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Half-Life 2 Retail to Require Steam Activation

Posted by Zonk on from the open-the-gasket-to-let-out-the-good-stuff dept.

An anonymous reader writes "In a recent Gamespy interview with Doug Lambardi it was revealed that the retail version of Half-Life 2 will require product activation. This isn't just restricted to multiplayer, you will have to create a Steam account and activate your retail purchase before you can even run single-player. "

54 of 265 comments (clear)

  1. Gee, wonderful Valve. by eviltypeguy · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I just love how Valve changed what they originally said about this...

    All hail Valve, our next Microsoft Product Activation-like overlord.

    1. Re:Gee, wonderful Valve. by eviltypeguy · · Score: 4, Informative

      They originally said you could install the game and play singleplayer without 'activating'. But once you wanted to update the game or play mutiplayer you had to activate it via Steam.

    2. Re:Gee, wonderful Valve. by I(rispee_I(reme · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I seem to remember them saying that there would be an option for the teeming millions of us who hate Steam and all that it stands for, way back in the day.

    3. Re:Gee, wonderful Valve. by I(rispee_I(reme · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Here's the link. Valve is basically pulling a 180 in order to get everyone to use Steam, since presumably most gamers (who like to have control over their computers) would opt for the Steam-free version.

  2. Team Fortress 2? by avalys · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "Q. What's the latest status on Team Fortress 2?

    Doug Lombardi: After we announced TF2 on the HL1 tech, we made the decision to move it to the Source engine. It is still in development and we will be announcing more on that title soon."

    Don't bother, no one cares any more. You blew it.

    --
    This space intentionally left blank.
    1. Re:Team Fortress 2? by supabeast! · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Agreed. I might have cared about TF2 before the online gaming world had moved to CS, but at this point it would just be another weird mod that pisses me off...

  3. Glad to see... by Godeke · · Score: 5, Insightful

    that they have given me an excuse to not purchase the game. I use my machine for programming, with a bit of light gaming on the side. I'm not interested in Steam (I get my rear end handed to me in multiplay) and if I have to sell my machine's soul to their marketing drones, well they can take their delayed, litigated and now "strings attached" game and shove it.

    Sad really, reviews are high and I loved the first one. I guess I will be more productive next month than I expected.

    --
    Sig under construction since 1998.
    1. Re:Glad to see... by cjpez · · Score: 4, Insightful
      I dunno, I don't think it's that minor. They've done a couple of things here which violate a couple of things I feel are integral to a single-player game. First off, a single player game just shouldn't have to talk to the internet. Suppose I didn't have a connection where I was. Suppose I just moved and my connection's not installed yet. Suppose I have restrictive firewall settings on that I don't want to have to bypass just to play a game against the computer. It's just unacceptable.

      The second, and to me more annoying thnig, is that they've just made it impossible to install and play the game once they go belly-up. As soon as Steam stops becoming available, nobody can play the game on a new installation without hacking it. That's just ridiculous. I still pull out old DOS games from when I was a dorkling in junior high, and I expect them to just install and WORK (well, provided the DOS emulators are up to snuff, anyway). Would they do so if they had to dial up and talk to some server from the 80s that doesn't exist anymore? No, they wouldn't.

      All in all, a horrible decision. I was so excited about this game, too.

      --
      Al Qaeda has ninjas!
    2. Re:Glad to see... by cjpez · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Right, obviously if you either go to the trouble of hacking it yourself, or just wait a few hours for the inevitable Clever Hacker to do it for you, then you're good to go. The thing is that I shouldn't have to resort to methods which can probably be construed as illegal by our lovely judicial system just to play a game I purchased against my own computer.

      --
      Al Qaeda has ninjas!
    3. Re:Glad to see... by igrp · · Score: 3, Insightful
      It's minor. A very minor thing and yet people act like Valve is asking for the their first born child!

      It very well may be minor but it's still an annoyance. I can understand their desire to protect their IP, especially after their ridiculous security policies have resulted in several breaches.

      But this will simply not prevent determined people from pirating or leaking the game. It will, however, inconvenience those people who buy a legitimate copy of the game.

      I guess the old "some people don't have Internet/broadband/whatever access" argument doesn't hold a lot of water anymore, especially with regard to the intended HL2 audience. But the fact remains that some people simply don't want to forced to active their software because they're opposed to the idea of having to give out private information in general, or just don't want to be bothered or simply find the whole concept of treating a paying customer like a criminal unless he or she proves otherwise iniquitous.

