Email from Gabe. Re: Pay 2 Play

[Lali]

Originally posted by Virtuoso
^ What zombie said

Here's an idea, lets release one version of the game and give people the choice of whether they want to play multiplayer or not rather than putting a price on that choice. But thats only what the rest of the industry is doing dont worry dont do that.

I'm sorry i just feel for the kids who are going to open up their presents on christmas day and go "AWWWWW MUM YOU GOT THE SINGLE PLAYER ONLY VERSION" and the mother will go "but the man said it was cheaper"

Ahahh good one Virtuoso !!!

Not unlike girlfriends buying their boyfriends "full-screen" DVDs as opposed to Widescreen !!!

 

[Logic]

Originally posted by Virtuoso

I'm sorry i just feel for the kids who are going to open up their presents on christmas day and go "AWWWWW MUM YOU GOT THE SINGLE PLAYER ONLY VERSION" and the mother will go "but the man said it was cheaper"

People in this situation can upgrade to the full multiplayer+mods version, for a small price (roughly the difference between the prices of the two versions).

 

[Tyrion]

For the last time, they arent FREE. A mod doesnt need to be FREE. You dont mind paying for expansion packs,right? A modification and an expansion pack are essentially the same thing. One just adds onto the game(expansion pack) and the other modifies the game(mod). Both can be free or not.

 

[Lali]

Originally posted by Logic
Steam is basically something people with extremely fast internet connections may want. It gives them the convenience of not having to go shopping to get Valve games. They simply log into steam, and it's all there, available to them within minutes. People who pay the subscription fee will have this convenience. If you are on a slow connection, or none at all, obviously it's not for you, which is why the boxed store versions exist. If you don't have an internet connection, or aren't interested in mods or multiplayer, you might as well save some money and just get the single player version, which will be cheaper. It's all about giving options to people who want them. There might not be any point in certain options for you, but there's bound to be a lot of other people who will benefit from them.

Logic,

what about guys like me who are always formatting every two months? won't I lose the data and have to start again? I wonder if there will be a way to back-up on cd the stuff from Steam ?

 

[Feath]

Originally posted by IamZombie
$50 every six months is cheaper than $10 a month for 6 months.

$50 vs $60.

do they expect people to pay for mods?
if so, this game will be the most anticipated flop and I'll be buying stalker.

Whether you pay for a mod or not is up to the Mod team itself, not Valve. Mod teams have the ability to charge you for their mod using Steam.

 

[Feath]

Originally posted by Lali
Logic,

what about guys like me who are always formatting every two months? won't I lose the data and have to start again? I wonder if there will be a way to back-up on cd the stuff from Steam ?

It will redownload from the Steam Servers.

 

[Tyrion]

I'm fairly sure that they just give you a Steam key that you can use anywhere,and as long as it's active you can download Half-life2 anywhere. Which is a plus to steam, means you never can lose your CD/CD key. And you can install it wherever you want,as I'm sure only one cd-key can be online at a time(and you probably need to vertify it only before you can play Single player).

 

[Logic]

Originally posted by Lali
Logic,

what about guys like me who are always formatting every two months? won't I lose the data and have to start again? I wonder if there will be a way to back-up on cd the stuff from Steam ?

I'm sure just copying all your steam files to a cd and copying them back in when you re-install would solve this problem. The people most likely to use steam though will have fast connections anyway, so re-gaining all the stuff they've lost shouldn't take long at all.

 

[IamZombie]

Originally posted by Tyrion
For the last time, they arent FREE. A mod doesnt need to be FREE. You dont mind paying for expansion packs,right? A modification and an expansion pack are essentially the same thing. One just adds onto the game(expansion pack) and the other modifies the game(mod). Both can be free or not.

Why would I pay for something that I would get for free?

i.e. Counterstrike. Are they going to make you pay for the counterstrike mod?

 

[Feath]

Originally posted by IamZombie
Why would I pay for something that I would get for free?

i.e. Counterstrike. Are they going to make you pay for the counterstrike mod?

