HL2 Not Required For Episode 1

Eurogamer reports that Half-Life 2 will not be required to run Episode 1, the first content pack for Valve's hit game. From the article: "Half-Life 2: Episode 1 won't actually require Half-Life 2 to play, Valve's explained, and although the game will be 'four to six hours' long, marketing director Doug Lombardi reckons it's 'markedly richer' in terms of content quality ... The change from Aftermath to Episode 1 was 'simply a name change' he says, when asked about the shift to episodic content - which wasn't a shift at all, he adds, since 'the format of episodic releases was decided before Half-Life 2 was made available'."

Comments

Like game series used to be.

[Rob T Firefly]

That's how it was back in my day, grumblegrumbel go get grampa his pills, Billy....

Actually I do think it's nice to have game series that don't necessarily have to dredge up an old engine, etc. in order to play, allowing a bit more freedom to tweak and optimize code as benchmarks progress.

Re:Like game series used to be.

[NekoXP]

But it is dredging up the old engine.

"Doesn't require Half-Life 2 to play" just means "doesn't require 1.2GB of Half-Life 2 game data to play".

The same way I can install HL: Opposing Force through Steam without downloading the Half-Life content, right?

Re:Like game series used to be.

[Ford Prefect]

"Doesn't require Half-Life 2 to play" just means "doesn't require 1.2GB of Half-Life 2 game data to play".

It'll probably still require a hefty chunk of Half-Life 2, though - fortunately the original game's data files have been split up so you can have just textures, sounds, models, maps and so on. I presume Steam will only download what's needed, so if you have HL2 already it should be a smaller download than if you buy just this single episode.

It's the same engine, but they're using features which have been added only recently - I gather the new episode can be run using HDR lighting, for instance. Source keeps changing, and for example, maps compiled recently simply wouldn't load in an original release - except nobody cares, since all players (except paranoids) are running with the latest version anyway, thanks to Steam's automatic updates. The occasional breaking of backwards compatibility is a different matter...

Oh, and if you want more episodic, single-player content, I should be releasing the next MINERVA map soon. Barring catastrophe, next Friday should do it!

$20?

[PhrostyMcByte]

$20 for four hours of gameplay and old crap that I already have (and don't play)? No thanks. Make it $10 if you already have HL2 - then I'll buy it.

Re:$20?

[PFI_Optix]

I'll just read the walkthroughs to get the plot points to follow the story and wait til they reduce the price and/or package multiple episodes.

Kind of like the Sims expansions, but, you know, interesting.

Re:$20?

[Dr. Eggman]

I hadn't heard a price announcement, where did you get $20 from? I had figured they'd charge some amount like $50 for 4 episodes or something longterm like that.

$20 for 4-6 hours, though... hmm, I it could be worth it, I tend to continue to get entertainment out of a game even once I complete them...

Re:$20?

[Cymage]

I completely agree. If the content is only going to be 1/4 of the length of what HL2 was, the price should be closer to $10 than $20. I loved HL2 (playing it again now), but if they think they can get us to pay $80-$100 for a game because they broke it into 4 pieces, they are sadly mistaken.

Re:$20?

[Chimera512]

luckily for me, i'm terrible at computer games so it will take me longer then 4-6 hours to complete the game once.

Re:$20?

[Dr. Eggman]

Err, perhaps I should have read the article all the way through... Still I think $20 could be worth it.

Re:$20?

[rustbear]

I don't really see your point. That's much better value than you get at the cinema (and the game is replayable), so what's the big deal?

Re:$20?

[Digital Vomit]

$20 for four hours of gameplay

Are you serious!? Talked about overpriced. I pay $15 per month for World of Warcraft, which could easily be 1200 hours of entertainment. A good game that provides 80-100 hours of gameplay normally sells for $50 to $60. We're expected to pay $20 for a mere fraction of that? No thanks. Maybe for three or four dollars, but not twenty.

Re:$20?

[billcopc]

Holy batclocks batman! He's using 48-hour days!

Re:$20?

[Chi Hsuan Men]

Mod parent up.

This is the second article where I have seen a lot of complaining about the price point. Consider the four to six hours of re-playable entertainment you will receive with the expansion (sorry, episode) for $20.

