Half-Life 2 save game system stinks!

If it wouldn`t have been the nice save feature that lets you save anywhere I would have uninstalled HL2. At some point it was so frustrating to die 5-6 times at the same place (where you have to jump and not fall).
 
Yeah the system sucks, I'm playing all the way through finishing it then letting my brother play. Thanks Valve for another dissapointing feature.
 
Err, am I the only one that thinks the save system is good? You have 3 auto-saves, 2 quicksaves, and unlimited hard saves. Makes sense to me, hell, it's almost exactly like the original.

As far as Steam goes, I was playing at 2:15 AM CST (15 minutes after release), though I am on cable. I have yet to have any problems with it as well, the HL2 update installed in 3 minutes and I then went into offline mode to play HL2. Simple. I feel bad for those still on 56k though, I know it must be hell waiting for those downloads.
 
Even though no one else has played on my copy of HL2 yet, I made a batch file for this exact occasion... but, as usual: USE AT YOUR OWN RISK

It works perfectly on my computer, but don't come whining to me if something gets f***ed up. :E
 
Hey I just got an idea, I don't know if it will work but it should, and it's a bit of a hassle. You just have to make a copy of your save files and then let your brother play, then when he is done he makes a copy and when you wanna play you just copy over his save files, and when your done you copy then to elswere and your brother overwrites your saves with his and so on and on. So everytime you finish playing hl2 you copy yours elswere and when you wanna play you copy them back.

(BTW sorry if this is a stupid post, because it is so obviouse, but I thought I'd say it just in case.)
 
That's basically what the thing in the post right before yours does...

You extract it to your "Half-Life 2" folder, then make a shortcut to it for your friend/brother to use instead of the main one when he wants to play. It automatically moves your saves out to a TEMP folder (and if he has used it before it will move his back into the SAVE folder)... launches HL2... and, if he follows the directions, after he's done it moves his out into a folder called USER2 and returns your saves from the TEMP folder. I only made it a batch file because I didn't want to bother with coding and compiling a better-looking program that just does the same thing.
 
Sorry, I didn't undurstand that it actually explained it ;)
 
I would hate to be all "the man is out to get us" but Steam, which started out as a GREAT idea and I thought it was a GREAT program, Seems to me to be heading down the road to this whole "Big Brother" scenario. (I know, I said it!! Puts on Flameproof suit). They make a very attractive product and slowly but surely force you to use it. The problem is that with hl2 They pushed and they pushed hard so more people are starting to say "hey! i dont want this crap!! WTF if i try to use an illigitimate cd-key I LOSE ALL of my VALVE GAMES It starts with the little stuff then it builds up to the BIG :eek: I think what started out as a great idea slowly became a great way to police their users with great efficiency.

Maybe I am an idiot or maybe i am paranoid, probably both! :D
 
Kommie said:
I would hate to be all "the man is out to get us" but Steam, which started out as a GREAT idea and I thought it was a GREAT program, Seems to me to be heading down the road to this whole "Big Brother" scenario. (I know, I said it!! Puts on Flameproof suit). They make a very attractive product and slowly but surely force you to use it. The problem is that with hl2 They pushed and they pushed hard so more people are starting to say "hey! i dont want this crap!! WTF if i try to use an illigitimate cd-key I LOSE ALL of my VALVE GAMES It starts with the little stuff then it builds up to the BIG :eek: I think what started out as a great idea slowly became a great way to police their users with great efficiency.

Maybe I am an idiot or maybe i am paranoid, probably both! :D
Click to expand...
I think you've been playing too much HL2...
 
I'm screwed by Steam all the time, but I'll definitely quiver a bit more than usual if it ever actually decides I'm some sort of pirate/hacker for whatever reason.

As for the save system: no problems here. If you don't "proper" save (i.e., via the menu), how the **** can you expect your autosaves and quicksaves to stay behind? They're made to be overwritten.

If your idiot friends overwrite your hard earned menu saves, condolences are in order... but it's not exactly Valve's fault. Hell, even in account-based games veteran idiots can still find a way to screw up your progress.
 
Just started playing yesterday...here is my infuriating complaint(maybe I'm doing something wrong?):

I timed it this morning...16 minutes to "Validate files", load the main .EXE and then load my saved game. Now you kids might hve that kind of free time, but I don't. :dozey:

Is all this "Validating" a protection scheme? It really is annoying. Can't the geeks at Steam speed this up a bit? At 55, I'll be in a damn Nursing Home before I finish the game! :flame:
 
If you know someone is going to use it, you could just backup the save-game folder somewhere else. But maybe we should be able to title our games. like "hl2 round 1" or something to differentiate and not having new "profiles."
 
thats crazy, i was commenting earlier to a friend at how well the save system works..

A. once you et to a level, you can start a new game at that level

B. it autosaves for you, when you die you dont go back very far.

C. F6 quicksaves....

i dont see how it could improve?
 
Kommie said:
I would hate to be all "the man is out to get us" but Steam, which started out as a GREAT idea and I thought it was a GREAT program, Seems to me to be heading down the road to this whole "Big Brother" scenario. (I know, I said it!! Puts on Flameproof suit). They make a very attractive product and slowly but surely force you to use it. The problem is that with hl2 They pushed and they pushed hard so more people are starting to say "hey! i dont want this crap!! WTF if i try to use an illigitimate cd-key I LOSE ALL of my VALVE GAMES It starts with the little stuff then it builds up to the BIG :eek: I think what started out as a great idea slowly became a great way to police their users with great efficiency.

