EP2 graphical improvements in HL2 & EP1?

anamnesis

anamnesis

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I recall prior to release of Orange Box that I read a few sites with interviews and advanced reviews of the game which stated that the enhancements being made to Source in EP2 would be merged into the original games so that we'd get improved HDR, dynamic shadows, motion blur, some improved models, particle blood and fire effects, enhanced shaders, etc. I don't know if we were ever promised all those things, but there was at least one video review showing the first chapter of HL2 being played with more authentic HDR in the tenements. I don't have any of the updated assets in HL2 or EP1.

I downloaded my copies of HL2 & EP1 a long time ago and haven't re-downloaded them after the Orange Box release, so is there any chance that I'm not playing the "Orange Box Edition" of them with all the graphical enhancements? Do I just have to re-download or something? Is there a link or thread that discusses this? I wasn't able to find one.
 
only 360 has those enhancements but valve will soon release updates for hl2 and ep1 to have the same.
 
yes, they said they would. I really can't wait to replay hl2 again (with hdr and phong shading)
 
Alright, they said they would. That's all well and good, but like I said, I saw this stuff already present in the gameplay preview video on 1UP, so what happened between then and now? As press, they got an advanced copy of Orange Box and were playing it on PC with, from what I can tell, HDR and motion blur at the very least.
 
Does that mean the smooth skinned looking vortigaunts are the new character models?
 
I wasn't quite sure because I read on one site (maybe IGN, it was one of the big ones) that the HL2 360 version was an original xbox port.
 
LandStander said:
I wasn't quite sure because I read on one site (maybe IGN, it was one of the big ones) that the HL2 360 version was an original xbox port.
Click to expand...

It isn't and that reviewer had no idea what he was talking about.
 
LandStander said:
I wasn't quite sure because I read on one site (maybe IGN, it was one of the big ones) that the HL2 360 version was an original xbox port.
Click to expand...
That's got to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard... it looks better than the PC version on High spec, so wtf would they try and port it from the downscaled Xbox 1... blahh... I'm baffled to explain this without being condescending. The only thing HL2 Xbox and Orange Box 360 have in common is the consolized less accurate reticule with Halo-like color changing to denote an enemy and target lock on vehicle mounted weapons. Srsly what you said was just dumb... VALVe has all the source (no pun intended) material at their fingertips, they took the PC VERSION and added HDR and phong and flashlight shadow casting and a few new models like Alyx and Eli and the Vorts.
 
SPARTACVS said:
... VALVe has all the source (no pun intended) material at their fingertips, they took the PC VERSION and added HDR and phong and flashlight shadow casting and a few new models like Alyx and Eli and the Vorts.
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Okay, so, getting back to my original question rather than arguing about the 360 ... why am I not seeing the "HDR and phong and flashlight shading casting and a few models like Alyx and Eli and the Vorts" in HL2 and EP1 then?
 
anamnesis said:
Okay, so, getting back to my original question rather than arguing about the 360 ... why am I not seeing the "HDR and phong and flashlight shading casting and a few models like Alyx and Eli and the Vorts" in HL2 and EP1 then?
Click to expand...
Cause they haven't released the PC updates yet. That was like the second reply...
 
SPARTACVS said:
Srsly what you said was just dumb... VALVe has all the source (no pun intended) material at their fingertips, t
Click to expand...

What I said was what I read, and if I was going to call somebody "dumb" I probably would spell check my post.

Lastly, the visuals are not as good as they should be on 360. This is clearly a port of the original Xbox version. The resolution has been kicked up, the textures are better, and the framerate is solid save a few random moments. But it could look much better (as Episodes One and Two prove). Even compared to the PC version from three years ago, the visuals for HL2 on 360 aren't stellar.
-IGN.com

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/826/826062p1.html
 
When i E-mailed Valve not so long ago they said they hope to have these updates out soon. Although they have already made it for the Xbox they still got to make some improvements and update Steam to support it. You will know when they update cause you will have a massive update to download.
 
AFAIK the only stumbling block is the size, HL2 with the latest and greatest new things is, apparently, 3 times the size of the original HL2 - making the update somewhere near 9GB's worth.
This was from something Gabe said in a link somebody posted in a thread discussing this but I cant find it now.
 
I wouldn't mind large downloads myself, I'll usually just put them on while I'm away several hours during most of the normal days. On the other hand, I've downloaded all Valve games by Steam since HL2 was released...
 
Operational said:
AFAIK the only stumbling block is the size, HL2 with the latest and greatest new things is, apparently, 3 times the size of the original HL2 - making the update somewhere near 9GB's worth.
This was from something Gabe said in a link somebody posted in a thread discussing this but I cant find it now.
Click to expand...

If the downloads are going to be that enormous, they should have an option as to whether you want the new goodies or not. Not everybody (like myself) has the HDD space for such a huge download when the game is basically the same without the pretty visuals.
 
leib10 said:
If the downloads are going to be that enormous, they should have an option as to whether you want the new goodies or not. Not everybody (like myself) has the HDD space for such a huge download when the game is basically the same without the pretty visuals.
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Wish I could have found that link, but yeah it will be optional.
 
No graphical update for HL2 or EP1 will be released because play-testers said it made the game too confusing and difficult to play.

/sarcasm
 
it would overwrite the other files anyways so why the space problem?
 
leib10 said:
Wait a minute... so basically you're using little or no more HDD space for the added visuals?
Click to expand...

yes, because most of the stuff is still staying in the game. in ep2 there is totally new content,cinematic physics and wide open maps. so what operational said is a little excessive imo.
 
leib10 said:
Wait a minute... so basically you're using little or no more HDD space for the added visuals?
Click to expand...
Not anything massive, but there would be a little more space required I'm sure. But if you were to update, I'm sure the new textures would replace the old textures, for example, and be higher resolution, so yes, there would be a slight size increase, but I wouldn't expect it to balloon HL's folder to 9+ GB.
 
Ayepecks said:
Not anything massive, but there would be a little more space required I'm sure. But if you were to update, I'm sure the new textures would replace the old textures, for example, and be higher resolution, so yes, there would be a slight size increase, but I wouldn't expect it to balloon HL's folder to 9+ GB.
Click to expand...

The HL2 GCFs make up about 3.7GB as-is. Episode 2 + Source 2007 is about 4.8GB. Do with that information what you will.
 
giant384 said:
so what operational said is a little excessive imo.
Click to expand...
Yeah, slight miscalculation - I accidentally included the sounds stuff so instead of around 9GB it should be closer to 6GB.
I would think that this would be in addition to the original HL2 content so mods and stuff (most of it is in shared GCFs) will still work.
 
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