      Yes, I suppose you could give Valve fake information. But I why am I supposed to give them any personal information in the first place? Compare it to Windows XP. Microsoft's product activation scheme hasn't prevented one determined individual from pirating their software. Sure, it has raised the bar so-to-speak for some "casual, wannabe software pirates" (which was probably what they were trying to do). They also managed to piss off millions of legitimate users in the process.

      I sure hope they put a big fat red warning sticker on the boxes. Hardcore gamers will still want to play HL2, even if they have to give their firstborn to Valve (and that probably goes for a lot of not-so-hardcore gamers, too). But that way, people at least have a choice and don't have to find out the hard way (ie. after installing the game) that they can't play the game they just purchased without Valve's blessing.

    4. Re:Glad to see... by irc.goatse.cx+troll · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Its been like that for a long time, and is why I don't purchase games. I'm not going to jump through hoops to get something I paid for working when its infinately easier to download the fully working version. It would be like if buying a cd required you to fill out 5 pages of paperwork (which isnt too far off from what I predict the future will be like) -- If I payed for it, it should JustWork(TM)

      Thats why the only games worth what they charge are made by ID. Even their cdkey auth is more lax allowing much easier use for lan parties and such. In the ~10+ years ID has been in buisness, I don't think they've ever required you keep the cd/floppy that you installed off of. Why? Because ID consists of gamers, not buisnessmen.
      Not that they don't make good buisnessmen(I've seen pictures of carmack's car.), but they put their gaming side first and don't release something that isn't worth playing. Compare that to Valve, who's been milking the same engine AND STORYLINE for ages. No, Valve, Playing as some stupid dude in a vest and a helmet won't make your game interesting again.

      --
      Pain lasts, kid. Its how you know you're alive. Sometimes I think this growing up thing is just pain management-TheMaxx
    5. Re:Glad to see... by accelleron · · Score: 2, Insightful

      My preference would be that Valve release a patch that makes the game playable without activation and/or steam upon release.

      At this point, though, Valve can go one of two paths:

      1. The "Duke Nukem, meet WinXP" path that will kill their sales (and mods) upon termination of their studio

      or

      2. The patch way. Sadly enough, releasing a patch that disables activation is in their best interests - alternatively someone else will release one that disables activation, along with minor features like CD-Key protection.

      --
      Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped.
    6. Re:Glad to see... by Godeke · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Actually it *is* a big deal. I have some games that required activation from a few years ago where the company decided to stop issuing activation codes. Thanks, but no thanks, they can go to hell before I buy another game that requires activation.

      --
      Sig under construction since 1998.
    7. Re:Glad to see... by thrash242 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I don't condone downloading illegal copies of games, but I do agree that anything more than inserting the CD(s) and entering a CD code is too invasive. Particularly for singleplayer.

      Most games I have played aren't bad. At the worst, for some games you have to set up an account, but most games just require a CD code and you're ready to play.

      Singleplayer, however, should not require internet access at all. This is ridiculous, and I may just not get HL2 because of it.

      However, that means I will do without it rather than downloading it. Unlike many people, I learned that you either pay for something or do without. Getting games is not a right.

  4. So, Steam is still good? by Drakino · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Sounds like a move to try and get people to see Steam, and consider not buying the next Valve product in the stores.

    Some ideas of Steam are nice, but I still don't like the idea of buying a product through it. Skipping the publishers is a bad thing, as they fund the new games. Sure, publishers need to treat the developers better, but to try and axe them out of the picture completely is a bad idea.

  5. Argument for piratation? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Sorry Valve, but I have no intention of letting Steam ever tough my PC. I will buy your game (if it turns out to be worth it), and I will acquire a crack to enable it.

    Don't fuck over your customers. Things will get much worse.

  6. Won't stop piracy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    This'll barely even slow the warezers down. I bet there'll be a crack out within a week of release, if there isn't one already.

  7. Well, another game I won't be buying. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If I'm going to be treated like a copyright infringer, I'll just wait for the crack.

    1. Re:Well, another game I won't be buying. by NanoGator · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "If I'm going to be treated like a copyright infringer, I'll just wait for the crack."

      I wanna know why some companies out there think they'll make more money when they provide less of what a customer wants?

      --
      "Derp de derp."
  8. I can see the game returns now by happyhippy · · Score: 2, Insightful

    from the average public joe.
    "Hey mister, this game wont work. Can I exchange it?"

