First Day of Defeat: Source HDR Screenshot and Interview With Doug Lombardi

[Chris D]

We don't all that often sit down and talk with Doug or the rest of the guys at Valve, but one has certainly been overdue for a while. This particular chat with Valve covers lots of topics; including Half-Life 2: Aftermath and The Lost Coast HDR level:

Halflife2.net: Though Counter-Strike: Source is still considerably more popular, Half-Life 2: Deathmatch was, to say the least, a welcomed addition and a nice surprise to the community. At what point was it decided that you would include a death match component, whose idea was it and where will it go from here?
[br]
Doug Lombardi: My friend and Venezuelan gaming genius Adrian Finol put the early versions of HL2M together in his spare time as HL2’s development was winding down. He brought it in one day and showed it to a handful of other people, and a team erupted around him that day. We don’t have any major announcements to make on HL2M today, but we will continue to support it and have had a blast playing the community-created HL2M maps.

Doug kindly included the following Day of Defeat: Source screenshot, which is the first Day of Defeat: Source screenshot containing HDR which has been officially released.[br]

​

[br]Looking good, but if you want to read the rest of the interview then check it out here.

 

[63]

There's a reason why I still check this site... Great job Chris.

 

[Jimmeh]

:O Very nice! DoD Source seems to be shaping up nicely then

Great job with the interview.

 

[Chris D]

Thanks guys

Full version of that pic.

 

[Hapless]

drooooooooolll:bounce:

 

[ComradeBadger]

There's a reason why I still check this site... Great job Chris.

You mean I'm not that reason ;(

Nice news.

 

[63]

You mean I'm not that reason ;(

Nice news.

If you would ever return to Xfire I'd be glad to reconsider

edit: no more mrbadger heh... updating...

 

[Ames]

Well this is a pleasant surprise. And so I end this post with a semi-congratulatory sentence.

edits: Is there a comparison picture we can seeeeee?

 

[GonzoBabbleshit]

The pic looks great, but a lot of that interview seemed like the standard Doug responses to some question...I'm sure I've read em before somewhere

 

[Ames]

You've read the HL2DM part slightly before and the HDR part is from here:

http://www.bit-tech.net/gaming/2005/06/14/hl2_hdr_overview/1.html

 

[DESSTROYER]

what did he mean by "once lost coast is shipped" does that mean it will be in retail or something ? : ()

 

[Asuka]

Cool interview.

 

[VictimOfScience]

That screenshot is awesome and should be enough to make even the worst nay-sayers think again before saying DoD:S doesn't look that good! Very impressive! The interview was ok too

 

[Resvrgam]

After reading through that interview I'm left wondering if Alyx will be the playable character for Aftermath. Every screenshot either depicts her shooting something or displays a first-person perspective without her in the scene.

It also sounds like they may be implementing a 'persistent companion' system similar to what our MOD is including... that'd be really cool to see.

 

[RabidMeatloaf]

Dead sexay.

 

[<RJMC>]

a venezuelan gaming genuis friend of him?

wow I dont know why but that give me a litle of proud :E

 

[ship]

wow I dont know why but that give me a litle of proud :E

Your english makes me smile.

 

[vetebulle]

*came*

 

[rpgprog]

After reading through that interview I'm left wondering if Alyx will be the playable character for Aftermath. Every screenshot either depicts her shooting something or displays a first-person perspective without her in the scene.

It also sounds like they may be implementing a 'persistent companion' system similar to what our MOD is including... that'd be really cool to see.

no he said that you are gordan freeman. Its been confirmed numerous times. Alyx is just more important in the story of AM than in the original

 

[bam23]

Doesn't look that realistic at all.

I am on crack.

 

[A.I.]

A very nice interview. Compliments to Chris.

 

[Sulkdodds]

<3 DoD.

 

[GonzoBabbleshit]

After reading through that interview I'm left wondering if Alyx will be the playable character for Aftermath....

Seriously...did you read the interview?!

You are, once again, Gordon Freeman.

 

[Insano]

Sexy screeny :O

 

[jondy]

HDR- wow. It isn't just the bloom, it just raised the bar for image quality a shitload. That screen hasn't got the best textures or polycount, but it looks unbelievably natural considering the material there

 

[marksmanHL2 :)]

Looks and sounds excelent

 

[Dodo]

OMG !!1! that looks to good to be true !

...im making a mod ... is it possible to put the HDRI code in ? like a plugin or something

 

[zodiak]

OMG !!1! that looks to good to be true !

...im making a mod ... is it possible to put the HDRI code in ? like a plugin or something

Read the interview first befor asking questions.

Doug Lombardi: Lost Coast is the HDR level. It will require at least a 2GHz processor, 1 to 2GB of RAM, and the very latest GPU from ATI or NVIDIA. Once Lost Coast has shipped, we will be updating the Source SDK to include support for HDR authoring, and future Valve game releases will feature HDR modes in the video settings for those with the horses to run it.

 

[Noobulon]

http://www.halflife2.net/news//1120176260_dod_flash0017.jpg

That's very impressive. But I think the hyperrealism of the cottage makes those smoke plumes look positively cartoony.

Can't wait to see avalanche in HDR

 

[lemonfridge]

I'm really hoping that HDR will be optional when it's added to games/maps/mods. I agree that it looks stunning, but my system doesnt match the required spec (well it does, but not the graphics card). I dont want to suddenly not be able to play mods and games that i previously could.

 

[Mith']

Looks great!

 

[Robinhood_01]

DoD looks far better than the last round of screen shots (the one's with soldiers). But screenshots are so oldskool. How about a video of the HDR in a level in DoD? I guess that will come.

 

[DiSTuRbEd]

I'm really hoping that HDR will be optional when it's added to games/maps/mods. I agree that it looks stunning, but my system doesnt match the required spec (well it does, but not the graphics card). I dont want to suddenly not be able to play mods and games that i previously could.

You will have the ability to enable and disable HDR, yes.

 

[Mountain Man]

Lost Coast . . . will require at least a 2GHz processor, 1 to 2GB of RAM, and the very latest GPU from ATI or NVIDIA.

Holy crap!

So looking at my system right now, it would cost me upwards of $500 to upgrade to a top-of-line video card and 1GB of RAM just to make Lost Coast playable. Them's some damn steep system requirements!

 

[bigdeezy23]

Holy crap!

So looking at my system right now, it would cost me upwards of $500 to upgrade to a top-of-line video card and 1GB of RAM just to make Lost Coast playable. Them's some damn steep system requirements!

Good thing you don't have to play it

 

[kaf11]

dod:s is now looking like the only game that can possibly pull me away from my bf2 obsession.

 

[-TaNaKa-]

looking good

 

[jondy]

Good thing you don't have to play it

:thumbs:

 

[Resvrgam]

Seriously...did you read the interview?!

Sarcasm escapes some people.

I was trying to prove a point that some people, despite the gospel from Valve themselves, still seem to cling to this notion of trying to play a character with a voice (the token hot chick) and try to construct a case for their delusion.

 

[Resvrgam]

I just hope Computer Gaming World Magazine (page 44, bottom of page) was incorrect then.

Brace yourself for a big shock: A Half-Life 2 expansion is in the works. As expected, it features Alyx Vance as a playable character with a new weapon: a combination SMG, pistol, and sniper rifle. We'd still rather play as Dog.

If that's accurate, I sure hope Valve reconsiders that move. Literarily speaking; that's just bad story-telling to haphazardly change the POV from a non-speaking protagonist to one that has already had a persona established (from Gordon to Alyx). Then again...writing an anti-climactic ending like Half-Life 2's that gives absolutely NO resolution is also within the depths of poor writing.