It's up to the individual mod teams whether you pay for the mod or not. They get to choose, not Valve.

 

[Tyrion]

Originally posted by IamZombie
Why would I pay for something that I would get for free?

i.e. Counterstrike. Are they going to make you pay for the counterstrike mod?

But you see, Counterstrike2 wont and never will be free. The creator is being paid to work to make it. He isnt obligated to give it out for free. The creator can make it free or can sell it. Counterstrike 2 wont be free to begin with.

(Why the heck are like 5 people saying the same thing to these people, and they still arent getting it?)

 

[spitcodfry]

Originally posted by Tyrion
(Why the heck are like 5 people saying the same thing to these people, and they still arent getting it?)

Because this forum is populated by idiots.

 

[Feath]

Originally posted by Tyrion
(Why the heck are like 5 people saying the same thing to these people, and they still arent getting it?)

The fight against ignorance is almost completely hopeless. Almost, but not quite.

You know, I've spent all day posting in this thread.

 

[Tyrion]

I wondered how this thread got 25 pages so fast. And now I know why. It's like a fuggin chatroom..

(Gah,I'm contributing to it. Bad me!)

 

[IamZombie]

Originally posted by Tyrion
But you see, Counterstrike2 wont and never will be free. The creator is being paid to work to make it. He isnt obligated to give it out for free. The creator can make it free or can sell it. Counterstrike 2 wont be free to begin with.

(Why the heck are like 5 people saying the same thing to these people, and they still arent getting it?)

I'm just weighing my options, trying to find the pros and cons of each version.

 

[Logic]

Perhaps people are worried that the things that are free now won't be, and that they will have to start paying for them.

If anyone wants to keep playing CS1.5 there's nothing stopping you. I'm pretty sure 1.6 will be freely available to current CS players, or at the very least retail CS owners and steam subscribers.

What you need to realise is that anything you have to pay for will be NEW. Sure, some mods may cost money, and CS2 may be a new product that needs to be purchased. It's possible. But how can you expect it for free anyway? Nobody's telling you to pay for what you already own, so don't react so negatively when you're expected to pay to get something new.

 

[Tyrion]

Yeah,but we're repeating it so damn often. I'd wish there would be a thread about all of that. Wait,there is. Gah.:dozey:

Edit-Erm..it was there somewhere. Something about stopping all the pay-to-play threads. By Munro I think.

 

[Ev!L-aLphA]

damn 1 sec im on page 24 in 5 min page 26 :/

 

[FatCombine]

I'm still skeptical about the authenticity of this email... But anyways, I think it's a good decision on VALVe's part to try new marketing ideas, But, It would either be a success or confusing one.

Someone just got the 6000th post!

 

[Logic]

One of the HL2.net staff should probably sum all this up on an info page or something. Somewhere to direct people who are asking the same old questions. The problem is that people aren't reading the thread, so we're going over the same things all the time.

 

[Logic]

Originally posted by FatCombine
I'm still skeptical about the authenticity of this email...

Gabe himself logged on and confirmed it! :cheese:

 

[kfc]

I call BULLSHIT on this guy.

For one... the largest percentage of people that play half life are in middle school and high school. The reason HL became so popular is by word of mouth. Then kid every where started requesting broadband in their home and started playing hl. Thing is these kids are on a tight ass budget and wont be paying for a $10/m subscription, let alone have a CC to pay for it. Yes some kids will get their parents to pay for it, but most wont. Also... these kids are like on 400Mhz EMachine computer with a 4-16mb video card. So expecting them to pay $10/m is crazy.

yes.. this seems like a good idea at start. HL is the largest FPS game out... so why not make it pay to play? but some of you forgot about the people that play HL on a limited budget. and face it... who still played hl1 single player after they beat it or went online to play mods? NO ONE! HL mods and multiplayer is where it is at.

also... as some other guy mentioned.... before this RUMOR HL2 was already being sold online. and in this post the thread starter talks about valve STILL talking about package deals. But wha??? its already being presold online with no description if its a online or offline version.