    1. Re:I can see the game returns now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      That's what the Fair Credit Billing Act is for. You tried in good faith to resolve the problem with your merchant (in this case, a defective product), and were rebuffed. Your next stop is your credit card company.

  9. I have cancalled my Amazon order... by thesp · · Score: 3, Insightful

    ...I urge others to do the same. If we, the consumers, keep on permitting u-turns by companies, and cheerfully accepting them, it will only encourage this culture of mendacity that is more prevalent each day in this world.

    1. Re:I have cancalled my Amazon order... by sgant · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I have a 12 year old and I can tell you, he isn't interested in HL2 at all. He's like...what's that?

      But anyway, I love how people all of a sudden turn on a company and to the old "sold out" routine that is as old as the hills. Of course they care about cash, but from everything I've seen, they care about the quality of their game. I've heard great things about this game, but bottom line, if it isn't good, it isn't good and they will NOT rake in the cash.

      Word get's out now. Not everyone is lumped into the "dipshit" masses any longer. There is too much competition out there to just release a crappy game and hope people will buy it just because of the name. Look at Doom3, it was an "ok" game, but it's certainly not breaking sales records across the world.

      Having everyone install Steam does give them some control...control that you can buy directly from them and also update the games as a patch comes out. I see as being helpfull and easy.

      But hey, they don't have control over my computer. No one does. If in the future they want to get into a pay-per-use model, I'll leave. It's no big deal. It's not like it's spy-ware that you can't get off your computer.

      I don't see it as a big deal, but I guess others do. It will be interesting to see what happens in the coming months.

      --

      "Leo Fender was in a 'state of grace' when he designed the Stratocaster." -- Paul Reed Smith
    2. Re:I have cancalled my Amazon order... by EngineeringMarvel · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I understand if you do not agree with the Steam authentication, but why is it that people want everyone to do the same thing they are doing. It is like people want an excuse to not buy the game. Games are about entertainment and fun, so why are so many people complaining about HL2, a game that hasn't even come out yet. I think people are forgetting the whole point of buying a game. How can you judge a game's quality if you haven't played it yet.

      I'm beginning to think people use the whole HL2 "drama" just to get attention on the internet. People want to actually think that others care if they are buying a game or not. I know I don't. If I hear my friends like a game, then I'll buy it, but am I gonna not buy a game because one person says they are cancelling their pre-order....I don't think so. The whole irony of all this is that in a few months, if HL2 turns out to be a great game, the very same cancelling people are going to be the first one to jump on the, "omg, this is the greatest game ever and I knew it all along" band wagon. As for me, I was ready to buy the game last year on release day, now, I'll probably wait a few days after release. Either way, I'll eventually buy the game I think because Valve produced an amazing product on the last go around.

      --
      I couldn't think of anything witty to say, so...you're stuck with this.
  10. Here we go...let the bashing begin by sgant · · Score: 5, Funny

    Here we go again!

    (in sarcastic tones)

    HOW DARE THEY! They expect us to have a net connection! What year do they think this is? 2004 or something?!?! Don't they understand that people that have the horsepower in a computer to run the Source engine as in HL2 usually do NOT have any sort of net connection! What do they think we are, NASA?!?!

    Valve is nothing but a bunch of money-grubbing jerks to make us pay for a game...A GAME! They should open source it!

    Here is a list of demands for Valve:

    1. Stop lying to us! We trusted you...er...don't know with what, but lots of people are saying you let us down...somehow...so stop it!

    2. I don't want you spying on me 24/7. I know Valve is out there, looking through my window, looking through my mailbox, now you want to invade my machine and spread all your viruses and spyware to watch everything I do so you can sell it to the Iraqis for some oil-for-games program you have going! YOU'RE EVIL!

    3. I want every game and every map and every mod ever made for HL/CS/DoD etc etc to be converted to the Source engine AND be included on the HL2 CD. AND I want everything on one CD.

    4. I want Source to run 150fps on my Pentium 90 with Stock VGA graphics...using DX9.0c. Anything more than that and you guys just don't know how to program.

    5. I don't want any bugs, none. If one bug shows up I'll sue you!

    6. I don't want any type of security on these games. I should be able to install on any number of computers. I have 150 friends that all would like to "try out" this game so I want to burn 150 CD's with a copy on it so I can let them have it for a low price of $20 (that covers the cost of the CD).

    Do these things and perhaps maybe I'll play the game...but only maybe.

