Half-Life 2 Deathmatch Confirmed

Satertek writes "Following up a previous post, a teaser was posted on the Steam website with the image HL2DM.jpg entitled 'Soon', confirming rumors of a Half-Life 2 Multiplayer Deathmatch game. It was also brought up on the forums by Valve. It will be released alongside the SDK sometime this week." Update: 12/01 13:49 GMT by T : Since this was written, "this week" has turned into "now"; the update was released last night.

Comments

The Details

[Blackice912]

November 30, 2004, 8:05 pm valve
A Half-Life 2 update has been released via Steam. Please restart Steam to apply the update.

Included in this update:

Half-Life 2: Deathmatch

* New multiplayer game featuring physics simulation system

Half-Life 2/Source SDK

* Includes game code needed to create Half-Life 2/Source MODs

* Ability to edit Half-Life 2 maps

* Maya model exporter

* 3d Studio Max model exporter source code

* Sample MOD with vehicles

Source Updates

* HTTP and non-HTTP map auto downloading functionality

* Enhanced dedicated server logging capabilities

* Various tweaks and fixes

*Also: A Half-Life 2: Deathmatch Map Making Contest has been announced. The winning entry will receive a cash prize of $5,000. Two runner up entries will receive a cash prize of $3,000.

Was there any reason-

[thewldisntenuff]

Not to include deathmatch in the original release? Doesn't seem to make much sense that a multiplayer deathmatch is not included, especially in a game like HL2.....

-thewldisntenuff

Re:Was there any reason-

[Ford Prefect]

Doesn't seem to make much sense that a multiplayer deathmatch is not included, especially in a game like HL2.....

They did include some completely revamped thing called 'Counter-Strike: Source', however. Apparently the original is fairly popular...

Re:Was there any reason-

[Iamdeusex]

That's bull. There are tons of people switched over to CS:Source. Just check the server list. It certainly isn't Half Life 2: Multiplayer, I'll agree with that, but that doesn't mean that CS:Source sucks. They made some graphical improvements, yes, but they also made some gameplay improvements as well, i.e. smoke grenades are actually really useful now, flashbangs are far superior to their counterparts in 1.6, you don't get damaged through walls and such by nades, etc. Now, the only complaint I have is that the headshots seem to be rampant in Source, but whether that's just crap or a valid observation, I have no proof for. Still, overall it's a great improvement over CS 1.6, and once the map support is there, and now that the SDK is out, it will definitely take over 1.6.

Re:Was there any reason-

[drinkypoo]

It's basically the same thing that motivates ill will towards redhat. Well, besides the fact that it sucks. They provided us this single platform that came in different flavors and let us all beta test it for them, then they decided to make the enterprise level version a separate product and support the desktop version of redhat (now called fedora, of course) very poorly, making no effort whatsoever to make it stable.

Quite similarly, Valve made a sequel to one of the best-loved first person shooters of all time, and it has ended up loaded with so-called copy protection that will turn out to be ineffectual in the long run (maybe not that long) and that has made it impossible for many of the people who are keeping them in business to actually play the game. Treating every customer like a potential criminal is a good way to chase people off towards someone who doesn't do so.

Re:Was there any reason-

[aronc]

They can max out on copy-protection I don't care. I just hated the inconvenience.

The few days where I had the HL2 box sit 2-feet next to me, and I couldn't install it cause Steam doesn't let me. That was awefully unnecessary.

Flip side of this: Half-life 2 is the only game I have that lets me play without digging out a cd and patches itself while I'm at work.

Re:Was there any reason-

[Anonymous Coward]

"I guess that after the way Valve has treated its customers..."

Have you used steam? I have had no problems with it whatsoever. The main complaints seem to be:
1) I can't pirate the game as easily
2) I couldn't play the game for a day because the Steam servers were overloaded on the first day.

So at worst you had to "purchase" the game (oooh the horror!) and could not play on the first day. Wow, you've been terribly mistreated...... If you're pirating the damn game they have every right to ban you. Online activation is also very easy and the game says on the box that it requires you to be online.

Honestly, the only people that I've seen that are mad about this are people that were trying to pirate the game. No matter what you seem to think, it's clear that recent online activation makes it much harder for normal users to pirate games. I see no problem in them wanting to stop piracy especially when it really barely affects you. Online activation, if you haven't noticed, has been a lot more difficult to crack in recent games.

Too much lag...

[Omicron32]

I've been playing it this morning. I'm not too impressed to be honest.

Whereas I'm getting around 60FPS in the single player game, the amount of crap (i.e. radiators, filing cabinates, chairs) that's being thrown around in the game really slows the game down and makes it jump around and stutter. I've also been experiencing quite bad lagging on the few servers I've tried.

It also appears that there's only two maps included... Well, that or every server admin out there has already decided that they'll only put two particular maps on rotation. (I may be wrong, I haven't checked this out properly yet.)

All in all, a nice addition, but either my computer or the game could do with some optimisation before it becomes playable.

Re:Too much lag...

