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Half-Life 2 Preloading from Steam
Nos. writes "For those of us using Valve Software's Steam platform, we can now begin 'preloading' Half-Life 2. The article explains that this will download an encrypted version of the game that you can unlock when you purchase it. They only say that purchase options will be available soon."
It's been pre-Slashdotted. You get an error saying their servers are already too busy doing preloads and to try again in a few hours. If you want to see the in-steam announcement though, go here.
As long as the Sniper rifle still has the red dot, I'll be happy!
"Yup!"
"Boy, I can't wait til next year when we can play it"
... available in five, four, three, two....
As if we didn't have enough problems getting Steam and the patches - they don't /. on their servers too!
And anyone who actually plays with Steam knows what I'm talking about.
Striking fear in the authors of godawful fanfiction, I am here, appearing in darkness, Tuxedo Jack!
I felt my heart jump, just from the word soon. A tear came to my eye too, but that's because my eyes hurt from staring at a monitor too long.
RArr!
I wonder how long it will be till hackers find away to spoof half life 2's pre-loading authenticiation and users can play hl2 without actually buying it.
Now if i could only find that damn ati coupon thing, *looks at desk*, shakes head.
I stopped playing CS when Valve force-fed their DRM, buggy, memory-intensive heaping pile of poo they call "steam" onto their userbase.
With Doom 3 who needs them!
Interesting...does anybody here remember the a vaguely-similar route taken with id for the Quake shareware release? An encypted version of that game (and essentially every past Id game) was on the shareware CD, and could be unlocked when purchased. And then along came QCrack.
Valve's distribution idea is interesting, but I hope for their sake that the security's very strong, requiring all sorts of authorizations and whatnots. If not, Doom III's slightly-premature leaking to the internet might seem like a far more ideal scenario than a Valve-aided distribution of compromised content.
Well if you can 'pre-load' HL2, Wouldnt that suggest that it is totally done? Unless you are just downloading libraries and such. This sounds promising, But what on earth is Valve waiting for?
ItWasFree.com - Take the mystery
How can we delay HL2 again?
Lets release it with a fancy encryption scheme, when someone cracks it, we'll pull the shame-shame bs, sue some 'hackers' and the push back will 'teach everyone a lesson'.
Give me a break
Steam is free. I use it to play the version of cstrike that came with my platnum Half Life pack I got a few years back.
Not a Twitter sockpuppet... but I wish I was.
The download servers are already at max capacity, but I have a little hypothesis. Since Half-Life 2 is such an anticipated game, and since everyone and their cousins will be downloading it, Valve realized this will cost entirely too much in bandwidth, especialy on days like today. To compensate, they set a user/bandwidth limit.
What will happen is this. Currently, Steam acts as a peer to peer hub (remmeber Valve hiring Bram Cohen, Mr. Bit Torrent?). Anyone with a sizeable LAN Cafe will know this because empty chairs with a copy of Steam running kills their bandwidth. Once people have the preload completely downloaded, they will begin uploading it and add more bandwidth to the mix. The more people that have it, the more it becomes available. I get the feeling LAN Cafes get a little more sway in terms of firsties since they generally have better connections than Counter-Strike junkies at home.
Not that getting the pre-load at this point is a necessity. There will be waves of preloads with content. This first one just being some static art that won't be changed, like textures, voices, and some models.
So this will be the cause of the big internet blackout, not cyber-terrorist but gamers downloading HL2. :-D
I knew it when Valve delayed the preload.
This sounds dangerous. It's only a matter of time before someone cracks the encryption rendering Valve the medium by which pirates obtain an illegal copy of the game.
We all know how [i]efficient[/i] Valve is in their security endeavors, ha.
Steam doesn't charge a monthly fee.
I just got it to start pre-loading despite failing during earlier attempts. I can't wait to start not playing it.
Steam is and always has been free.. plus it updates itself without me having to wait in one of those filefront.com download lines.
Winner of The Second Annual Montgomery Burns Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence.
everyone knows that in the first iteration of HL, the gimmick was that your flashlight's batteries drained and you had to let them recharge once in a while.
didnt you play it?
