinner" - Hobbes.
    2. Re:Real reason for delay? by radish · · Score: 2, Insightful

      OK so I'd expect this from CNN, but slashdotters should know better.

      It's really very simple - if your product's security relies on it's users not having access to the source code, then you have no security. Even IF the network code was leaked (and I've read many reports saying it actually wasn't) then SO WHAT? The source code for my webserver, my ssh server and even my operating system have been "leaked" and guess what? They are still secure. In fact, I (and many other people) consider it to be more secure because it's in the open. You might want to google for "Open Source" - it's quite a trend these days.

      Besides which - any cheater who is skilled enough to find bugs in leaked gamecode and craft that into an exploit is surely aware of mystical tools called "decompilers". I've heard they let you generate source code from the binaries. Sounds like magic to me.

      The simple fact is that the leak is being used to cover up an otherwise perfectly normal and acceptable delay. It happens. But because of the leak they have a handy scapegoat. Did the set it all up? I doubt it. But you never know.

      --

      ---- Den ene knappen er powerknapp, den andre er Bender voice knapp "Bite My Shiny Metal Ass"

  18. license the engine source ?!? by lawngnome · · Score: 2, Funny

    what they couldnt find it on an irc bot ?
    :-P

  19. Re:Can somebody please tell me the *3D game* engin by Kenja · · Score: 2, Informative
    "I heard that it was the DOOM3 engine... what the heck is a source eninge anyway?"

    It is the Half Life Two engine. It was made to run Half Life Two. It was devloped by Valve, the people makeing Half Life Two.

    --

    "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
  20. Re:What's the Counter Strike on OS X scoop? by Awptimus+Prime · · Score: 4, Funny

    I have a friend who upgraded from a windows machine to a G5 and the only thing he really misses is Counter Strike. ...and two mouse buttons!

  21. the waiting game by ysagal · · Score: 5, Funny

    Don't they realize how difficult it is to get two weeks off from work starting on an unspecified date sometime in the "summer"?

  22. Re:2004 Vaporware by Lobster+Cowboy · · Score: 3, Insightful

    well, considering how bad valve's profits were last year, i don't think they can afford to delay this game much longer

    --
    --They say only a fool looks at the finger pointing to the sky...
  23. But it is allready summer... by Psyrg · · Score: 2, Funny

    Well, it is down here anyway.

    Why does everyone assume we all live in the northen hemisphere?

  24. Well...yeah... by Epyn · · Score: 2, Informative

    Yeah, I was really impressed with the videos from the previous e3, and even though its been more than a long time they really don't need to rush it. Especially since the single player story mode will be the meat of it. If it was another deathmatch fps I'd expect them to push it out and patch it and such, but when it gets released, I want to play it straight through, completed. So, I think it's unfair to expect them to be expected to get it done ahead of when they think it should be done. I also have to tell myself it will be worth it, theyre doing some really impressive work, or so it would seem.

  25. Delay reasons... by Pyrosz · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The "simple" theft of the source code is not the reason to the extended delay, its simply that they where just not finished and have required this much more time to get it to a release state. Securing the network code or even outright changing it would only require a couple months at most to fix to prevent cheaters; so that option is not valid either. I think they screwed up on stating the release date and this was an excuse that would satisfy reporters.

    --

    An optimist believes we live in the best world possible; a pessimist fears this is true.
    1. Re:Delay reasons... by pmancini · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I totally agree... this stinks of hoax. I didn't believe them at all when I heard about the introduction of keyloggers on their system. I mean honestly, they don't have norton or mcafee installed on their systems? Right! And no one has been caught after a "thorough investigation?"

      But, hey, this is just speculation. For all I know they did leave their network wide open and they did have a hacker and the release of code wasn't a nice teaser for the final game.

      Hopefully they won't now have a FIRE and have to push the release date back to next Christmas when they will be forced to push it back after a nuclear accident at Black Mesa Lab...

  26. You got that right! by twoslice · · Score: 3, Funny
    there's plenty to do before HL2 comes out!

    There is plenty of clean up from MyDoom still to do. Or did you mean the game....

    --

    From excellent karma to terible karma with a single +5 funny post...
  27. Steam by Danathar · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Well..at least Steam will be well de-bugged and working correctly by the time it comes out. With the way steam was rolled out, nobody would of been able to download Half-Life 2 even if did come out.

