this game is better than anything out at the moment and will be better than anything out in the near future (for me its taken until this game for a game to top HL1) and ive only pld about 2-3 hours :D
im from germany, release will be at 9am. at which time ill be at work :(
to get round the problem im scheduling my steam to reboot at around 12noon to miss the mad rush, ill leave my comp on while im at work. hopefully HL2 will update by its self and will be ready when i get home :D
this is currently available in HL. its used heavily in clan games (CS) for recording HLTV and also some leagues require it so that if there is some1 suspected of cheating admins can analyze it.
cant see why it wouldnt be avail in HL2
its called motion blending. they blend 2 animations together to create a more realistic hybrid. it stops models from quickly switchin between 2 different animations which looks stupid