    --

    "Leo Fender was in a 'state of grace' when he designed the Stratocaster." -- Paul Reed Smith
    1. Re:Here we go...let the bashing begin by vegetablespork · · Score: 2, Insightful
      That's amusing, but disingenuous.

      No one should have to cede control over his machine and agree to a Draconian agreeement that indemnifies Valve in the event of any screwups to play a game he legitimately purchased. This is about control, not about copyright infringement. The crackers will have this one on Usenet inside of a week--the only ones inconvenienced will be those who purchased a game that has to call home to use single player mode, and a company that's going to collect and sell Bob-knows-what information about them in the process.

      --

      Call (206) 338-5780 COLLECT for information about a genuine BA, BS, MA, MS, MBA, or Ph.D.

    2. Re:Here we go...let the bashing begin by dougmc · · Score: 2, Insightful
      But then again, no one bitches about NEEDING a connection to play like Everquest or SWG or other online games.
      Actually, some people do bitch about this. Granted, most people understand the need immediately, but not everybody. Even Grandma might want to play the Sims Online, but not understand why she needs to be dialed up while doing so.

      But for a single player game, it makes no sense, beyond marketing and copy protection, things we hate (newsflash: even people who paid for their game hate copy protection. It's rarely as `invisible' as it's supposed to be. Ironically, many end up getting the pirate patches, because it makes the game better.)

      In any event, MMRPG vs single player game Internet requirements -- it's hardly the same thing.

    3. Re:Here we go...let the bashing begin by gl4ss · · Score: 2, Insightful

      hl2 isn't an online game.

      to quote the interview "Doug Lombardi: During installation the user will be prompted to authenticate the copy and create a Steam account. After that is complete, the single-player and LAN games do not require an Internet connection."

      so.. to play the _single_player game you need to authenticate during the installation.

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    4. Re:Here we go...let the bashing begin by Japong · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I'm not the parent, but I can still say that I play Die By the Sword - at least 3 times a week - it's only SIX years old, but Treyarch and Interplay have long stopped caring about or supporting the game.

      And the big issue here with HL2 is that it's a single player game, there's no need for anyone to have to log online, yet they're making it mandatory anyway. It's something I and many others are becoming increasingly fed up with, because they make you go through increasing circles of bullshit in order to play a game you spent hard-earned money on.

      When Doom 3 came out I bought a copy the day after release, and then I was told I had to remove CloneCD, Daemon Tools and Nero in order to get the game to work with their moronic copy protection. As much as you like to say Valve and id can do whatever they want with their software, this is crossing the line between "protecting their copyright" and "taking over my computer". I can't wait until Windows Media Player will automatically uninstall and registry-ban Winamp and iTunes...

      As things go, I don't want Steam. I don't want the 500-some-odd megabyte install I had to do when they decided to move TFC over, I don't want to wait for Steam to patch itself, I don't want the memory and processor overhead of having Steam running as a background process whenever I start my computer and checking for updates, I don't want to hear about Valve's latest news whenever I login to play whatever game I bought years ago, I don't want to play CS:Source.

      I would have bought Half-Life 2 because I was interested in playing Half-life 2.

      Now I'll just download the game a week early on Bit Torrent, crack it, and then purchase the box copy and leave it sealed on my shelf. I shouldn't have to, but at least my way everybody wins.

    5. Re:Here we go...let the bashing begin by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Maybe you should try seeing the other sides point of view.

      For example, my current machine can not run HL2, and I will not be getting one that can for quite a while. I will be picking up the collector's edition when it is released because I like collecting them and want to secure a copy.

      Cracks aside, what guarantee do I have that I will be able to play the single player HL2 and HL: Source game when I do have the machine to run it? What about 5 years from now when I want to play through HL2 and HL: Source again? And what about mods, from what I understand the system isn't as open as it use to and Valve has control over them. A lot of PC game companies have died over the years, and so have multiplayers severs, but at least I can still play the single player versions as well as mods with my legally bought copies.

      Also while it is unlikely, what is there to stop Valve from pulling a Microsoft, and have them no longer supporting HL2 single player, HL: Source, old mods, or any of other their classics?

      Don't assume that it is just pirates who are the ones complaining, I bet there are quite a few legit buyers like me that don't like this turn of events. Seriously, I purchase all my software, have never used any cracks and have no intention to do so. But given the requirement to authenticate games to just play single player I might reconsider this policy I have. I just might have to start downloading and backing up cracks, BUT only for games that require authentication in order to play single player and if I can no longer authenticate my legally purchased game.