OK, this isn't on Half-Life 2, but it is on the concept of pre-loading / pre-releasing aspects of a game.
One thing I've never understood is why the publishers of highly anticipated role-playing games (I'm thinking Baldur's Gate and NeverWinter Nights here) don't pre-release the character generator.
By the time a specific release date has been set, the character formats should be firmly decided. Allowing players (or potential players!) to pre-create their characters is only going to create buzz and give people a reason to want to put those characters to use. It's a realizable benefit for the publisher without a significant financial cost.
But alas, I have never seen this happen.
- Neil Wehneman
My legal education, in nifty podcast format
Maybe if they used that encryption before they wouldn't have got their source code stolen... ZING!
Word up dude. Valve makes one game 6 years ago, and now is somehow living (leeching) on the mod community for more content to their aging quake 1 engine. Fuck them, fuck them up their stupid asses.
If they haven't fixed the ease in which their keys were cracked is this even worth it? I cannot play my game online because somebody generated the same key as mine using one of the freely available online key generators. What good is it if you go out and buy a game and then you can't play it because of a crappy encryption algorithm?
So I'll ask again... Have they improved this? I'll stick to Doom 3 and wait for the mods until they have...
I also have difficulty believing the status of HL2. Last I heard, which was a couple of months ago, HL2 was officially 'dead in the water' because they couldn't find a publisher for it. Are they self-publishing now or something? Presumably Steam would facilitate this.
Valve should get the war for The Game Company That Managed To Torture Its Fans By Having Code Stolen, More Release Dates Than Jerry Seinfeld Had GirlFriends, Leaked The Plot, And Gave You A Game You Could Download But Not Play Until They Let You Award. Wonder what the award would look like...probaly a figure of Duke Nukem.
Has anybody *ever* been gotten away with distributing encrypted files without somebody cracking it?
It's like giving the entire geek world a good, hard puzzle with an irresistable payoff.
vk.
You have to actively select "Pre-load this game" from the Steam Games menu. It won't do it by itself. You can, though, have Steam "keep this game up to date" if you have a game already downloaded, in which case it will update itself in the background.
The only reason Valve is getting away with this steam crap is because of Counter-Strike. They've made it so you MUST download Steam in order to play CS because they shutdown WON last month. Any other game in the world and the gamers would have said "fuck you Valve", but becuause it's CS we have to put up with it.
I don't want to run your crappy Stream POS in the background all the time. I don't want to be required to play the newest version all the time. I want to be able to play the game I BOUGHT on a LAN without authenticating over the net. I JUST WANT TO PLAY THE GODDAMN GAME I BOUGHT. But Valve can't let me do that, they have to push their crap on me. Valve, you can suck my dick you bitches.
Already on it.
I got the game to boot using a kernel debugger and a little trial and error. SoftICE revealed the installer makes a call to something in _vis.dll, which in turn checks to see if hl2_acf.nfo exists within the steam install directory.
Decompiled _vis.dll with DisC, replaced the function call to a new function that always returns true. Recompiled _vis with Visual C++, nogo, then tried with Borland and the game booted.
Posting a crack tonight.
M
---
Always read sigs for important words like syyyyke.
Selling vaporware to the consumer, sounds profitable.
Box version, however, will have a CD key, but the first time it is used, it is attached to your Steam account, and nobody can use it with any other account.
http://ipod.fresh27.net/
I call shenanigans. DisC was specifically written for taking apart Turbo C dos executables. If you were genuinely following a trace like this, you would have almost certainly just intercepted the outgoing call to "_vis.dll" and loaded the truth value inline - not like you wouldn't have had enough room to work in.
Stupid? Are you kidding? What you have described is absolute genious - they have managed to ride a product for six years in an industry where remaining on top for six months is quite a feat. Their success is no accident, it is a direct result of intelligence in the company.
This should be modded "Funny" since the poster makes it clear this is a joke by his usage of "syke" in his signature. Being syked is the 80's equivalent of the aughts being punk'd.