Considering most new releases on DVD are usually around $18 - 20, why is it unfair that Valve charge $20? IMHO, I think the price is entirely reasonable and will definitely purchase it when it comes out.

Re:$20?

[Anonymous Coward]

Gee, you don't see a difference,huh?

Story in World of Warcraft: Go farm 2,000 bug carapaces.

Story in Half-Life: Mankind's hubris has opened a portal to an alien world, and it's up to you to save Earth from not only the invading hordes of creatures that ensue, but the treachery of your own government.

Umm, yeah, I think I'll go for the $20/4-hour option, Alex, and go do something else with the rest of my life.

Re:$20?

[Digital Vomit]

Whoops. Extra zero go in there. I meant 120.

Re:$20?

[Digital Vomit]

I meant "got" in there. Man I suck at typing today.

Re:$20?

[MMaestro]

Who says its worth replaying? Historically, Valve games have been painfully linear with very little replay value (not counting mods or add-ons.) Other than replaying to see certain scenes again, theres almost no reason to replay HL1 or 2.

Re:$20?

[Anonymous Coward]

Personally, I like to mow through combine, and go through the zombie town.

Re:$20?

[kindbud]

Consider the four to six hours of re-playable entertainment you will receive with the expansion (sorry, episode) for $20.

Yeah, but I have to do all the work entertaining myself with a game. With a DVD I just sit back and let all the sweet, creamy entertainment goodness flow into me. DVDs should cost more because they DO more.

Re:$20?

[ChaosDiscord]

I don't really see your point. That's much better value than you get at the cinema (and the game is replayable), so what's the big deal?

That's a false comparision. Half-Life 2 Episode 1 isn't up against movies. It's up against other video games who can potentially offer a better dollars per fun-hour ratio. $5 per hour is pretty expensive for video games. Suggesting that it's all okay by comparing it to movies is as silly as suggesting that both movies (about $4/hour locally) and video games are grossly overpriced because I assuming a moderately regular play schedule I can enjoy myself for about $0.37/hour (Assuming a $90 investment, 2 year lifespan, playing about 30 times a year for 4 hours a game).

The reality is that different forms of entertainment are not interchangable. I've happily paid $125 for 3 hours of entertainment; that doesn't mean I'm willing to pay $400 for a game I expect to play for ten hours.

Even assuming we can compare such forms of entertainment, it's hardly a clear win. The proposed Half-Life pricing is roughly $5/hour. Locally I pay around $4/hour for first run movies. If I'm willing to catch a matinee, I can pay about $3/hour. Budget theatres after a few months: $1/hour. Rental: $1/hour, assuming one other person watches it with me. When I purchase a first person shooter, I'm hoping for about 15 hours of gameplay in exchange for $50; roughly $3.50/hour. At $5/hour Half-Life Episode 1 is expensive. However, if it's as good or better than HL2, I'm willing to consider it.

Re:$20?

[Lord_Dweomer]

Why is it unfair? Because this isn't a movie you're purchasing, its a video game. its SUPPOSED to be re-playable content. You can't compare the two, thats comparing apples to oranges. What you should be comparing is the retail price of HL2 (roughly $50) and the number of hours of gameplay you get from it (essentially unlimited with online play and mods) and compare it to this steaming pile of crap.

Make no mistake about it...the ONLY reason game companies want to move to episodic releases is because they make more profit. They will toss out every other excuse they can think of, but thats all it really comes down to. They are thinking "hey, we don't have a subscription model, but what can we do that would be close to it?"

Re:$20?

[Pentagram]

Are you serious!? Talked about overpriced. I pay $15 per month for World of Warcraft, which could easily be 1200 hours of entertainment. A good game that provides 80-100 hours of gameplay normally sells for $50 to $60.

I don't quite understand this obsession with duration. If I go to watch a film, I don't feel disappointed if it only lasts 90 minutes compared to one lasting 2 hours. Nor would I pick the second over the first on that basis; some films just take a different amount of time to tell their story.

Most games I've played are packed with filler. Half Life and sequel managed it OK (with only about a third of the game made up of tedious bits) but some, like Doom3 and Halo were ridiculous. Why should I fight my way through another corridor of zombies almost identical to the previous ten when they could make it a bit more concentrated? "Just condense it!" I keep thinking, "I want to get to the fun bits!"