Doing what this guy did isn't hard, I can have a email sent to my inbox from anyone I choose.

BULL SHIT!!

and if it was pay2play? Id say **** valve and go play doom3 or tribes2 when it comes out.

BTW... why play for HL2 package that allows mods when mods are made by the community and not valve? This is total bullshit and no one but noobs should believe this crock of shit.

 

[Feath]

Originally posted by FatCombine
I'm still skeptical about the authenticity of this email... But anyways, I think it's a good decision on VALVe's part to try new marketing ideas, But, It would either be a success or confusing one.

Someone just got the 6000th post!

Gabe has confirmed to at least 2 people that it's true. Also, he posted on the board using his account. It's real.

 

[Gordon'sFreeman]

Feath, doing a great job mate, i would have gone insane by now hehe, keep it up

 

[Tyrion]

Bah, if anything the subscription is HELPING the children on low-allowances. I'm betting they get at least 10 dollars a week. That can pay for half-life2 each month,not having to worry about buying expansion packs.

Also... these kids are like on 400Mhz EMachine computer with a 4-16mb video card

Uh..I'm not sure about what you're getting at. They cant play Half-life2 with that machine anyway. And if you mean about upgrading, if they cant pay 10 dollars a month,then I'm sure as hell they cant pay for the needed upgrades.

Edit-Hey Gordon,give me and Logic some credit too.

 

[Logic]

bah

Edit: I'm tired. I'm saying strange things. I have to go to school now.

 

[Feath]

Originally posted by kfc
I call BULLSHIT on this guy.

For one... the largest percentage of people that play half life are in middle school and high school. The reason HL became so popular is by word of mouth. Then kid every where started requesting broadband in their home and started playing hl. Thing is these kids are on a tight ass budget and wont be paying for a $10/m subscription, let alone have a CC to pay for it. Yes some kids will get their parents to pay for it, but most wont. Also... these kids are like on 400Mhz EMachine computer with a 4-16mb video card. So expecting them to pay $10/m is crazy.

yes.. this seems like a good idea at start. HL is the largest FPS game out... so why not make it pay to play? but some of you forgot about the people that play HL on a limited budget. and face it... who still played hl1 single player after they beat it or went online to play mods? NO ONE! HL mods and multiplayer is where it is at.

also... as some other guy mentioned.... before this RUMOR HL2 was already being sold online. and in this post the thread starter talks about valve STILL talking about package deals. But wha??? its already being presold online with no description if its a online or offline version.

Doing what this guy did isn't hard, I can have a email sent to my inbox from anyone I choose.

BULL SHIT!!

and if it was pay2play? Id say **** valve and go play doom3 or tribes2 when it comes out.

BTW... why play for HL2 package that allows mods when mods are made by the community and not valve? This is total bullshit and no one but noobs should believe this crock of shit.

You should really read the thread.

But just for you, I'm going to repeat myself for the 20th time.

You EITHER

1) Buy the game in the shops for a one off payment and NO MONTHLY CHARGE.

2) Buy the game over Steam for a one off payment and NO MONTHLY CHARGE

3) Pay $10 a month to "rent" all of Valve's products over Steam.

If you buy the same in the store, you have NO EXTRA CHARGES. It's not a Pay Monthly thing unless you subscribe to Steam, which you won't want to do if you buy the game in the shop.

There will also be a single player only version of Half Life 2 in the shops. This will be cheaper than the traditional one and is for people not intending to play multiplayer.

If you buy the traditional one, it's just the same as you expected. No extra charges at all.

EDIT: Thanks for the compliment but there are more people than just me trying to correct rather ignorant people.

 

[Nippy_Kangaroo]

Originally posted by Tyrion
I wondered how this thread got 25 pages so fast. And now I know why. It's like a fuggin chatroom..

