A way to download Half-Life 2?

[SgtSpamBoy]

There's a theory out there regarding the infamous HL2 stutter bug: downloaded via Steam/internet = good, HL2 installed via CD = bad. I'm wondering if this is true...hear me out....

I've noticed that anything that I've download plays very smoothly (Death Match, CTF, Dystopia, Garry's Mod...even Lost Coast!), but I still get the stutter bug when I play regular ol' Half-Life 2 single player...

I have HL2 on CD and have heard that those who got HL2 via Steam (and the pirated versions, argh) have less of a stutter. Is there a way for me to LEGALLY download a version of HL2? I know that the answer is probably no, but I just think it's strange that Lost Coast, which is much more graphically intensive than HL2 single player, does not cause my comp to stutter AT ALL.

Has anyone else out there w/ the stutter bug in HL2 single player notice this discrepancy between items downloaded and the single player campaign?

 

[iMMuNiTy]

I've installed my Half-Life 2 from 5 CDs, and the first time I heard about the stutter bug was from hlcomic.com. Meaning, I got absolutely no bugs whatsoever. Yet I installed, as I said, from CDs.

 

[SgtSpamBoy]

NOTE: I am not saying that the the CD's cause everyone to have the stutter... only that it could be a reason that some of the people are having the stutter.

 

[dfc05]

I also installed from CDs with no stutter.

If you really want to download the game, can't you just right-click Half-Life 2, choose "Delete local content", and then download the whole thing over Steam?

 

[gweedodogg69]

You could validate the gcf files. I don't have the link, but just go to www.steampowered.com and check the support area. But yes you could just download the files instead of the CD/DVD as stated above.

 

[diluted]

You could validate the gcf files. I don't have the link, but just go to www.steampowered.com and check the support area. But yes you could just download the files instead of the CD/DVD as stated above.

You can do it easily through the GUI now.
Just right click a game in Steam, go to Properties, then Local Files, then click 'Verify integrity of cache files'.

 

[SgtSpamBoy]

Thanks guys, I will try these tips right now.

 

[Achay]

I just downloaded using Steam, and the game has Major stuttering issues. I mean litterally locks my PC until I minimize the game its that bad, then maximise it and the stuttering is gone, I had to modify a game value to fix the problem, so Steam version, my one anyway, isn't exactly great.

Here's what I had to do, direct from Steams support pages.

Question
Before the 11/24 patch I was able to play fine. After the 11/24 patch I now experience Stuttering problems.


Answer
If you are now having the stuttering problem after the patch on 11/24 you can turn off the feature that was added by opening your console "~" in the game and entering the following command:

mat_forcemanagedtextureintohardware 0

This will disable the features added with the patch and you should be able to play without the stuttering.

Not sure if the problem I have is the stuttering one, new to game, but it certainly made my problem go away.

 

[Solver]

I think that if you delete game files through Steam, and then click HL2 and select Install Now, it will start downloading for you.

Pirated versions didn't have the stutter bug because pirated versions came without Steam and without GCF files, while these were, apparently, what caused the stutter bug.

 

[Reaktor4]

I just think it's strange that Lost Coast, which is much more graphically intensive than HL2 single player, does not cause my comp to stutter AT ALL.

Its not strange, it stutters because of the sound effects, not the graphics.

 

[shortsite]

Roll back updates

Hi just reading what you were saying about stuttering and how one update seems to affect the game etc.

I was thinking what if steam had some sort of roll back update system where if the update makes a mess of your game/machine then you could simply rollback the update back to what the game was like prior to updating it.

Just a thought

 

[AfternoonLemon]

Ah, come on, the 'stutter' aint such a big deal! There are many far more annoying things i have to worry about....

 

[shortsite]

yes I know just a thought if an update goes horribly wrong

just incase like insurance

 

[Solver]

Lack of rollback is one of my very top reasons why I am critical of Steam. Worse yet, you can't rollback even by reinstalling - you reinstall from CDs, Steam will download the current update again.

The only conceivable way to rollback is to backup your SteamApps folder before applying the update, but then you need to turn autoupdate off so you know when to backup.