I could then use the time saved to go out and do something more interesting. Or even play another game.

Re:$20?

[Some_Llama]

How many people ACTUALLY replay the same content over and over? Unless the game is so original it bears repeating (like the original HL1 did) then it is worth it.

I have a stack of games at my house, most of them "almost" get replayed, but become quickly boring after the first few levels.

With so many games competing for my dollars, a 4 hour game for 20 bucks is not equal a 20-30 hour game for 40$, that I can also replay.

If they want to do episodes (which is somewhat new) instead of sequels, then let's completely destroy the mold and make them 5-10 bucks...

i would actually rather pay 5-10 bucks for 4 "episodes" 6 months apart than one 40 dollar sequel 2 years later...

I think this esp. rings true for FPS, the only games i find myself playing over and over are RPGs (somewhat) and RTS like warcraft3, diablo2, morrowind and NWN.

With RPGs there are new classes to explore, and different ways to play the game (evil or good like in NWN). Similarly with RTS you can try new strategies to complete the same objectives...

I find with FPS the only change is increasing/decreasing the difficulty, and even that isn't so hot when I know every spawn and puzzle trick to pass the levels...

Re:$20?

[Martin Blank]

You may be in the minority on this point. I've replayed HL1 at least a dozen times, and I've replayed HL2 three times. Sometimes it's for the fun of it, so it's on lower difficulty levels, and sometimes I'm going for a challenge so I change it to a very high level of difficulty. I know of several other people who have also replayed the games on a few occasions. Generally speaking, Valve gets credit for the good quality of the storyline in both games (the first one, perhaps, a little more than the sequel).

Re:$20?

[Digital Vomit]

I don't quite understand this obsession with duration.

It's not an obsession with duration. It's a comparison between price per "fun unit", assuming one hour spent in one game is roughly equal in enjoyment to one hour spent in the other, which is my case.

Re:$20?

[drsquare]

Unfortuanately for you, your premise is flawed. One hour watching a good film is infinitely more enjoyable than going through the motions of a computer game.

Re:$20?

[Anonymous Coward]

There are lots of small storylines in WoW, a large handful of larger ones, and a few main ones.

If you bother to read the quest text instead of mindlessly looking at the objective and not paying any attention you'll see a lot of it. I haven't actually read any of them, but there are also books scattered around the world that also have pieces of background.

There's far more "story" in WoW than there is in Half Life. It's not even close.

WoW certainly has its faults, but this is definately not one of them.

Re:$20?

[Pentagram]

Come on, that's not true. One hour spent playing HL2 is more fun than an hour of Daikatana.

Re:$20?

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, and I pay UKP 100 a year and get 10 decent TV channels, 5 of which are advert free. That's about 500 hours of entertainment, or 40 cents an hour if you want the conversion. Plus I can record the same film that you get on that DVD. Most DVDs are a rip off, hell I just got a DVD of Dune free with a UKP 1 newspaper. Some games are rip offs too, some aren't. This one is, and since it's on steam it'll never reach a price I'd be interested in paying for it.

Re:$20?

[billcopc]

So you define the "fun bits" as interesting plot advancement and new shiny things to click on. Did you never play Pacman or Asteroids ? Sometimes the fun is just doing the same thing you did for the past 3 hours, depending on the game. Gauntlet is just running around killing everything with the same weapon, over and over and over and over.. still fun.

Re:$20?

[aflat362]

I'm replaying through HL2 now - and liking it. can't wait for episode 1

Re:$20?

[Pentagram]

So you define the "fun bits" as interesting plot advancement and new shiny things to click on.

Well something new anyway. A new monster, a new puzzle, a new situation.

Did you never play Pacman or Asteroids ?

Yep, was never much of a fan.

Sometimes the fun is just doing the same thing you did for the past 3 hours, depending on the game.

We'll have to agree to disagree on that.

Gauntlet is just running around killing everything with the same weapon, over and over and over and over.. still fun.

Only in 2 player :)

Deffinite Mod Possibilities

[Neoprofin]

Maybe now I can finally use Gary's Mod to recreate the climactic Jar Jar vs. Darth Maul battle that was cut out for the U.S. theatrical release.

Here we go...