-AC
The problem with a CD like Quake 1, or a copyprotection scheme like safedisc, is that the ability to decrypt the files must be included on it. They can convolute it all they like, it's gotta be on there to do any good. Well, seeing as it's on there, you can find it and use it. Good crackers can do this with less effort than the game industry would like to think.
However in this case, it's different. What they could do is generate an AES key, say 256-bit just for extra parinoia, and then encrypt the data with it. They then send out ONLY the encrypted data, not the key. The key (and utility to use it) doesn't get released until they actually sell it.
In that case, my friend, you are fucked. This is the same way SSH works. Only you and the remote server have the AES key. Someone else can log all your data, but without the key, it's worthless since the computing power does not exist to crack that in a lifetime (much, much, much longer actually). So if this is how they are doing it, they are secure.
Now, when they release the key it is concievable that people could pass it along to friends to decrypt copies that haven't been paid for but so what? The game will be copied anyhow, as all games are, it changes nothing really.
Remember: Encryption is the tactic of keeping everyone EXCEPT the keyholders out. Copyprotection fails since it must give the key to the end user on the disc to work, but intends to keep the end user out. This can succede since they withhold the key for everyone, until a particular date.
I know this is OT, but this has bugged me for YEARS.
:P (the fact that NWN characters can be ported- gear and all- between NWN expansions is a major bonus. It's things like this that have completely killed console rpgs for me.)
When the Playstation came out, I creamed my pants at the potential of memory cards- finally, a company could make an RPG.... and release "add-ons" or "expansion packs" that would be new games or side games but which would use your already existing character. Or a sequel to a game that was ACTUALLY a SEQUEL- picking up where you left off... exactly where you left off, levels, equipment, and everything. I figured games like this would be out within a year.
Boy, was I FUCKING WRONG. Aside from some in-game tricks in games like Metal Gear Solid, memory cards are basically just an itty hard drive that serves as a dumping ground for save data that doesn't overlap or play between games.
WHERE IS THE INNOVATION IN THAT?
Shit, if I knew I could move my NWN character into NWN2 (without, you know, creating a new one...), I'd spend a couple of weeks prior to release leveling like a bastard. And if the game's built right, it should be just as challenging at level 20 as it is at level 3.
Woo. Rant complete.
Is "Half-life 2" logically equivalent to "Full-life 1" ?
I have no problem with your religion until you decide it's reason to deprive others of the truth.
1. There's actually CS1.5 for Steam out there. Google is your friend.
2. You no longer have to authenticate over the net to play Steam games anymore.
3. You don't have to update any of your games if you don't want either. Right click on the game and turn off automatic updating.
4. You are a fucking idiot, in case I forgot to mention it. Die.
Sorry guys, it was worth the karma burn.
... steam ware. Not much change, is it?
" Already on it.
I got the game to boot using a kernel debugger and a little trial and error. SoftICE revealed the installer makes a call to something in _vis.dll, which in turn checks to see if hl2_acf.nfo exists within the steam install directory.
Decompiled _vis.dll with DisC, replaced the function call to a new function that always returns true. Recompiled _vis with Visual C++, nogo, then tried with Borland and the game booted.
Posting a crack tonight."
Damn, Valve made a very nice decision it seems.
20 bucks says a hippie hands out crack for free at the door of Valve meetings.
Steam doesn't charge a monthly fee.
Yet.
0110100100100000011000010110110100100000011000100
So instead of "loading" the level we're now... "prebuffering" ? Doesn't this sound familiar?
/^[A-Z0-9._%+-]+@[A-Z0-9.-]+\.[A-Z]{2,4}$/i
just want to point out that having to re-encrypt the whole thing for each customer would take alot of resources.
more likely (for this type of scheme, not saying they did this), everything is encrypted with the same key, then that key is encrypted differently for each download
I really only have a response to 2. and 4. 2. Yes, you do. I had a LAN this summer and when the inet went out, no one could startup Steam to join the CS game. 4. Get your facts straight before you spaz out at someone. Aren't you supposed to be representing OwP as a member?
Wheel in the sky keeps on turnin'.