  11. Godspeed, Valve! by gothfox · · Score: 5, Funny

    After all, product activation did a miracle for Microsoft. Stopped those evil software pirates completely, yessir.

  12. Why is that bad? by 2nd+Post! · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Your logic is, "Skipping the publishers is a bad thing, as they fund the new games."

    But the whole point of skipping the publishers is to get enough money so the developers can "fund the new games". And when you get to that point, WHY do we, as gamers, or developers, need or want publishers?

    --

    GPL Deconstructed
    1. Re:Why is that bad? by Ford+Prefect · · Score: 2, Insightful

      But the whole point of skipping the publishers is to get enough money so the developers can "fund the new games".

      Who do you think funds a new development studio with no released titles already making money for them?

      Valve's got to the stage where it doesn't need the financial backing of a publisher, but for smaller people, it's a very important source of monetary investment.

      As for the Half-Life 2 requiring product activation - I'm not sure if this is the best route to be going down. Yes, nearly everyone has an internet connection these days, but there still are some people without. A friend of mine is a big fan of Half-Life (and games in general) but has no internet access at home. An outlier? Yes, but there's probably more of them than we think, especially in the casual PC gamer market the original Half-Life has more recently done so well in. Such people are a bit unlikely to be posting on here, for a start. ;-)

      I've nothing against persistent user profiles and product registration for online gaming - a bit less anonymity might cut down on the number of idiots currently infesting servers - but requiring activation for an offline, single-player game does seem to be going a bit far. Anyone pirating the game will most likely have a registration-free hacked version, as already mentioned...

      --
      Tedious Bloggy Stuff - hooray?
    2. Re:Why is that bad? by Drakino · · Score: 3, Informative

      Ok, I'm a new developer. How do I fund my game? Pre-sell it through a Steam like program collecting money at the pre-sell, then coming out with it 3 years later? No.

      I go and talk to a game publisher, they loan me money, then when the game does well, the loan is paid off. If it doesn't then thats another story. The publisher also has people to decide if the game idea will do well, by testing it on play testers and such.

      I am not saying existing publishers are great. I'm just mostly trying to say getting rid of them completly to me seems like a very bad idea.

      This is all overly simplistic, but I think it gets the point across.

  13. OK, so... by Snowspinner · · Score: 2, Insightful

    What is an acceptable way for companies to deal with piracy then? I mean, come on. We really damage our credibility if we bitch at every attempt to curb piracy. But we complain about Microsoft barring modded XBoxes from their servers, about copy protection like this, we complain when companies sue file sharers...

    Are people really arguing that there should be no way to prevent piracy? Because based on the aggregate outrage of the /. populace, that's increasingly what we're looking like. And down that road lies us no longer being considered worth pandering to.

    Personally, I think that good old-fashioned copy protection is by far the best method of preventing piracy. Nobody gets sued. Nobody gets hurt.

    --
    Philip Sandifer's academic website
    1. Re:OK, so... by dougmc · · Score: 5, Insightful
      What is an acceptable way for companies to deal with piracy then?
      You need a list? Ok then ...

      Acceptable forms of copy protection :

      Ignore it. That's certainly acceptable, and works well for many game developers and publishers.

      Add extras in the box that add value. Cloth maps, figurines, trading cards, etc.

      Make a complex game that requires lots of documentation, and include it in a printed book.

      Make an awesome multi-user component that requires logging into a server with a unique CD key to play online. It must be something that needs to use the Internet already, however (like a multi-user component would.)

      Include the phrase: Please don't copy this game illegally.

      Barely acceptable methods include :

      Require use of that CD key to download patches and updates.

      Having a unique CD key for each copy of the game.

      Include copy protection methods that make it hard to copy, or make copies not work -- Safedisk, bad sectors, etc. These aren't very effective, but as long as they don't cause problems for legitimate users, they're acceptible -- barely.

      Require that the CD be in the drive while playing the game. We don't like this, but we generally tolerate it if there's no other problems.

      Hidden registry keys to keep track of previous installations and such.

      Utterly unaccecptable forms of copy protection for a game :

      Contacting the Internet (or requiring that you call up a phone number to get a code) for a single player game

      Dongles (and other hardware keys.)

      `Please enter the third word of page 25 now.' (or other sorts of code wheels, books, etc.)

      Writing to the boot sector or other `off limits' part of the disk. (Turbo Tax did this recently.)