  28. Just so I know... by CrackedButter · · Score: 2, Funny

    will I be able to buy this bundled with Duke Nukem forever on Amazon? Also are we talking summer 2005 or 06?

  29. The nature of such games by andy55 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The original HL is incredible work--nobody will deny that. The net play was nothing short of impressive across the board and it only got more enjoyable as follow-on additions came out.

    So, like any sequel, it's to be determined if they're riding on the value earned by the original half-life name. This, to me, raises the repeated issue of the nature of first-person gaming improvements. For me (and prolly for most ppl here), the fun of HL1 was in plot solo-play elements, well-done net play, and a decent 3D experience Note I said "decent", not outstanding--we enjoy games ultimately because of non-graphical related quality. We've all played Zelda in the original Nintendo--it was incredibly done. How much "better" would HL1 or Zelda be with twice the graphical quality? I'd argue not much. The real innovations are in anything but graphics. How about Starcraft? Anyone here thing WC3 is a major leap over Starcraft (other than basic visual/GUI/resolution improvements)?

    I guess I'm just saying that in the realm of professional games, non-graphical innovations are what make the game. These modern game companies have a real challenge ahead of them.

  30. Re:What's the Counter Strike on OS X scoop? by Awptimus+Prime · · Score: 3, Insightful

    That's what I get for trying to crack a funny. There are too many over-zealous, angry people with mod points, today. ;-)

  31. Re:What's the Counter Strike on OS X scoop? by Aqua+OS+X · · Score: 3, Informative

    Something weird happened with the port of that game. It was being done years ago, and then the project was canned.

    Since then Sierra games have been nonexistent on the Mac. Why? Who knows. Sierra is probably reluctant to hand their games over to third party developers.

    --
    "Things are more moderner than before- bigger, and yet smaller- it's computers-- San Dimas High School football RULES!"
  32. Real reason for delay: Not Content Complete by Torgo's+Pizza · · Score: 2, Insightful
    I've seen a lot of posters blame the whole hacker incident on the delay. The hack caused a whole host of problems, but almost everyone forgets that the game wasn't going to make the September 2003 release date anyway. Vivendi was already making statements for months doubting the release date was going to be met with Valve consistently stating they were going to make it.

    I believe it was around Sept. 20th when Valve and Vivendi admitted that the release was going to be delayed. A few days after that the source was leaked and everyone jumped on that bandwagon. It's know come to light in several HL2 forums that the AI was incomplete and several levels weren't right.

    HL2 is an ambitious game and a lot of work goes into creating a AAA title. To have it delayed doesn't surprise me in the least. To blame it all on the source leak is unfair. Valve just didn't make their milestone dates, plain and simple.

  33. Arkane Studios by easychord · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I'm actually more excited to hear that the Arx Fatalis guys are using the source engine than Troika or even Valve.

    I'm not a big fan of fps games, and Troika have really failed to deliver with their other games in my opinion. They can only trade under the grace of having worked on Fallout for so long.

    Arx Fatalis was a diamond in the rough though. A trip into a atmospheric gameworld with some oldskool crpg details that developers seem to forget about these days. I'd like to see what they could do with more experience and a great engine.

  34. Future Vaporware - and thoughts. by micahmicahmicah · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Perhaps we should put this on the list under "Duke Nukem Forever"?

    I upgraded my existing machine with a GF FX5950 - mostly so I could play with this game. But with the leaked art of Quake IV and the impending release (eventually) of Doom III and HL2, I'm already saving to build a machine just for gaming. Quad Raptors in Raid-0 with a motherboard full of ram, at 26 years old - this is likely to be the last time I can justify dropping a few grand on building a machine. I play games less and less now, due to work, and friends. Still I keep buying tech toys - rarely for a true need, mostly for the compulsory instinct to buy new toys.

    I don't go out to eat, I'd rather cook at home - it's healthier and leaves more money for toys. I'm an IT guy, and frankly I love my job - don't really feel the need for a vacation very often (and I have over 2 weeks vacation left over from last year to prove this), even when it's busy and I put in the occasional 24 hour shift - I don't really mind - just need sleep. My social life and sleep patterns have never been any good, and I usually sleep between 2am and 7am. It's a habit I started back in the early 90's while dialup BBS's kept me up all night. My friends think I'm crazy for opting to spend my nights at home online and alone - instead of out at the bar or club. But for me, I'd rather read a book, watch some TV, and run on the treadmill. I'd rather work under the hood of a car with my friends then sit on the couch or in some bar watching sports. I find little in common with the average people I meet at bars and clubs. I've got a string of short relationships behind me, and I'm just not in the mood for more of the same. My money is saved for tech toys, and the occasional roadtrip/vacation with friends.