Valve is far far far from intelligent. The WON patches, source code leak, a release date that is overdue one year, Counter-Strike: Condition Zero, content servers that authenticate, run the main website, and deliver content, and the Half-Life 2 plot leak (rumor) all point toward a company that has trouble keeping both of its brain cells in working order. It's far from a smart company. It's a very, very, very lucky company, who was fortunate enough to hit a goldmine of a game. A goldmine only kept alive with the mods that users produce.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Way back in I-don't-remember-when, I had heard so much about this "Counter-Strike" thing that I finally broke down and bought a $30 retail copy at GameStop. Loved it. I quickly relalized this was just a mod for the full game called Half-Life. Always wanted to play Half-Life, but it was never worth the extra $20-30 bucks to me to be able to play it. So I pirated my roommate's copy until I almost beat the game... Then there was a hard drive format, so no more HL.
Steam comes along and with my CS reg key, I at last get the full version of Half-Life LEGALLY, and quick and easy access to other popular mods, and a server Favorites list (don't remember if original CS allowed this. I used to write down the IP of a good server to play there) so I can find good games faster, and keep it updated VERY easily. I've installed older CS numerous times and version compatibility was a constant headache, even WITH the seemingly appropriate patches. With Steam, all that business is managed automatically. It's heaven. As for buggy or memory intensive, I encountered one bug so far (input lag playing havoc with my keyboard) and that lasted only a few days. And I don't know how little RAM you have, but steam barely scratches my 512mb, which I presume is common for todays FPS player.
As long as you didn't pirate the game(s), Steam is wonderful, IMHO
Each official copy of Half-Life that's sold is associated with a Unique Steam ID.
Valve has started banning accounts which cracked Steam to obtain the recently released CS:Source.
They could easily to the same to people who get Half-Life 2 in that way.
Will they do that for Duke-Nukem Forever also?
Providing a download of the game, and online charging for the key to play it? Sounds like a nice way to stop the age-old practice of charging different amounts in different countries. Hopefully it'll catch on, and publishers will have to stop milking us Europeans... It was cheaper for me to import Unreal Tournament 2004 (special edition) from the U.S., including courier delivery, than to buy it in a shop, and even cheaper than ordering it over the net from a European provider.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
"punk'd."
MTV Entertainment would like to point out that the use of the brand 'punk'd(tm)' is in direct contravention of the trademark act, and we shall be sending round fourteen(14) lorry loads of Ashton Kucher merchandise to bury your sorry ass in.
Have a nice day.
MTV Entertainment.
Oddly Draconis
Too cynical to live, too stubborn to die.
Its obviously not finished yet, so you'll probably just end up downloading it a couple times as they fix bugs, change the media, and recompile everything...
Its a waste of steam bandwidth and yours. I'd understand if it was gold, but its not.
Trying to get some publicity now that Doom3 is out. Valve, just get the game out already.
------------ scottder
Why do people think that the ^H thing is witty and funny?
i use linux and windows oh god how can i have an opinion
Obviously you've never done a CRT terminal session where you cannot backspace to correct an typo. You get a "^H" character on the screen instead of it backspacing.
So let me get this straight: Valve is allowing you to grace your hard drive with a huge pile of useless encrypted bits that will lay there undisturbed until the still unknown release date of HL2, at which point you'll have to download still more shit (This isn't the whole game they're preloading), or just go buy the game on CD. What a joke. This sounds like just a big paper launch to combat the notion that HL2 is vaporware.
"The problem with internet quotations is that many are not genuine" -Abraham Lincoln
I will get Half-Life 2 to see where the story goes, but I won't be paying for it.
Wow, you'll pirate the game illegally. You sure showed them.
If you were really so righteous, you just wouldn't play the game. You bitch about them then outright admit you'll still be playing their game. But hey, as long as you get to reap the benefits of their work without giving back, right?
I know it's extremely hip on Slashdot to bash Valve for some bizarre reason, but get real.
Hey, if the shoe fits. . . If this actually went hand in hand with a "gone gold" or RTM announcement, that would be one thing. But the only reason to release parts of the thing when there is still NO release date is to keep the hype machine rolling.
"The problem with internet quotations is that many are not genuine" -Abraham Lincoln