[Remlik]

Imagine that, only two maps. Maybe ValvE should have some kind of map making contest to help fill that void. They could offer a $5000 first prize and maybe two $3000 second prizes. That would be cool, and then you wouldn't have to complain about only two maps.

I wish there was a moron filter on the interlink.

After playing the game...

[SwedeGeek]

I know why they call it HalfLife. Spend any amount of time playing this thing and you have half the life you did before. In my case, that wasn't very much, but not it's even less... :(

HL2DM

[Eeknay]

For those who haven't had a chance to try it out yet, it's a mixed bag. The two levels included (the Prison [Nova Prospekt] level in SP, and the sniping part of City 17) are fairly small, and they allow you to use the Gravity Gun. They've smattered the levels with lots of throwable objects, so "throw and catch" isn't uncommon, but for those with only half-decent machines or connections, it starts to lag quite fast, especially with 16 players.

Weapons are pretty much the same as HL2SP/HL1DM. You've got your machine gun, grenades, crossbow (hell yeah). The only new one like I say is the Gravity Gun so you can mess with the physics.

It's a nice alternative to CS:S for those who don't enjoy it. However it's quite fast paced, and I think we need bigger levels before we can fully appreciate it. But, nice one Valve.

totally humiliating

[Hank Chinaski]

i hate being killed by a grav-gun fired toilet. ooooh da p41n!

Huge performance drop- in single player!

[Lord Bitman]

Since the latest update, I havent had any of the crashing problems I had previously been experiencing (yay). But I have also seen a performance hit of over 40fps! (previously >90fps, now mere 50fps)
I havent had any of the problems I see others mentioning about multiplayer performance hits- deathmatch has run just as smoothly for me as singleplayer, but all at only 50fps. I dont understand this, performance has been cut sharply in half, and the framerate is now noticeable :/
Anyone else experience this?

Doom III

[Uukrul]

What happened to Doom 3? Doom 3 SDK was released a long time ago and there are few mods.
The mod maker Orange Smoothie has done nothing with the Doom 3 engine:
D3M: In general the whole Doom3 community is eagerly awaiting a modification that will bring Doom3 to the well known glory of Q3A for example. From your personal view, are you convinced to fulfill this task?
derean: Absolutely not, OSP for Quake3 has had hundreds and hundreds of man hours put into it by rhea and there is no way I could hope to put as much time into Doom3 as he did in Quake3. We can however provide a solid basis for future work and that's what we've set out to do.

May be 3D engines and SDKs are too complicated? Or was every body waiting the Half-Life 2 SDK?
I don't have a clue.

Re:1st Prize $5000, 2nd-3rd $3000 Map competition

[OgreChow]

I would see this as more of a way to get your name out there and as a resume-builder than an opportunity for cash.
Map-making can be a great way to show off your design skills if you want to break into the gaming industry.

To all those decrying it

[webrunner]

Yes, it's just deathmatch
But some people LIKE death match. And it's a solid foundation for modders.

Yes, it's not as refined as UT2K4 or whatever
Do any of these other games have a GRAVITY GUN? No? Well let's continue then.

Yes, it's pretty laggy
Play with less people or on a really good server. I played one where the lag was good enough to be able to toss grenades back, and that was pretty awesome.

Yes, there are two maps out there
They're leaving it to the community here. I'm planning on making a map myself in a little while, actually.

remember, HL2 only came out two weeks ago, and we didn't even know that HL2DM existed for certain until last night.

Steam Subscription Fee?

[ObsessiveMathsFreak]

How long before Valve start charging a subscription to play Half-Life 2 online through Steam and then disable users accounts of those who refuse to fork over the cash, hand over fist?

Valve and their ridiculous Steam system can take their business elsewhere. My brother bought half-life 2 and had to wait six hours over a 50k to even play the damn game. Now he can't have a no CD crack, can't resell the game, and (so he tells me) can't get unofficial mods for the game without being booted). He bought an over the shelf game, no EULA at all( That legal joke in the manual does not count. "By opening the box containing this agreement you agree to all these terms etc...." WTF! Not to mention he was too young to be party to any such agreement). Valve seem to want it both ways. They want the ease of an over the counter product, and yet still wish to licence this product once the sale is made. They are two completely different things. I can understand the need for security against warez, but you can't just apply an essentially illegal practice either(i.e. get kids to sign EULAs, after they buy the product). It's just dishonest.

Not to mention that the EULA is ridiclously open ended anyway. Valve can disable unofficial modders accounts, disable people they don't like(i.e. people who complain), disable people who exploit bugs etc... . And how easy will it charge a subscription fee for online play and then disable users to play on "unofficial"(free) servers where Valve isn't getting a slice.

Will Valve do all this? Maybe.
Will companies who follow Valves' example do this?

I can feel the fans flames beginning to rise. Just because Half-Life 2 is good doesn't excuse this. Remember, this is why so many moved to FOSS. EULAs and their ilk. As a long time game player, I'm personally deeply offended by this kind of anti-player, anti-consumer behaviour creeping into the industry. I guess in some ways, I still want the games I purchased over the counter to actually belong to me, and not just own a (possibly temporary) licence.