[UberMench]

Many of you may look at this as I originally did. "So... it's a sequel, right?" Well, yes and no. Since they don't have to design a completely new game from the ground up and already have a working engine in place, it is just as they say, a new episode. And I love it. I think the future of gaming will involve more episodic content. Now just put in a good storyline, and you have a great game that can have episodes put out in short intervals, (much like the 2nd and 3rd Matrix movies), and the decreased cost of development due to a re-used engine lowers the average price of each episode. Can you imagine playing a great game that you bought for $50, and then playing it again and again with completely new levels and storylines for only $20-30? I can. And I hope this is the first step.

Re:Here we go...

[BkBen7]

much like the 2nd and 3rd Matrix movies

But they sucked...

Re:Here we go...

[drinkypoo]

Many of you may look at this as I originally did. "So... it's a sequel, right?" Well, yes and no.

When you're releasing a serial, you have episodes. If you're releasing full-length features, you have sequels. Just like the difference between star trek the tv show, and star trek the movies. If they start putting out regularly scheduled episodes, then they're not sequels. Like this is.

Re:Here we go...

[1point618]

Well, if this is the first step, let's hope that other companies who aren't Valve and who will get this episodic content to us in a fairly timely manner (not over a year after HL2 was released). I mean, I love the Half-Life series, but for an episodic model to work, I'd say every 6 months would be much better timeline than every year or so. That way people won't feel cheated when they expect a pretty decent sized add-on (a la HL1's additions) after waiting so long, and get an 8 hour episode instead. And, for 20-30 dollars, I'd expect a bit more too.

Re:Here we go...

[Dr. Eggman]

They don't seem content to simply reuse the engine, though. Seems like they like to improve it over time, like they did adding HDR. HDR certainly didn't sound like a small challenge, either, if you listen to the commentary on Lost Coast. Hey, even the commentary system is new (but not as difficult as rewritting all the shaders for the game =P.) I love the idea of a commentary system in the game, but I guess thats a bit off my topic. Anyway, I certainly think they will continue to update the engine as they go.

Re:Here we go...

[Cheapy]

What you a describing is a 'sequel.'

I can also imagine buying a great game for $50, then paying for 'episodes' to get new levels and storylines for $20 over and over. And I don't like it. Paying $20 for an 'episode' whose development was extremely short (relative to the original game). $20 for an 'episode' that doesn't even need marketing. And then paying that same $20 over and over again on the same game? Just give me a proper sequel that ties together everything.

Give me Nethack or ToME over this continuous buying cycle.

Re:Here we go...

[Soybean47]

Ok then, it's a sequepisode. An epiquel. A sepiquelisode. Whatever. It's less significant than a full sequel (which would be full length, higher priced, and would typically have a new engine), but it's (apparently, according to you) more significant than an episode, or has the wrong release schedule for an episode, or something.

More half life

[secolactico]

YAY! More Breen-casts!!

Seriously, if anything, the final chapters of HL2 left me with more curiosity about the combine. Those container rides were tantalizing. Who are they, what do they want? I'v been looking for sources of info since I finished the damn game and every piece I find serves only to stir my curiosity more.

Lotsa info on Wikipedia. Anybody knows more?

Re:More half life

[Dr. Eggman]

I concur. More Breen-casts are doubleplusgood!

Re:More half life

[Anonymous Coward]

http://members.shaw.ca/halflifestory/

Just play on Extreme Difficulty setting

[i_am_the_r00t]

Put it on Extreme Difficulty and it will be easily a 20-30 hour game. It took me 2 years to finish HL2.

btw. Extreme Difficulty is "Hard" + the following:

1. New house and mortgage
2. 2 young children
3. yard to mow and maintain
4. Wife (nuff said there)
5. 60 hr/week Job

Re:Just play on Extreme Difficulty setting

[Anonymous Coward]

HL2 came out less than two years ago... or are you just predicting how long it will be before you finish? :)

Re:Just play on Extreme Difficulty setting

[neoform]

It took me 3 days to beat HL2 on the hardest difficulty level.
PS. HL2 hasn't been out for 2 years.

Re:Just play on Extreme Difficulty setting

[Anonymous Coward]

I totally understand. That is all.