(Gah,I'm contributing to it. Bad me!)

it's feath's fault!!! :cheese:
he's just said he's been posting all day long :cheese: :dork: :cheese: :dork: :cheese:

 

[Matrix]

what i cannot believe is how ****ing stupid people are and how this so called " e-mail " is everywhere.

1. What retarded company would tell their worker to go releasing info like that? what moron is going to go ruin sales plans like 3 weeks before half lifes 2 release.

2. Yea hes gonna come in and post in a forum declaring the e-mail is real. Some of you are very gullable and right now i bet you valve and vivendi ( or whatever its spelled ) are laughing their asses off how you guys believed all this shit.

I could easily go regester myself as Gabe , whos gonna regester that account he aint exactly famous. make the profile seem realistic, and im going to release important info before the game is out in a forum, instead of making an announcment and posting it on an official company web site, ya you are all idiots , i really cant believe how this got so big on 3 sites or even more.

. i could go in photoshop make an e-mail . i dont know about you guys but something looks fishy in that pic. , so yea IMO , in my honest opinion i dont believe any of this garbage, valve or whoever publishes or whatever anyways they would be completely stupid to make all these p2p deals, they would lose millions , why would i go make the game avaialbel through the internet knowing hackers are going to try to hack the networks and get the game, maybe they might but it hink the letters a fake , sierra wouldnt go and make the game available through steam right when its out,

1. that would take days even with broadband youd need a ****ing T3 to get it the same day. i am betting HL2 will be at least 3 gb.
more then 1 cd for sure.

1. single player addition? are you guys stupid or what! yea im going to go pay my workers EXTRA money to design box covers different path codes and all this other bs when the user can select an only single player option, you all have been decieved and really need to slap yourselves because i cannot believe how many people believed this, its shameful! i feel like there has been a massive flood of n00bs or somehting.

Im not trying to seem to be likea prick but seriously this is written fake all over it, FOR EG is blizzard going to go post world of warcraft info in a warcraft fan forum or the official forum , or will they post it onthe page, most likely their own forum and the web sites , not on a fan forum.

good day

 

[Tyrion]

Half-life two will probably be downloaded in pieces. And Munro will probaly make sure that Gabe Newell was Gabe Newell.

Sorry for the short post, but the argument above drained me.

 

[Anthraxxx]

uh. dude. You don't take the game all in one download. It comes in installments. the initial d'l will include the main code and the first level or two. then as you play, it will d'l the rest..... yes that is Gabe Newel, I've looked at his profile before today and the profile of the Gabe Newel today and they are the same minus the post count. Oh yeah, that moron releasing info about sales plans is Gabe Newel. Yeah, you could make an email like that in Photoshop, but why bother with time and effort? And single player only?? well, some dudes don't dig multiplay...

 

[Feath]

Originally posted by Matrix
Snipped because it took up too much space. Just imagine a big ignorant rant and you've practically read the entire quote, anyway

We believe that that account has been used by Gabe before. He's posted under that name. Also, the Admins can check his IP and stuff.

I don't really to argue with you about whether it was Gabe or not. There's enough proof that it's him and most of the evidence against it says "Gabe doesn't write in blue" but that's not really very good evidence.

And Blizzard do post in their official forums, also Valve doesn't have official forums, it it will be pretty hard for them.

1) You won't need to download ALL of Half Life 2 in order to play it. It will download as you play and download when you aren't playing. You can just download the first part of it and start playing.

2) I really don't get your point about the single player edition. It's Half Life 2 without the Multiplayer. Not that difficult to do, really.

 

[Ahnteis]

>>1. What retarded company would tell their worker to go releasing info like that? what moron is going to go ruin sales plans like 3 weeks before half lifes 2 release.

Their WORKER? ROFLOL. nooblet.

>>2. Yea hes gonna come in and post in a forum declaring the e-mail is real.

Why not? He takes time to answer emails....

>>I could easily go regester myself as Gabe , whos gonna regester that account he aint exactly famous.