      Installing Spyware that reports back to the publisher.

      Programs that look for `cheating' or `cracking' programs on your disk and either refuse to run the game if found, or (worse) remove/break the offending programs. (EQ has done this, as and several programs refuse to work if programs like Daemon Tools or even Nero are even installed.)

      Protections that damage the system if they feel they're being messed with (recent example: program that deleted your home directory if it detected a `pirated' CD key.)

      Special device drivers that must be installed just to run the game -- like a special CD rom driver.

      Unmovable files (if you put a file down, we should be able to defrag it!)

      I'm sure I've missed a few in each category, but this should get you started. Game developers, you listening?

    2. Re:OK, so... by fwitness · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Umm, no. Product activation is something that has been tried a bunch of times, to no avail. While piracy is a problem, it doesn't mean it's an insurmountable one. For one thing, people *lose* money through piracy, and that sucks. That doesn't mean they make *no money* or even a drastically reduced amount. I think we all know the windows piracy problem helped establish it's market dominance.

      Also on the "no longer being considered worth pandering to" note, I don't think I've ever seen any demographic ever cease to be marketed to due to piracy. Cable TV, lot's of pirates, still makes money. Dish TV, same. Windows, same. Any popular pc Game, same.

      People keep thinking of piracy as something that can be eliminated, like polio. It's not some disease that threatens humanity. It's an aspect of human nature that has been around for quite some time (like, uh, pirates? You know, the swashbuckling kind?). There is a reason banks and large commercial retailers have insurance. Nobody has ever said "lets start a campain to stop bank robbery!" People are going to still rob banks, despite having 50 cameras and untold security. Some will succeed. If your business model relies on not having anyone *ever* steal from you, I suspect you have bigger problems. Does anyone have theft insurance? Why is that? Theft has been around a long time, why haven't we started 'The War On Theft'?

      Now, making me give you my personal info to buy your product, that's fine, but don't expect me to do so. There are plenty of other games out there. Keep in mind this is the *single* player version that also requires activation. Would you buy console games this way? Oh yeah, that next Zelda is so cool, I'll just tell the Nintendo people my personal details, because I *know* they won't share them with anyone.

      Please.

      If you feel it's fine, you go right ahead, but in my mind at least, this is not a bright idea.

      --
      -- I have fans? Wow.
  14. Need more DETAILS... by meanfriend · · Score: 3, Informative

    About how this authentication is going to affect future installations. Will Steam keep track of some unique product id (like a CDKey) and tie it to a specific install?

    ie. You install HL2 and the next day some hardware/OS failure requires you to reformat/reinstall. Will you be able to re-authenticate on the same CDKey? What about if you delete an old install and want to re-install on a new PC?

    What if you trade in your HL2 at EB for some reason (runs too slow, too buggy, you plain dont like it), will the next person who buys it even be able to authenticate and play it? This could effectively destroy the pre-owned market (at least for this game). Which would be total BS; if I want to sell my game, I should be able to. Is that not my right as a consumer?

    Go look at the Steam website faq. They specifically state that CDkeys cannot be transferred between Steam accounts. Without a doubt, Valve (and probably every publisher out there) would love nothing better than to ensure that everyone who plays their game has to always buy a full priced new copy. There is just too much potential for abuse here...

    Maybe I'm way off base, and I'd love nothing better than Valve to prove me wrong. I was on the fence about buying HL2, now I'd say my mind is made up...

    1. Re:Need more DETAILS... by gl4ss · · Score: 2, Interesting

      ***What if you trade in your HL2 at EB for some reason (runs too slow, too buggy, you plain dont like it), will the next person who buys it even be able to authenticate and play it? This could effectively destroy the pre-owned market (at least for this game). Which would be total BS; if I want to sell my game, I should be able to. Is that not my right as a consumer?***

      well, that's where you're onto them.

      (besides.. the hl1-key state is horrid.. you can't really buy hl1 in shrink wraps and be sure that it has a key that you could use online)

      you're _NOT_ offbase as it is essentially true already with cs:cz.

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
  15. What about people without 'net connections? by david.given · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Because there still are some, here and there. 'Net access isn't as ubiquitous as you think it is.

  16. Wait, this is NEWS? by Jeff+Reed · · Score: 2

    My understanding is that you were going to need Steam for offline play of HL2 since it was announced. This is about as news-worthy as the sun rising in the morning or Bill Gates having an assload of money.