Re:Just play on Extreme Difficulty setting

[i_am_the_r00t]

I knew some folks would understand. HL2 not out for 2 years?! hogwash. I count my years in "Waking hours" 3 "days" have passed since yesterday (Kids are sick)

Re:Just play on Extreme Difficulty setting

[jtorkbob]

You ought to love this video... by Tripod.

Re:Just play on Extreme Difficulty setting

[mink]

Try using the weapon re-balance that comes with the 700MB high quality texture pack someone made. Head shots always kill, about 3-5 body shots to kill. this applies Gordon vs Combine or Combine vs. Gordon.

With a fully charged HEV and full health you can't be in the open when a combine airship is attacking for more then maybe one swipe assuming most shots miss you.

Makes the game much harder to survive and quite a challenge (it pays to be more accurate then anything else).

Valve

[Wootzor von Leetenha]

They should give us a new franchise. HL is a great franchise, which is why I want to see others from them. They have the creativity, give us something new!! Break the mold... again.

Erm..

[Turn-X Alphonse]

I don't care if it requires HL2 or not. What I want to know if it's going to act like ET andphone home again.

I've got my firewall to totally lock out Steam. Aftermath will have to give a blowjob and a fridge full of beer to get me to want to unblock the damn thing.

Hopefully others feel the same way as me and Valve will get punished for using such an amusive system. But knowing the mass market as I do, I guess HL's name alone will make it top the charts for a couple of weeks.

Re:Erm..

[Solder Fumes]

punished for using such an amusive system

Were you amused as a child?

Re:Erm..

[Anonymous Coward]

I salute you, sir or madam. That was masterfully played. :)

Re:Erm..

[Sepodati]

amusive

Amusing and abusive? Like how it's funny watching your kid brother get his ass whupped?

Re:Erm..

[Fitzroy_Doll]

This must be a troll. Steam as a concept isn't open for discussion and nearly everyone who plays Valve games supports the idea. Valve is never going to be "punished" for their "amusive" system. Yes, they have made mistakes with it, such as the shiny cubemaps around Christmas, but on balance it's a good system.

Re:Erm..

[Turn-X Alphonse]

I have no idea what cricles you're hanging around in but I disagree and majorly so. Steam is an abusive system which forces updates on you even to play Single player games offline. For a dial up user this is more or less "Sorry you can't play for another three hours".

Steam has a lot of problems, most of which come from being used when theres no need to what so ever. It takes options away from the player which is never a good thing.

Also if Valve go under (which will happen one day like it or not), Steam dies and with it so does any game which must be registered via Steam. How can you call this a good system?

great game

[sinner0423]

The way I see it, ValVe has two options :

1) Release each episode at $9.95 a pop, making it reasonable for people to purchase them now, as well as future episodes.

2) Stifle the Star Wars-esque episode crap, and just dedicate resources to a full expansion & engine update.

$20 seems a bit excessive for a glorified map pack, and I certainly wouldn't purchase multiple episodes at that price. If I wanted the proverbial carrot on the stick, I would've stuck with WoW.

Re:great game

[(A)*(B)!0_-]

"Stifle the Star Wars-esque episode crap"

What does Star Wars have to do with this? The concept of an episode was not created by George Lucas.

Re:great game

[sinner0423]

Episode 1, 2, 3, etc. Of course, the actual game has nothing to do with Star Wars, but, it was the only geeky reference to episodic entertainment I could think of at the time.

Just Kill It

[Up'emInIrons]

$20 for 4-6 hours, though... hmm, I it could be worth it, I tend to continue to get entertainment out of a game even once I complete them...

LOL I still play Quake. It's simple, fun, and very playable. Graphics are very dated, but it's a blast to play. I have Quake 2, 3, Doom3, Half-Life, HL2, etc. etc. but there's something about the original Quake that's just fun. Just go and blast that pewp outta some digital monsters!

i don't get it

[goarilla]

what do they mean hl2 is not required. That they build an entirely new engine
to run these episodes or that the episodes itself will contain the HL2 engine as well
so i could buy episode 1 and play CSS ?

Re:i don't get it

[BinaryOpty]

That's exactly what it means: That you can buy the $20 Episode 1 and get CS:S with it (as well as play any free mods)

This will be great

[Fitzroy_Doll]

Surprisingly negative comments about this. It will be great. More shorter cheaper games is better than fewer longer worse games. Plus stand-alone, as has been said above, is an old model that rightly proved very popular.

