Ive been doing some research about the beta

[BigD]

Okay I have been researching all day (home with the flu) about the HL2 "beta".
What i was interested in is how widespread it is, I DONT want to download it if i wanted to it would be on my HD already.

I dont know much about mirc, but after playing around all day i found out how lots of people get it using a certain program which reads certain files through your browser, thus enabling you to download it(if you know what im talking about).

The beta is way more farspread then I could ever imagine, people where downloading it like CRAZY. I know lots of people would want to get it but not like this..

It upsets me seeing as how i see it, from the info i got today from people whos actually played it, the monsters wont even attack you, the sound is screwed up a few people said too, theres no really scripted events. A few who were asked by me, if it was worth the download said
No, its not im not looking forward to HL2 anymore, wish i never downloaded it.

What I am wondering, is what risk are these people at?
I dont know if Im allowed to post the actual program name, but it deals with torrent files.

I connected quickly to see how many people where gettnig it and boy theres TONS of them.
The second i connected, 60 users, then it climbed up over the 2 minutes i was in.

I am wondering what kind of risk these people are taking?
As they download, they also have to upload the part of the file that is done to other users.
Are they at any risk whatsoever of being caught?
Most people said they got crappy speeds, and that it would take 2-3 days to download it.

I for one got creeped out even connecting to the program, and if i actually would have uploaded i would be paranoid like hell, especially i I keep uploading for 2-3 days...

Are these guys at any risk?
Or are they running the similar chance of getting caught as someone who lets say uses kazaa?


It just makes me mad, all these people who cant wait, I might be well pissed off if its delayd til april but i would never get the beta and ruin the game.

Lots of them said it was buggy as hell, the monsters dont fight back and its just crappy.

My recommendation is that you guys dont get it, you are just spoiling it for yourself. I mean reallyhow fun is it to run around with the monsters standing there, doing nothing, no scripted events...nothing.

Then you get the full game, know the locations and monsters and god knows what else.

Im just worried this game WILL spread like wildfire on the net and will be available on every peer to peer program within a week

These are just my thoughs.

Anyway can someone answer my question about the risk assesment?

Cheers

(PS. this is not a thread to show people how to get the beta, if the mods dont like it please feel free to remove it, I tried not topost any vital information, if I did I am terribly sorry)

 

[boxer]

.

 

[boxer]

where do u dpwnload it i cant find it, hell might as well try it, we're not gona see it for another 4 months or so

 

[BigD]

Have some faith my friend.
I am still quite certain valve will have it out the door at the holidays

 

[XtAkm4p]

we cannot say. try PMing him

 

[Joeyslucky22]

well think about it...

A DEMO/BETA was leaked...

why would you delay your game?

 

[craig]

bittorrent is one of the better ways someone could aquire the beta hl2 if they didn't want to get caught.. its one of the P2P networks, which is very difficult to police.

the worst place to download it would be IRC because someone can do a quick /whois on you and know where you eat at dinner time within half an hour probably.

I dont think most people care about being caught to be honest, because as far as they are concerned its in the public domain now and being a 'beta' was never intended for public release and as such they can justify downloading it, i know I can.

I personally dont care whats missing and I'm not that obsessed that downloading something such as a 'beta' will ruin the experience of the final game for me... the highlight of HL1 was the actual mods, the game was just a bonus.. I dont think HL2 will be any different..

 

[The Dark Elf]

The whole P2P thing creeps me out, you just never know whats really happening without you knowing about it, using it is potentially as dangerous as not running a firewall and anti-virus software

 

[CyberSh33p]

first of all, bittorrent isn't illegal or anything. Its a good program for legitimate purposes, such as not sucking up server bandwidth. there are just those, including myself, who use it for warez.

second, I didn't get the beta, and don't advise others too. First of all, security issues, second, moral issues, third, spoilers from an incomplete game. I don't think it'll be delayed til april, cause that would be suicide.

 

[aXvXiA]

I'll play SP now, then buy it whenever it comes out. That's what I do for most good games :-/

 

[Necro]

this is kind of good..people are forgetting about the source which causes FAR more harm than this does.

 

[Guest]

The second i connected, 60 users, then it climbed up over the 2 minutes i was in.

On a german tracker, the number was more around 6000

I'll play SP now, then buy it whenever it comes out. That's what I do for most good games :-/

there is no storyline. it's just you running around shooting enemies, you have to manually load the levels too. people have said that the AI doesn't work but that's because they are morons. you have to type a command to get them to shoot back at you

 

[Crptic]

Saftey in numbers.

Do you really think they are going to go after THOUSANDS of people? The worst that could happen is your ISP is contacted and they either throw you off-line or more likey they just tell you to remove the content.

 

[InsertNameHere]

But what's to stop them from suing you?