    While I can fully understand not liking the idea of Steam (hell, I still think it's a buggy piece of garbage, and it's gotten much better than the old versions), it's not that big a deal. Once you register your CD-Key with Valve through Steam, you can play the game, get updates quickly, and run the game on any machine with Steam installed (after it downloads the necessary data, of course). You can even run it in offline mode and not "report in to the mothership," if you're so afraid of that. I'm not seeing the downside, unless you're really paranoid about some company seeing your private data and think that "offline mode" doesn't mean "offline."

    But then, if you're that crazed, maybe you shouldn't be on the internet at all.

    1. Re:Wait, this is NEWS? by gl4ss · · Score: 4, Informative

      * My understanding is that you were going to need Steam for offline play of HL2 since it was announced.*

      that is not true. they said you would need steam for updates and online play, but if you wanted to just play the single player game out of the box then you wouldn't need a net connection(this would be the sensible thing, as some don't have net even).

      among other things this makes it basically impossible for there to be a 2nd hand market for these as well(_this_ is what they're after.. making it impossible for even legally to buy it cheaper than store from someone who already played through it).

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
  17. This defeats the purpose of the box.... by rsilvergun · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The whole point of getting a box is you can install the CDs even if Valve goes under and stops running activation servers. Welp, no more. It's pretty annoying actually. I think I can expect Microsoft to be running Activation servers 10 years from now (if only out of fear of a 250 million+ class action lawsuit), but a game company? It's like divx all over again....

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
  18. Some of you guys just don't get it! by Fallen+Andy · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Oh no not again (crashing bowl of petunias time).
    I'm going to ROTFL because the innocent notion of
    requiring "Product Activation" has not so innocent
    consequences.

    Here goes:
    Once upon a time there was a Greek company (yes, I'm the dumb programmer who had to do it) who thought that having a product *locked* to a machine was a good idea. They thought about Dongles (yuck) and other stuff, and eventually came up with a relatively innocous scheme.

    So, they *required* product activation. Here's the bad news. Customers machines *break* and hence they trouble your support lines in lemming like droves. So, the more product you sell - the *LESS*
    money you make because you have to hire more zombies for the support dept. (So, in our case a
    $20 product ended up losing us $21... - or something like that).

    AAARRGGHH!

    One activation code - yes, and then forever more you allow *reactivation* on other machines. OK, that doesn't kill piracy, but you have to take the
    rough with the smooth here...

    (and remember you don't know how much information
    is going back over the wire about your machine + environment. Get seriously FUDDED). Hell, just buy
    from another company. (Like the Coca Cola classic
    fiasco, if they want to sell it they'll have to listen).

  19. Thanx valve by ramunas · · Score: 5, Insightful

    so how am I supposed to play it when it's imposiible for me to use STEAM?!?! I must use a proxy server to connect to the internet, which is also used by many other people, so port-forwarding is not an option. Therefore no steam for my PC. And thus I can't even play the legitimate version of it, oh well I guess I'm just going to need to find a cracked, boot-legged version of it anyway :(

    --
    ./R My blog
    1. Re:Thanx valve by arose · · Score: 2, Funny

      We are not sure about your particular setup, please buy a retail package to test it out*. * Opened packages can not be returned. Thanks for your interest in Half Life 2, Valve

      --
      Analogies don't equal equalities, they are merely somewhat analogous.
  20. Some people are not thinking straight. by ryulinho · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I am already entitled to a copy of Half-Life 2. I have purchased an ATI video card what seems to me now like ages ago. Had I not, I would have thought about buying Half-Life 2. I know many who might have been interested in purchasing it as well. After this, no one I know or I would ever consider buying the product, would it be only out of spite. This new security measure is ludicrous.

    I anticipate more than usual will now be downloading it from an alternative source (no pun intended) more simply than Steam users will. This will be done without silly activations being required and possibly days before November 16th.

    Congrats to Valve, they managed to alienate another chunk of the gaming community with this decision.

  21. Re:abso-frigging-lutely by irc.goatse.cx+troll · · Score: 3, Interesting

    No you really don't. The crack already exists today (the Steam debug client that most hl related leaks use), It just needs to be hacked onto the final hl2 release, which will take about 30minutes. As for the demo.. Go download CS:Source and see if it runs on your machine.

    If you're not afraid of your console and making your game ugly, theres plenty of ways to speed up the game. If I didn't hate Valve and Counterstrike with a passion now, I'd make a howto, but cvarlist mat_ and screw with those settings for better fps, namely mat_dxlevel 70 as I said in another post.