LOL. You could get banned when the admin checks the account. Or do you think that they'd let just anyone sign up that account for that long? (Look when the account was registered.)

>> i could go in photoshop make an e-mail

You wouldn't use photoshop to make a fake email unless you were a moron. You'd use a text editor or just email yourself with a fake header. Photoshop is used to take screenshots.

>>1. that would take days even with broadband youd need a ****ing T3 to get it the same day. i am betting HL2 will be at least 3 gb.
more then 1 cd for sure.

I downloaded all 3 redhat CDs in under 5 hours. However, you don't need the entire game to play - you only need the level you are playing and the next level.

 

[kelisis]

Err, dude your calling Gabe a retard? Um, well he just made the 1# selling PC game in the world and has more people playing HL/CS online then any other game! I think your over-reacting on this.

 

[Anwar]

Originally posted by Matrix
what i cannot believe is how ****ing stupid people are and how this so called " e-mail " is everywhere.

1. What retarded company would tell their worker to go releasing info like that? what moron is going to go ruin sales plans like 3 weeks before half lifes 2 release.

2. Yea hes gonna come in and post in a forum declaring the e-mail is real. Some of you are very gullable and right now i bet you valve and vivendi ( or whatever its spelled ) are laughing their asses off how you guys believed all this shit.

I could easily go regester myself as Gabe , whos gonna regester that account he aint exactly famous. make the profile seem realistic, and im going to release important info before the game is out in a forum, instead of making an announcment and posting it on an official company web site, ya you are all idiots , i really cant believe how this got so big on 3 sites or even more.

. i could go in photoshop make an e-mail . i dont know about you guys but something looks fishy in that pic. , so yea IMO , in my honest opinion i dont believe any of this garbage, valve or whoever publishes or whatever anyways they would be completely stupid to make all these p2p deals, they would lose millions , why would i go make the game avaialbel through the internet knowing hackers are going to try to hack the networks and get the game, maybe they might but it hink the letters a fake , sierra wouldnt go and make the game available through steam right when its out,

1. that would take days even with broadband youd need a ****ing T3 to get it the same day. i am betting HL2 will be at least 3 gb.
more then 1 cd for sure.

1. single player addition? are you guys stupid or what! yea im going to go pay my workers EXTRA money to design box covers different path codes and all this other bs when the user can select an only single player option, you all have been decieved and really need to slap yourselves because i cannot believe how many people believed this, its shameful! i feel like there has been a massive flood of n00bs or somehting.

Im not trying to seem to be likea prick but seriously this is written fake all over it, FOR EG is blizzard going to go post world of warcraft info in a warcraft fan forum or the official forum , or will they post it onthe page, most likely their own forum and the web sites , not on a fan forum.

good day

how many times can you use the number 1..

and lets pick it apart.

Gabe is a bigshot at valve he tells himself what to say.

No one registered as Gabe: Profile For Gabe Newell, Date Registered: 18-07-2003 (long time ago)

You come off as pretty uninformed and I doubt your logic here
HL2 will not be 3 gigs... not even close. You have no inside information.
HL2 will probably take a few hours on cable no more. A T3 is not going to be any faster, it will just be able to support more users. And has nothing at all to do with someone downloading a game or file.
Having single player only HL2 is a way for them to sell a cheaper version. Lots of people dont have the internet or dont like multiplayer. HL2 is a single player game after all.
Dont bash this forum or emails... valve doesnt have an official site forum for HL2 and this is the most popular one by far. Notice the sticky at the top just full of Valve replies.... they know people will get the info out.