    Does this sound familiar to anyone else?

  35. Re:Time to upgrade by aliens · · Score: 2, Insightful

    While that's all nice. I think it's the server that gains the most from being ported to 64bits anb taking advangtage of oodles more memory.

    Although there are no benchmarks to say either way, I don't think that a 64bit client would see that much faster execution. Now a x86-64 client optimized for 3dNow2(or whatever is in the AMD Chip) instructions would see some nice speedups.

    --
    -- taking over the world, we are.
  36. Optimist or Sucker, you decide... by Kgreene · · Score: 3, Funny

    I just finished putting together my new system so I'd be able to enjoy the next generation of games.

    Part of my shiny new System was a ATI 9800 XT graphics card.

    I mean yes it was a little pricy but how could I pass it up - it comes with a coupon for a free copy of Half Life 2.

    Woot, yes Sir! Hundred of dollars later I'm the proud owner of vaper-ware.

    But I BELIEVE... oh yes, Half Life 2 will come out (some day) and my rash buying decisions will be redeemed in the eyes of my fellow games.

    You'll see, the day it ships I'll be getting my free half life 2 via Steam... Oh, &$*@#.

  37. The REAL Conspiracy theories by superpulpsicle · · Score: 2, Interesting

    It's a conspiracy and a half, there was no code stolen. The reasons why it was delayed.

    1.) The game is waiting longer, so the video card prices will drop lower. Same with CPU prices really.

    2.) There are too many bugs anyways, so they need time to fix it.

    3.) They need to test how mods fit into the out-of-the-box engine.

    4.) They don't want it available in Christmas 2003, cause a million deals later, this will have this game selling for $29.99 by Christmas day.

    5.) Directx9a and 9b caused a lot of confusion in 2003. Not the best time to launch a game that tests the water.

  38. Not everything is about Linux by Kor49 · · Score: 5, Informative
    The number of Linux servers was actually a reason why HL had so many players.
    No, the reason why HL has had so many players is because people like the game. People wanted to play it, so they set up servers. Valve released a linux server because it's a good idea, so people often chose to set up linux servers.
    After this it became clear that Valve really didn't give a damn about rewarding the Linux community with a client version. Much to the opposite, HL2 was being tought from the ground up to be Windows-only.
    Umm, why should they reward anybody ? They didn't ask anyone to set up linux servers. There are perfectly well running windows servers. They just gave you the option, and you took it.
    To make it short I sold my HL CD's, shut the servers down and replaced them with Q3 and UT. Many Linux admins were doing the same, since it really looked like Valve was spitting in the face of the people that helped them. I have never touched HL since then (nor any of the mods).
    So you care more about what OS the game server is running than the game itself ? Btw, I guess most people care more about the game than the server's OS. As you can see from gamespy.com's stats page, HL has (maybe ten times) more players than Q3 and UT players combined.
    So, basically, I believe in supporting companies that support me (and the Linux community) for their effort. With so many good games of the genre available for Linux it isn't even difficult.
    "Your support effort" is nothing compared to "the real work they actually have to do" in order to get a DirectX 9 game running on linux (and btw, it is actually difficult).
    1. Re:Not everything is about Linux by fsmunoz · · Score: 2

      No, the reason why HL has had so many players is because people like the game. People wanted to play it, so they set up servers. Valve released a linux server because it's a good idea, so people often chose to set up linux servers.

      That people like the game (actually, like the *mods*. If not CS HL would be dead long ago) is a given. But - and this might be specific for where I live - if not for the availability of Linux servers there would be not enough places for people to play. This was akin to UT.

      Umm, why should they reward anybody ? They didn't ask anyone to set up linux servers. There are perfectly well running windows servers. They just gave you the option, and you took it.

      That's rather obvious... Nobody forced me, of course. It's a simple case of expectations. I decided to run HL servers, then decided to stop running them. That's exactly what I said in my initial post.

      So you care more about what OS the game server is running than the game itself ? Btw, I guess most people care more about the game than the server's OS. As you can see from gamespy.com's stats page, HL has (maybe ten times) more players than Q3 and UT players combined.