Maybe I am an idiot or maybe i am paranoid, probably both! :D
Click to expand...

that's exactly the point, developers need a way of lowering piracy. dont get mad because it makes it harder for you to use an illegitimate cd-key.
 
I agree with DarkDude. The save system is exactly like HL1. If it worked perfectly fine then, why doesn't it work now? If multiple people use the same computer, you just have to slowsave once before you log off. Or am I missing something?
 
This thread hurts my brain.

You know, when you save? Do you see the little numbers beside each save file?
Those are called the "date" and "time."
They indicate the exact second at which you saved.
No two dates can be the same.

So, here's the crazy trick:
Step 1 - Grab a pen. Grab a piece of paper.

Step 2 - Write the number down.

Now you have a foolproof way to tell your saves apart. Hell, you can just skip the pen and paper part, and just remember the time.

Also, do you see the little picture that marks each save file? It looks a bit like a tiny screenshot?
That's because it is a tiny screenshot.
A screenshot of the exact thing you were looking at when you saved.
Again, no two of these can be exactly alike.

So, when you save, just look at something memorable.
It can be a rock, or a gun, or a house.
Now, as long as you don't forget that you were looking at a rock/gun/house, you will be able to tell your save apart from your brother's/kid's/signifigant other's save files.
You can even use your old pals 'pen' and 'paper' to write the object down too.

Voila! Just follow those quick and easy steps, and several people can play the game with no ill effects.

Jebus.
 
Mechagodzilla said:
This thread hurts my brain.

You know, when you save? Do you see the little numbers beside each save file?
Those are called the "date" and "time."
They indicate the exact second at which you saved.
No two dates can be the same.

So, here's the crazy trick:
Step 1 - Grab a pen. Grab a piece of paper.

Step 2 - Write the number down.

Now you have a foolproof way to tell your saves apart. Hell, you can just skip the pen and paper part, and just remember the time.

Also, do you see the little picture that marks each save file? It looks a bit like a tiny screenshot?
That's because it is a tiny screenshot.
A screenshot of the exact thing you were looking at when you saved.
Again, no two of these can be exactly alike.

So, when you save, just look at something memorable.
It can be a rock, or a gun, or a house.
Now, as long as you don't forget that you were looking at a rock/gun/house, you will be able to tell your save apart from your brother's/kid's/signifigant other's save files.
You can even use your old pals 'pen' and 'paper' to write the object down too.

Voila! Just follow those quick and easy steps, and several people can play the game with no ill effects.

Jebus.
Click to expand...

That works too, Jebus;-) but this would also have helped:
allow us the option to name the save game file. For example:

Jebus's most recent hl2 savegame.whatever

Presto, no pencil / paper! Would that really have been that difficult for valve to implement?
 
Man, just use different save game folders. Make sure everyone removed their save game folder once they've exited the game. Then when the next person wants to play, they simply move their save game folder into the correct directory.

Best idea i can come up with.
 
Works for me. I think it's convenient that I don't have to worry about saving. On other games I've played I found myself saving each time I did something important in the game, which gets to be annoying after a while.
 
Gollan said:
Yes the license agreement says that the software is licensed to YOU for YOUR use only. I agree that it is a bit unreasonable but that is the agreement you accepted when the game was installed.
Click to expand...

It's unreasononable because valve is a f**kin joke. There so bent on making money they try to f**k everyone around. If halflife wasn't so popular they wouldn't be so f**kin greedy and all the antipiracy measures wouldn't be such a joke either. Bottom line is valve doesn't give a shit about it's customers and what they have to go through. I'ts all about the money.
 
colson said:
It's unreasononable because valve is a f**kin joke. There so bent on making money they try to f**k everyone around. If halflife wasn't so popular they wouldn't be so f**kin greedy and all the antipiracy measures wouldn't be such a joke either. Bottom line is valve doesn't give a shit about it's customers and what they have to go through. I'ts all about the money.
Click to expand...
Why are you complaining? They aren't enforcing that rule. There is absolutely nothing stopping you from breaking that rule. And as long as that rule is not enforced, which it isn't, Valve gains no profit from it whatsoever.
The rule is there as a legal precedent to stop illegal copies. It doesn't affect your life at all, and never will.

Also, the anti-piracy is to prevent theft. You know, illegality. Blame the pirates if you'd like. They're the ones who forced this to happen. And, in the end, it really isn't that big of a deal. Obviously it wasn't bad enough that you didn't buy the game.

If someone steals your stereo, do the police go "Colson doesn't give a shit about society. He's only in it for the stereo. F**k f**k f**k!!"

No, because that would be stupid.
 
Also, the anti-piracy is to prevent theft. You know, illegality. Blame the pirates if you'd like. They're the ones who forced this to happen.
Click to expand...

Although it is turning into an arms race. There is even more piracy now because of ridiculous anti-piracy measures. Two examples: Raven Shield does not work if you have Clone CD or any other virtual drive program. Thank you very much. Luckily you can download a hack which will make it work anyway. Second, I bought Shogan Total War and quickly had to turn to piracy because the CD Key that came with it was invalid. Thank you very much.
 
Thank you arguing Internet nerds. You gave me a laugh at work. Keep up the antics. Thanks...
 
justmatt said:
Thank you arguing Internet nerds. You gave me a laugh at work. Keep up the antics. Thanks...
Click to expand...

You spend your work hours reading an internet videogame fansite? I think you've got some nerd on your face. Right over there.
 
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