 

[Crptic]

They amount of money needed to sue everyone or anybobdy wouldn't be worth it.

 

[morpherex]

And plus, you don't sue your customers. Most people will eventually buy the game. I hate peopole who bitch and moan.

 

[Whatup1049]

The more ppl that dl the harder it is to get caught! And they won't sue you, would take too much time, too much money, and cost them mor ein the end. Also they know the majority of ppl getting this are getting it cause they CANT WAIT FOR IT! So the DL it to settle them down a bit u know, till it is released when they will buy it. I think a LOT of ppl will buy it, the whole game was about the great lagless multiplayer, and you need a REAL valid cd key to get on! Even me, a person that dls warez time to time to see if a game is any good or not buys the good games, I support valve and I will buy there game, maybe even the collectors edition cause i love this game soo much. Half-Life is my number 1 game of all time, ill never regret finding it mis-marked at wal-mart for $23 the second day it was out!!!! ROFL! :cheese:

 

[InsertNameHere]

I love how people estimate why they won't get caught, in order to justify their actions and lessen their fear. The truth is, no one has any idea how much they are willing to pursuit or what they have in store. It's better to play it safe and not download it. Not to mention you won't rip Valve off or spoil the game for yourself.

Yeah, I know, "but everyone that plays the beta will still buy it." You just keep telling yourself that.

 

[Xelnein]

they aren't going to 'sue' anybody.. the money you spend on a lawsuit on a 12 year old isn't going to equal the amount you used to start that lawsuit...
also_ i really don't see why valve wouldn't release a legit demo... they delayed the game, you think they might throw something out there as a 'thank you' for our patience... not cut off media all together... it would greatly decrease the intrest in leaked code/illdemo.. Something to think about Gabe.. i'm sure you read all of these...........
__Xelnein

 

[Hexx]

HL2 WILL! be out in November or i will commit seppuku

 

[SemiDiablan]

The only reason I would consider downloading it would be to just mess around in it. I wouldn't play seriously and I would try not to spoil the full game for myself. I would still definately buy it...no matter what. This wait is just killer.

Patience is key.

 

[Gojin]

HL2 "beta"

Scary how people say that they wish they never dl'd it. Kinda scares me away from even trying.

 

[Apollo 13]

why is bittorent so slow. Every time I do try to download something I get about 2-7kbs. I have a cable modem and I souldn't be getting speeds that slow.

 

[Bobo Vieri]

maybe because a kizallion are trying to download it at the same time.

 

[Guest]

you gotta be lucky and find a swiss ftp...

but really i played around with the leak a bit and it has only made me want to buy the final version even more. i now have a good feeling of how the game mechanics work, how well you move around and shoot, about how well the game will run on my system, and a host of other things. i dont feel i have "spoiled" the game one bit either. im looking even more forward to the actual release

 

[WaitAndBleed]

Originally posted by BigD

the monsters wont even attack you, the sound is screwed up a few people said too, theres no really scripted events. A few who were asked by me, if it was worth the download said
No, its not im not looking forward to HL2 anymore, wish i never downloaded it.

thanx for the heads up - i wouldn't waste my time on half baked sh.it that isn't working - i was going to dl it but now i just wish the ppl who stole it would cut themselves cuz they are making the rest of us who want to play the completed game have to wait.

forgive me valve for almost falling into tempation

 

[Maskirovka]

even though it won't be a true benchmark, i'd just like to see how it runs on my computer...of course the full version will be different and almost surely more optimized/better...it'll still give me an idea

if i even get it, i would only load up one level (one i've seen in one of the videos) and just see what it feels like (compared to hl1 mostly)

that's all people want from a demo/benchmark, yet valve won't provide either...so people do it the hard way :\

in hindsight, if valve would have released the benchmark or a small playable level (like the techdemo level) sometime in early september, it would've given the desired hype, as well as possibly deter the hackers (since they have something to do now)

seriously, all the useless posts around here and stupid things that have gone on are mostly due to the fact that some of the people around here have nothing better to do than try and find hl2 info...the hackers just happened to be in the same boat...they were just more sophisticated, and they decided to find ALL the info : )

i mean, tons of kids get into crime, drugs, etc. just because they're bored...

i'm not saying it's valve's job to keep them occupied, but it would've been in their best interest...or something

 

[WaitAndBleed]

so true

 

[Maskirovka]

heh, just think of all the fun we could've had with a manipulator gun techdemo level.

just fill it with a bunch of barrels/crates and a zombie that doesn't react to you or something...think of how many funny things you could've gotten to happen...that would've kept everyone occupied for weeks

 

[Jhahn2k4]

What I found out is that they stole the source, compiled it, possibly added some junk (maps/models), and, well released it.

 

[WaitAndBleed]

or months - i would have been content with that offering