      This is the part I don't understand. Do I care more about the OS than the game??? If the game doesn't run on my OS, what other option do I have?! This blind assumption that everybody has a Windows box to play games is hilariating. Most people care more about the game than the OS? So if HL2 was Cray-only you would still enjoy it? If I can't play the game doesn't that impact by enjoying it or not?

      Your support effort" is nothing compared to "the real work they actually have to do" in order to get a DirectX 9 game running on linux (and btw, it is actually difficult).

      You're mixing two different things. I, as a customer, don't really care about the ammount of work they have or not. You are also forgetting that choosing DirectX is, by itself, an indication of the importance they give to have their game running in non-Windows OS's. I support companies by buying things, voluntering time and/or skills, etc.

      I don't know what's so hard to understand here. HL2 is windows-only, so I a) won't buy it and b) won'r run servers in Linux for people to play it.

  39. Cheating timeline by phriedom · · Score: 4, Interesting

    That is not how I remember it. Wallhacking, which as I understand it is a driver issue that is very difficult to code against, and speed cheats, which were defeated shortly after they appeared, appeared long before CS went to retail. The only real cure for cheaters was active server moderators. Still is. Server mods, which owe their existance to the open source, could discourage certain kinds of griefing and cheating, but there is no substitute for a good moderator.

    --
    Don't moderate flamebait as Troll. Know the difference or you will be Meta-moderated.
  40. Re:What's the Counter Strike on OS X scoop? by Carthag · · Score: 2, Informative

    That version of Wine is gone, and from the comments in the thread it looks like it was very old too.

    Darwine looks pretty interesting though. If only my MacOS X coding skills were more up to par.

  41. You should be aware though... by Merk · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This one is "the game that liscensed the Thief title". It's not being produced by the guys at Looking Glass studios, because Looking Glass no longer exists. Don't expect it to have anything to do with the other Thief games.

    1. Re:You should be aware though... by Slack3r78 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Actually, it's being designed by Ion Storm. Guess who's one of the big shots there? Warren Spector - the same guy who was the mastermind at Looking Glass.

      That said, as another poster pointed out, Ion Storm just put out Deus Ex: Invisible War, which sadly forced me to remove Warren from my list of deity-like, infallible designers. Thief 3 will be running on the *exact* same engine as DX:IW (in fact, there are more than a few references to it in the DX:IW ini files). While it's possible it may improve between now and release, the engine is only slightly above average in image quality, and dog poor in frame rate. The absolute best rigs out there are doing well to get 35fps at 1280x1024.

      This would be bad enough, but texture quality is horrible, maps are small and filled with load points, and the overall gameplay was simplified so that everything could be done on the limited number of buttons available on a gamepad. While I wish it were different, given how tightly interwoven DX:IW and Thief 3 have been in development, I'm afraid that it'll probably be more of the same.

  42. Re:Doubtful? by MooCows · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Far from it. The code that was leaked is chock-FULL of *HACK-HACK*'s and *TODO*'s. Granted, 5 months after the game's initial planned release date, I'd hope that it looks at least a little bit better, but calling the leaked code near perfect is more than a bit rose-colored-glass.

    I can guarantee* that many finished perfectly running apps you use are full of *HACK-HACK*'s and *TODO's*
    The code ran fine, so I don't care how it looks.

    And the occasional bug and crash could've easily been fixed in 5 months.

    *For fun try a:
    find /usr/src/linux-of-choice -name '*.[ch]' -exec grep -i hack '{}' \;
    On the Linux kernel (doesn't work with /usr/src/linux simlink btw).
    The same with todo .. massive hitcount :)

    --
    The path I walk alone is endlessly long.
    30 minutes by bike, 15 by bus.
  43. Stop the lies! by unsigned+integer · · Score: 3, Informative
    The game was delayed following a previously covered code leak

    No! The game was delayed because the GAME WAS NOT DONE. Come on people! Do some reading and digging before you post shit about Valve/HL2. I know not everyone can be an expert on the Valve code-theft scandal, but I'm tired of reading the same old story with the same old misinformation. I wish Valve would fess-up to the fact that they were either:

    A) Going to ship a basically unfinished game and use the masses as beta-testers (maybe even alpha!)

    B) Just keep silently delaying it without further explanation.

    C) Pull a Duke-Nukem Forever "When it's done" stance.

  44. Re:Time to upgrade by MattBurke · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Unfortunately they don't (and according to a source at Valve, won't) make a FreeBSD server binary, so my dual opteron server is sitting struggling running the 32-bit linux version of CS under emulation.

    Niiiiiiiice.... not.