HL2 from Store or Steam???

[Mountain Man]

Originally posted by rootbin
according to erikj, we HAVE to log on to steam to play our games, meaning.... no more steam, no more hl2 for me :\

Even if Steam doesn't flop, it would still be aggravating to not be able to play the game all weekend just because there's a technical glitch with your ISP.

Steam may be a great way to keep your game updated and provide a multiplayer matchmaking service, but for actually purchasing content, I think it's a non-starter.

 

[Apos]

You don't download the game in chunks. You download the entire game, and indeed can do it on any computer you want. It's the usreid/passcode that lets you play on any given download. Stop spreading FUD.

 

[Parasite]

I doubt Steam has anything to do with the single player game anyway. Thats not entirely clear from interviews scince they dont specifically ask about single player.

In any case I think the Valve id thing is a good idea.

Im still getting mine from the store though...I like to have somethin...a box...a CD, something. :shrugs:

 

[Peks]

retail box

 

[rootbin]

parasite- erik stated last night that you will HAVE to log on to play the game.

 

[jhero]

So this means I could HL2 at my firends house without bringing any cds.

 

[Mountain Man]

Originally posted by Apos
You don't download the game in chunks. You download the entire game, and indeed can do it on any computer you want. It's the usreid/passcode that lets you play on any given download. Stop spreading FUD.

The Steam press materials state that you will be able to play the game within minutes after purchasing it from Steam, so that tells me that it'll download the game in small chunks as you go (possibly loading in the whole rest of the game in the background while you play the first few bits, or possibly only the next immediate chunk as a way to economize bandwidth.) At the same time, it has not been made clear whether or not you will be able to archive a back-up copy or even if that back-up copy will be playable apart from Steam.

And being able to download it on any computer you want, while great in theory, most likely has some serious anti-piracy restrictions so you can't just download it for all your friends using one Steam account. The most obvious method of restricting access is to require being logged in to a valid Steam account before being allowed to play even the single player portion of the game (meaning that if your ISP is down or your friend nicks your account information for the weekend, you're S.O.L.).

You're right, I do have a lot of Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt when it comes to Steam, but I believe my reservations are reasonable and justifiable.

 

[MoD]

the steam version is gonna be a whole lot cheaper.

 

[Apos]

Mod, Erik confirmed last night exactly this: you download the game (maybe you can start playing when it's half done if they order it correctly, but it downloads the WHOLE game). You can do this on any computer, again and again, as long as you have your unique ID, if you need to. If you have a steam downloaded version, however, you WILL need to connect to the net to authenticate it (otherwise, there could be like 20 copies of one account going at once). All your friends can download it... but you can't all play at the same time.

This is no different than having to authenticate for MP: if you are dumb enough to give your Wonid to your friend, you face exactly the same problem now.

 

[Mountain Man]

^^^
O.K., that's basically my understanding. But the point is, you'll still need an internet connection to play the single player portion of the game, meaning that if your ISP is down or, worst case scenario, Steam folds in a year or two, you're not going to be able to play the game you've paid for, and that just sucks. I'll take a boxed copy any day, even with the "inconvenience" of having to venture out into the real world to get it.

 

[FiVe7]

Why buy steam, so you can redownload every time you format? Id rather get something for my money.

 

[Newton]

Not to mention the cool box and shiny manuals you'll get.

 

[Mountain Man]

And the fact that you'll be able to play it without connecting to the internet.

 

[csmighty]

getting SOMETHING ie box,cd's,mauals and just driving down to the store and getting it seems to be alot easier than getting tied up in this Steam business. Besides you BUY the half life 2 game ITSELF, not just its files...ya get the whole thing, physical properties included (cd's)

 

[csmighty]

seems alot eaiser just to do it the "old fashioned" way, just buy the game from the store for god sakes.

 

[csmighty]

Originally posted by Mountain Man
I want the actual CD in my hand as I don't trust virtual purchases. What happens years down the road when you want to relive the glory days of Half-Life 2 only to find that Valve no longer supports it on Steam, or, more probably, Steam no longer exists?

I could not agree more.

We still play doom ocassionally right?

 

[Apos]

Almost certainly if they drop Steam, they'll disable the need to connect and let you burn files with a cd key. Comeon this is Valve, not some random company out to screw you and then pack up shop and disappear.

 

[Arn]

Originally posted by Apos
Almost certainly if they drop Steam, they'll disable the need to connect and let you burn files with a cd key. Comeon this is Valve, not some random company out to screw you and then pack up shop and disappear.

i was just about to say that exact same thing

 

[djkanuk]

My initial intention was to try Steam, but after hearing how it works (and this is probably bad news to Valve), there are still a few too many 'what-ifs' for me to risk it. I mean, what if I get a s***-hot laptop and want to play some HL2 (or a mod) on the road sometime? Not possible without a net connection. I had assumed it would be pay-download-play, and then you have the game.

I still trust Valve, but I'll let somebody else be the guinea pig this time. I'll keep my box.

 

[Shockwave]

People...Valve states only broadband users should use this(isdn connection or higher). Broadband rarely goes down and if it doesn you should think of getting a new ISP. Mine has gone down maybe once or twice in 3yrs for like a day or two max.

Its not like you have to wait and download the whole game at once, you download it as you play. If you want to see how it is go play half life 1 on STEAM, and thats exactly how HL2 will be delivered, Basically for every 1hr you download that will equal about 2-3 hrs of gameplay that you have already on your disk and are able to play. So lets say you play HL2 for 2hrs from steam..You probably have downloaded about a 1/8th of the game already, and if your net goes down you have how much far ahead you have downloaded and are able to play until your net is back up.

Basically go play Hl1 on steam..thats all im saying if you have doubts about how it will work, Click on singleplayer for hl1 in steam and in about 1 minute you will be playing the game.

 

[Guest]

The game HL2 will be probably consists of 2 CD. I could be wrong...

If I had a broadband connection I still not gonna download 1,5GB of files that I don't know what the heck I am downloading. I think steam is gay in many ways. I just don't like steam for several cases.

If I buy a game I want to feel the cd jewel case and wanna say: hell yeah, this is what I worked for in the vacation. If I buy a game from the store I have the right to a 1337 manual and a cd key that no one in the world have.

not like: hey mom I bought a game from the internet
mom: cool bobby(not real name ) when will you recieve the game?
me: I am downloading it right now
mom: riiight :/

some things I hate about steam: steam is more suitable for broadband users. dial-up users will have to download big files and it really take ages. You can't just switch to a different sever when one steam server is slow. When I want to play hl mods. I just want to download mod from the internet just like old times ie.: csbeta7.exe good old times

I want to use my costum server tool like All seeing eye or HLSW. I hate the steam gameserverbrowser.

steam beta is buggy. alot of users have problems with it. I hope they gonna fix all the bugs when version 1.0 comes.

etc.

 

[Mountain Man]

Well, I guess more details will come out in the long run, but if Valve is able to guarentee that I won't lose my copy of the game should Steam run out of, well, steam then I'll *maybe* try it. Maybe.