1200 Hours? You're an idiot.

[Mr.Surly]

Considering there's only 744 hours in a 31 day month.

Re:1200 Hours? You're an idiot.

[KDR_11k]

He's using discordian months, those have 72 days.

Does 'Escape fr Woomera' (So. Australia) need HL2?

[Anonymous Coward]

www.EscapeFromWoomera.org has been offering a cost-free game
  while Australia was holding asylum-seekers ("boat-people")
  - ie, women, children & men - in several detention centers
  in several remote Outback Australia.

  The game lets the player simulate ESCAPING from Woomera -
  one of the detention centers (located in South Australia)

  When initially introduced / offered, HL2 was required for
  to run it... Is this still a requirement?

  TIA

Re:Does 'Escape fr Woomera' (So. Australia) need H

[SScorpio]

It will likely still be required. I'm assuming this was released as a mod for HL2. Since Valve is selling this Episode 1 they can distribute the Source Engine (HL2's engine). You may be able to get away with purchasing Episode 1 and and playing the mod without owning HL2, but that will remain to be seen until the game is released.

HL2 not needed for Episode 1?

[martinultima]

Phew! So I don't need Half Life to watch Anakin turn into Darth Vader! I was about to get worried! </intentionally missing point>

Re:HL2 not needed for Episode 1?

[Anonymous Coward]

That's Episode 3, silly.

Re:HL2 not needed for Episode 1?

[martinultima]

I was referring to the entire process leading up to his going evil, not just the part where it actually happens.

Reminds me of Dungeon Siege: Legends of Arana

[Kaldaien]

DSLOA was a disappointingly short game that was touted an expansion pack, but did not require the original title to play. The difference of course, is that DSLOA provided a copy of the original game to distract newcomers (including the original singleplayer campaign); HL2: Episode 1 is apparently a 4-6 hour singleplayer game with DeathMatch, but not the original HL2 singleplayer content. The article says this expansion will be $20, which still seems high for a game that is only projected to take 4-6 hours... Valve must be banking on DeathMatch.

Re:Reminds me of Dungeon Siege: Legends of Arana

[KDR_11k]

Valve must be banking on DeathMatch.

That'd be doomed to failure because the deathmatch is mediocre at best.

Re:Reminds me of Dungeon Siege: Legends of Arana

[witte]

> Deathmatch is mediocre at best.

I found it a lot more amusing than other DM games.
It's satisfying to humiliate rpg-wielding Patton-wannabes by crushing them with a toilet/cabinet/bicycle, or throw television sets to cops from a second floor window.
(I hope Jack Thompson isn't reading this.)
It's not deus-ex-different, but it's different enough to be interesting.

But I liked Daikatana too. Maybe it's just me.

Re:Reminds me of Dungeon Siege: Legends of Arana

[KDR_11k]

What annoys me most is no spawn protection combined with spawning with the grav gun in hand, means you're a target from the moment you spawn but you can't fight back until you've either switched weapons or located and grabbed an object to throw. That can take a few seconds and when somebody is nearby while you spawn you usually won't live that long.

MMOs sure can be pretty cheap

[snuf23]

100-120 hours a month is probably about right. I know I took a long leisurely 27 days played to 60 with my Druid. But then I also had cooking, fishing at 300 as well as herbs and alchemy.
Not that the game ends at 60. I know I ran at least 50 raids after I turned 60. So count that as 2 hour on average a raid - another 100 hours. Not too mention the hours spent farming to get gold for my epic mount. Throw in about 200 hours spent with alts and let's just call it 1000 hours or so over the course of 9 months. The initial purchase of the game cost me $50 including the first month, plus $15/month for 8 months (actually a bit less, as I was on the 3 month plan). So that's $170 for 1000 hours of play. $.17/hour.
Seeing as I only ever achived 6/8 pieces of my blue tier 0 item set, I can only imagine how much time truly epic players of the game spend.

'Escape from Woomera'does not need HL2 but HL1

[kop]

'Escape from Woomera'does not need HL2 but HL1

I played it and it is more a documentary film than a game.
You get to listen to the horrors of being a refugee stranded in there.
More education than entertainment. Impressive none the less.

http://www.escapefromwoomera.org/