HOw long is this thing going to take to download?

[Jerjerod]

Just thinking how much space this game is going to take up. The only realy grapicaly comparable singleplayer games that are out right now are Unreal 2 and Ravenshield, one of them takes up 3 CDs the other 2. Halflife is going to be better looking again and hopefuly be longer than them so how longs this thing going to take to download on steam?

Iv heard it can do keep on downloading when your playing the first level and stuff but its still probarbly going to be the largest thing iv ever tryed to download.

 

[Kamakiri]

Yep downloading is going to suck. Just buy it from the shop.

 

[Mr.Magnetichead]

U dont download it.

You start up the game through steam, you play one level, then when u hit a loading spot the next level will download and so on.

 

[FluxCap]

So, it is confirmed that HL2 through Steam will load/download like HL1 does? I hope not, I hope it is a full download to the local machine.

 

[Kuros]

I guess it downloads while you play it.

 

[Kamakiri]

That sounds so gay I'm sorry. Playing a game. Next level you have to wait till it downloads.

I tell you now no one other than america, where there is cheap/fast broadband will be purchasing HL2 on Steam. No way.

 

[Mountain Man]

Correct. Steam is pretty clever in that respect. It downloads only as much as you need to start the game then downloads additional content on the fly as you play. So if you were to purchase Half-Life 2 via Steam, your initial wait from the time of purchase will be around 5 to 10 minutes, then you'll be up and running on the first level. When you get to a level transition, you may or may not have a lengthy pause as the next bit is retrieved from the servers. In the current Steam version of Half-Life, I found the wait was any where from 10 seconds to almost a full minute, though Valve has said they've improved this particular feature for Half-Life 2.

 

[Typhon]

Well, if we assume that Valve isn't stupid, I think its safe to say that it WILL download while you play it, but it probably is always busy downloading, so it has the second level by the time you get there. I really doubt it would be something like:

Level complete. Initializing download of level 2. Time left: 1:15:02

 

[nw909]

Haha, yeah the levels would have to take an hour or two if it downloaded after a level.

Well I don't have to worry, buying a box is the fastest method.

 

[Gunner]

^^ yes go for the boxed version, even if it's cheaper on steam it's not worth the hassle especially when it crashes in mid-transfer.

 

[Dagobert]

The other single player games in Steam don't dowload as you play. When you get to a level trainsition in OpFor you have to wait at the 'loading' screen of it to download.

Even if it did download as you played I'd imagine it would have a nasty CPU hit that would alter your experience.

Buy it from the shop!!

 

[Typhon]

dago, yes, but they claim to have improved that for hl2

edit: i'm buying box anyway, btw

 

[ferd]

Originally posted by Kamakiri
Yep downloading is going to suck. Just buy it from the shop.

agree

 

[FluxCap]

Yep, boxed version definitely then.

 

[dis]

I'm definitely gonna buy it in the store. I got to have my hard copy. What happens if you want to play and you're internet isn't working for whatever reason...

Downloading the game through Steam would be way more viable if everyone had a Gigabit internet bandwidth, but that's a decent length in the future before that happens. Until then, I don't think it's quick enough to make me want to purchase a game over the internet. I think if you purchase if over the internet that you should receive some kind of file embedded with your "cd key" so that you can reinstall the whole game later if need be. It should also install the game all at once - one hefty download. Who likes the idea of paying to play something that not's entirely on your hard drive yet...

 

[Dagobert]

Downloading the game through Steam would be way more viable if everyone had a Gigabit internet bandwidth, but that's a decent length in the future before that happens.

Dude, do you think by then the size of games might have increased also?

If the rate of internet bandwidth is increasing relative to the rate of game size then Valve are fine. If it continues at the same rate I can't see this system working.

 

[MoJo|Night]

Sod moores law here's Night's law. The amount of required bandwidth will never be far behind the amount of available bandwidth in the world. Upgrade your bandwidth so things arn't clogged and you just download bigger things. Same as roads, build more roads to ease congestion, more people use the road.

Personally I can see the sense in a steam purchase of HL2 since after a year or two of upgrades and changes the version you have on your disk will bare no resemblance to that which will be current. However I need to have a hard copy of software I buy, old habits die hard and internet connections die often.

 

[dis]

Originally posted by Dagobert
Dude, do you think by then the size of games might have increased also?

If the rate of internet bandwidth is increasing relative to the rate of game size then Valve are fine. If it continues at the same rate I can't see this system working.

That's a good point. If bandwidth doesn't increase more quickly than game size, then it'll never get to a point where I'd be comfortable simply downloading a game with no hard copy. Hadn't thought of that...

 

[Dagobert]

Personally I can see the sense in a steam purchase of HL2 since after a year or two of upgrades and changes the version you have on your disk will bare no resemblance to that which will be current.

If you have a HL2 cd key, you'll be able to download HL2. No need for a separate Steam purchase.

 

[OCybrManO]

I like that post by the guy saying that only America has cheap/fast connections... when we are actually lagging behind Europe in that respect. We will get completely left in the dust over the next 5-10 years when "fiber optic connections could account for more than 30 percent of all Internet connections to homes in European nations."

Our country is too large and the people are spread out everywhere except the major cities... it isn't "cost-effective" for the broadband companies to string fiber optic lines over the entire country. So it will be quite a while before our broadband will get to that level.

 

[Alanity]

I wonder how much Valve spent on developing steam that could have gone towards halflife2....
It really does seem like a waste to me. Well, maybe not a waste but I'd compare it to the winamp3 feasco only instead of the product not being ready for the masses, the masses aren't ready for the product.

 

[flupke]

Check the Sticky : Valve info only =>

Hi Gabe,

3. if so, how many CD's would the ROM version contain? and will it be more expensive because of all the cd's?
[Gabe Newell] A bunch. No.

A bunch.. I still guess about 4-5 cd's. About three gigabytes i think.

 

[Spuddle]

if u have a fast connection then playing with steam will be viable i would not recommend it tho if ur on 56k

 

[Jerjerod]

Originally posted by flupke
Check the Sticky : Valve info only =>

Hi Gabe,

3. if so, how many CD's would the ROM version contain? and will it be more expensive because of all the cd's?
[Gabe Newell] A bunch. No.

A bunch.. I still guess about 4-5 cd's. About three gigabytes i think.

god i hope they do a DVD so i can go read war and peace while it installs instead of watching the blue bar and waiting to swap disks.

 

[FluxCap]

Get a serial HD with 10k rpms

 

[Tropico]

there are no "levels"in hl that was the best thing about it loading areas yes but not levels.
i will but the game form a shop so i can install it on all my pc´s (and toasters)

 

[Ahnteis]

I've read (here or on steam forums) that HL2 on steam will be very different from current HL in the level loading procedures.

Basically you won't have to wait nearly as long because it'll preload the next level for you before you get to the end. (While you play I suspect.)

 

[Letters]

Many of the points brought up against Steam have yet to be officially explained. Let's wait and see some official info when the release is really close. If it's cheaper on Steam and they do it smart... I am DEFINITELY going that route...