Re:Steam Subscription Fee?

[Serapth]

Two major flaws in what you just said...

Valve and their ridiculous Steam system can take their business elsewhere.

Um... actually, no, its you who can take your business elsewhere... and since from the sounds of things, you've already bought the game... or atleast your family member did... guess that part aint true either.

Not to mention he was too young to be party to any such agreement

Hmmm... if thats the case, he wasnt old enough to buy the game in the first place ( it is rated M ).

Re:Steam Subscription Fee?

[Anonymous Coward]

And yet these games are still widely copied by people who justify their activity with vague talk of 'freedom' and 'rights' (ie right to pirate).
I can feel the Publishers' ire beginning to rise. Just because Half-Life 2 is good doesn't excuse this copying. Remember, this is why so many publishers moved to copy protection, EULAs and their ilk. As a long time game publisher, I'm personally deeply offended by this kind of anti-publisher, anti-creative behaviour creeping into the players' actions. I guess in some ways, I still want the games I try to sell over the counter to actually be bought by more than 50 percent of the people who play them, and not just sell a licence to hundreds of people at a time.

Ever wondered why the copy-protection measures are so much more draconian in games than elsewhere? It's because people who play games are quite happy to copy them, and it's extremely difficult to make money from them.

Re:Steam Subscription Fee?

[billo]

Frankly, I love Steam.

I love that I can buy a game without going to a store.

I love that I can download the game to as many computers as I want (at work, at home) and play it anywhere with my personal license (username and passowrd.)

I love that I can run a linux-based game server myself, modify the rules on it myself with perl scripts, and not pay extra money for that right.

I love that STEAM creates an authentication mechanism so I can uniquely identify 1337 h4x0r 12-year-old idiots and ban them for life when they cause trouble on my server.

I love that a small software company can break the large game publishers channel control and sell direct. Guess what, Vivendi? You're dead, and you just don't realize it yet. Muhahaha.

Cheers.

Re:Steam Subscription Fee?

[brkello]

I don't understand people like you. You are countering his points...but they are weak at best. He is not claiming that Steam is the second coming of Jesus and it does all these things that has never been done before, he is just stating why he likes Steam. Amazon.com let's you buy games online...sure, but not the way Steam does, so I don't understand what your point is. So what some people don't have broadband? Tough shit, some people don't have food, does that make my ability to enjoy a steak any less? Most gamers have broadband, and if they don't, they can get the cds. Any additional protection against people who have hacked the game is a good thing...so if you can ban by account IDs, good, it certainly isn't hurting anything. And Valve did not screw over everyone who bought the CDs. A few people had problems, a few people got caught using CRACKS, but the vast majority have no problems. Your hatred towards steam is misplaced...it gives more money to the people who actually made the game, it makes it easier and quicker to distribute patches to all its user, and if online authentication makes the game more difficult to pirate, good for them.

I think a lot of people have missed the point...

[El Camino SS]

This multiplayer and movable objects is really what HL2 is all about. The build options are really very striking.

I played deathmatch, but it really isn't what it is all about. Deathmatch is a taste to show the community what it is really all about. Imagine a capture game with breachable walls and doorways, and people slapping up chickenwire and "nailing" wall objects to keep the windows from getting naded, things like that. The piles of junk to keep the attacker options down, and the attackers blowing debris to get to it. rfare, they are urban-like warfare on a map that only looks like urban warfare on the outside. When you can use a couch for cover and move it to hide, then we will be happier. Much happier. Deathmatch is too fast. Counter Strike is aggavatingly fast. It gives you no time to give an option about outplaying your opponent. With objects and physics, you will soon be able to do it.

Look, most of you are crabbing this one... but if it was team deathmatch with liftable steel plate barriers, and sticky mines, you would be screaming like a monkey at the top of your lungs with joy. Don't worry. It's coming. Either by Valve in a week or two or by some modders. Some things are just downright obvious. Movable barriers, wall covers, breachable areas, and everything like that is coming, it is just a matter of who is going to do it.

But why stop there?

The good news is it isn't going to stop there. With an independent physics based system, imagine the "space marine" fantasies that we always had as a kid. You and some buddies online blowing out an airlock and gravity catapulting your way through a chain of asteroids to infiltrate a stranded mothership.

Right now we are playing with standard physics settings, what is going to happen when they start messing with those settings? "Woot, I say, my good fellow, woot indeed."

IMHO, Valve solved the largest problem and my biggest gripe with 3D video games when they made a physics engine that wasn't so wonky it made me laugh. It is simply a matter of time before the next killer multiplayer comes out, and it isn't going to look like CS. I personally can't wait to flip someone's minitank with my little Somali street trash barrier. But hey, keep griping, you'll shut up soon enough when you throw someone through a building in a superhero mod.

Toilet?

[taradfong]

Huh...I didn't think you could gravity gun the toilet. I must return to the john and try it! My personal favorite gravity gun implement had been, of course the devastating, indestructible and semi-transparent radiator, but I may now have a new favorite.