    --
    Pain lasts, kid. Its how you know you're alive. Sometimes I think this growing up thing is just pain management-TheMaxx
  22. Other areas affected by this? by DumbWhiteGuy777 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    First of all, I want to say this is totally uncalled for. I dunno why they can't just go Blizzard's route and make only one CD-key run at once online. You can't really get an online key for Starcraft without buying it, and it's been out for years.

    Also, I want to know how this will affect reselling of the game. Let's say in a few months I'm tired of HL2 and decide to sell it to a friend or something. Will he be unable to make a steam ID? Will he have to use mine? Because that would suck a bit.

    It just seems they put way too much into this stuff when there are such easy answers already out.

  23. pirating is REALLY common on cstrike by Malor · · Score: 4, Interesting

    They may have a point.

    There was a bug in Cstrike recently where if someone changed their name to include a " %n ", it would immediately crash the server and all the clients. They rolled out the fix sometime Monday, I think.

    About Wednesday, one of the players on the server I was on changed his name to include a %n. This blew away about half the people on the server. Why? Because the pirates didn't have the fixed version yet.

    As long as he sat there with the %n, nobody with a pirated game could logon, and the 40-person server was unable to climb above about 24 people. Normally, it's at 40 players 95% of the time.

    Pirated Counterstrike, in other words, is extremely, extremely common. I don't know if it's deliberate on Valve's part, but they don't seem to be doing a good job AT ALL of shutting out the thieves. One thought that comes to mind is that maybe they're trying to get online 'buzz' early on, by making sure there are lots of Cstrike players. Perhaps they'll get more aggressive about shutting down pirates once the game hits store shelves.

    But, it is also possible that they CAN'T for some reason... which, if true, doesn't encourage me that they'll get CS:S terribly cheat-free.

    Looked like about 50-60% pirated copies on the server I was on. Real shame.

  24. Copy protected CDs, cd-keys, etc do work by AHumbleOpinion · · Score: 2, Informative

    This'll barely even slow the warezers down. I bet there'll be a crack out within a week of release, if there isn't one already

    Most piracy is casual, if it is trivially easy for a non-technical person they will do it. Put up the slightest barrier and most will give up and buy the game if they really wanted it. Copy protected CDs, cd-keys, etc are popular because they work. They stop the vast majority of would be pirates. The part of the population that can manage to find a warez site, get a crack that is not a trojan, and successfully apply the crack is a very small niche. A friend does in-home computer service and hears about it alot as he chats with customers. I've seen college kids stopped cold by the simplest commercially available protection. One quarter the software accompanying a chemistry textbook was not copy protected. The book and software were required, the book outsold the software 10 to 1 yet everyone turned in their software based homework projects. The publisher added copy protection and the next quarter the ration was 10 to 9. The commercial software used is well known and cracks exist to neutralize it, yet it works for this publisher quarter after quarter.

    FWIW I'll throw in that it is a myth that people won't pirate inexpensive software. The textbook came with a coupon that let the student by the software for $15.

  25. Going against slashthink by (SM)+Spacemonkey · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I don't mind. From a technical standpoint, I actually am quite fond of steam. As far as activation goes, I am comfortable with the internet, and already have a steam account. But that is just *me*

    Beyond *me* why cannot Valve's sell a product in any manner they wish. If they want to put "internet required" on the the box, and only sell it to people who can activate via the internet. Well what is wrong with that? Where exactally is Valve's obligation to make and sell Half Life 2 to you, exactally as you would like it?

    I am not sure I understand all the indignation surrounding this story. If you do not like the manner in which Valve sells its product, then do not spend your money on it. An aggregate approximation of your choice will be clear in the market. However, somehow I do not think the market will side with you, and Half Life 2 will be successful. Discussion welcome.

  26. ,,,and no one gives a damn by westlake · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Half-Life 2 is #1 on the Amazon sales list.

  27. Beat me...make me feel cheap! by pyro+jackelope · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I've dreaded that this would happen. When Steam -does- work, it's about as useful as a nail in my eye. This or that doesn't work..."you were unable to download the security token for the server"...you can't switch bloody arms in certain display modes! Now we have to rely on this to activate our software? Don't get me wrong, I love Valve, but if I wanted to spend a lot on software and get raped in the process, I'd use AOL.

    --
    28:06:42:12 - That is when the world will end...