 

[CyanEyed]

this thread is getting rather repetitive, but in my opinion, If you really think about it, nothing has really changed. Sure they bought CS but all other mods created by the mod community will be free. with how kickas$ cs was, it was bound to cost money eventually. If you can't accept the fact that CS2 will cost something, then don't buy it and whine. i think we owe something to valve. if you bought half-life in the very beginning, you got to play every game using the hl source except for blue shift and opposing force for FREE, and thats saying something. valve works day and night making sure modders can make their mods as awesome as possible. as for multiplayer, forget the subscription, get the retail with cool bonus stuff (gordon action figure?) . valve has always delivered with flying colors, and i dont doubt that they will do it again, at least i hope so

 

[Anwar]

they bought DoD also

 

[Matrix]

im sorry but this seems too bogus, why are they going to go here to make an announcement like that instead of an official web site, im sorry but i have never seen anything like this happen. either its fake or this guy must really be dedicated to letting the fans know on this stuff.

yea and i stand corrected before why are they going to pay the workers EXTRA money, money does not grow on tree's they have a set budget, so they would asve time and money buy making a single player only option in the installation, a single player only would just be stupid and they would be wasting money just producing it because most likely , think about it.

your a boss of a company, are you going to pay extra money for different box covers, and spend it on your workers as well when all they have to do is have a single player only option when you install? and that would save them TIME AND MONEY.

thats why i think this is fake.

Oh and i wasnt calling him a retard but i ment like what retard would do that, if im wrong then i apologize but for the moment until half life 2 is out i won't believe it until i see it.

 

[Feath]

Originally posted by Matrix
im sorry but this seems too bogus, why are they going to go here to make an announcement like that instead of an official web site, im sorry but i have never seen anything like this happen. either its fake or this guy must really be dedicated to letting the fans know on this stuff.

yea and i stand corrected before why are they going to pay the workers EXTRA money, money does not grow on tree's they have a set budget, so they would asve time and money buy making a single player only option in the installation, a single player only would just be stupid and they would be wasting money just producing it because most likely , think about it.

your a boss of a company, are you going to pay extra money for different box covers, and spend it on your workers as well when all they have to do is have a single player only option when you install? and that would save them TIME AND MONEY.

thats why i think this is fake.

I fail to see why releasing a single player only version as well as the traditional version is going to cost money. They aren't going to hire a really expensive "Single player only" specialist. Just one of the Valve programmers will alter a few lines of code and it's done.

The point of the Single Player only one is that it's Cheaper.

Obviously Valve are going to be releasing more details about the pricing thing a bit later, perhaps in a press release.

Also, you've only just released that Gabe is really dedicated to letting the fans know stuff? Look at the top of the forum, the "Valve Info ONLY" Thread. Pages upon pages of e-mail from Gabe.

 

[Stratagerm]

Originally posted by Feath
Whether you pay for a mod or not is up to the Mod team itself, not Valve. Mod teams have the ability to charge you for their mod using Steam.

Bingo.

I knew I'd read this somewhere.

If Steam is successful, look for mods to start using Steam once a mod attracts a following, or sooner if it's not an either/or choice. I think Valve is hoping that mod makers will want to be able to profit from their efforts. Steam will be a way for Valve to give a mod a route to go 'pro' without Valve having to acquire the mod outright, and without the modders having to surrender control.

I think the use of Steam to deliver mods (and paying modders) will qualify Valve as a distributor, and not a publisher, of mods. The modders will still take the risk (ie, Valve won't front money to mod teams), and control all aspects of their mods (design, coding, artwork, publicity, etc.).

It will be up to the mod, of course, to use Steam or not. But if Valve makes Steam an option which isn't exclusive for a mod, modders may think "how can we lose" and distribute both via Steam and traditionally. Valve may improve the attaction of Steam to non-hardcore gamers if it makes playing a mod super-easy by handling the download and setup of the mod "invisibly", with just a slight additional delay for the download the first time a mod is played.

It's interesting that with all the talk of disintermediation (eliminating the middleman) due to the net, Valve is trying to set itself up (with Steam) as the intermediary between the mod makers and players.

I'd been hoping that the mod community would eventually pool their efforts and develop open source game engines on which to base their mods, but the opportunity to make money off mods may turn the community away, and not towards, open source.

It will be interesting to see how Steam does.