Lost Coast - 9/30/05 ?

[NJspeed]

www.1up.com has the Lost Coast release date listed as 9/30/05.

I think that might be correct as seeing they had all those special features with Valve a couple of weeks back. It seems they have a close and special relationship with Valve and Gabe.

See it yourself. Go to 1up.com, click on PC, and then scroll near the bottom of the page, towards the right.

RELEASE DATES

GAME PLAT DATE
Black & White... PC 09/30/2005
MotoGP 3 PC 09/30/2005
HL2: Lost Coast PC 09/30/2005

 

[clairelovestlc]

COOL! hope this is right.. its prob not, but a girl can dream

 

[giant384]

i dont believe it vavle wouldnt give out release dates for that

 

[Sui]

Yeah, I think VALVe would divulge the release date in a press release rather than just secretely telling 1up.

 

[NJspeed]

I dont normally trust stuff thats not confirmed, but it didn't say that yesterday - I know that much. Looks like Quake 4 got pushed back too. Anyway maybe it's a mistake or maybe 1up accidently leaked the date? I don't know, but like I said, Lost Coast wasn't even up on their release date calender until today.

 

[Digital*Firefly]

they're going to pre-cache for atleast a week once they announce the release date.

 

[joule]

lol@9/30

 

[Chris D]

When the DOD:Source release date was announced I e-mailed Doug Lombardi and said, I was disappointed that they weren't releasing on the 30th September and I really hope that they would one day and he said:

Some day we will, I'm sure

 

[Insano]

Haha, awesome

 

[clarky003]

lol, so there's a slight chance that they might release it on the 30th for Irony's sake.

 

[Dowie]

Lol that would be so funny. Dammit I remember the Half Life 2 release day(s30)...

 

[Cypher19]

Personally, one iota of me would not be surprised if that date was pushed back to October 5th, the ATi next-gen card release date.

 

[Dowie]

Personally, one iota of me would not be surprised if that date was pushed back to October 5th, the ATi next-gen card release date.

Didnt they already say it was coming 2 weeks after dod source, so thats October 10th or something close to that.

 

[DiSTuRbEd]

Personally, one iota of me would not be surprised if that date was pushed back to October 5th, the ATi next-gen card release date.

THERE IS NO RELEASE DATE, thus it can't be pushed back. They said LC would come out a little after DoD:S.

 

[jsnake]

God, I hope it comes out on the 30th *prays*. I need to beat HL2 before it comes out though.

 

[UndeadScottsman]

THERE IS NO RELEASE DATE, thus it can't be pushed back. They said LC would come out a little after DoD:S.

There's been several release windows that Valve has completely and totally missed.

"May" - Totally missed that
"Within 2 weeks" - Was several months ago
"Summer" - Ain't summer anymore
"Before DoD:Source" - Yet we have Dod:S and no Lost Coast, go figure.

I'm still amazed Valve bothers with released dates after the September 30th fiasco; not to mention just able every single major project they have EVER worked on.

 

[NJspeed]

Well that's true.... I'll be impressed at myself if I'm the one who saw the truth and told everyone the correct release date 5 days in advance Woo hoo!

 

[hi_ted]

I think it is an educated guess. We know it's not too far off and the last thing Valve said was that LC will "closely follow" DOD:S. Since most updates occur on Friday, I wouldn't be surprised if they include it with their Weekly News this week.

 

[clairelovestlc]

well valves "it will closley follow dod:s" prob means a friday next june hehe

 

[Fonaki]

OK, now I it's only a few houres till 30th sep is over...so it seems like LC is not gonna be realsead today.

Maybe tomorrow?? -lol

 

[LGs0pHT]

lil' steampowered.com/status dip

 

[Megalomaniac]

Im predicting a New Years release...

 

[jocky68]

Friday update is always 3pm valve time,thats another 4 hours.

 

[Chris D]

You will not see The Lost Coast today. The pre-load will probably be bigger than DOD: Source.

 

[deekey777]

You will not see The Lost Coast today. The pre-load will probably be bigger than DOD: Source.

October 5th?

 

[Sui]

Ha, told you!

 

[LGs0pHT]

[...] The pre-load will probably be bigger than DOD: Source.

I doubt that.

But hey, it's Chris_D. Sometimes he knows secret information...

 

[Bobcat]

You will not see The Lost Coast today. The pre-load will probably be bigger than DOD: Source.

That doesn't seem very logical, why would it be bigger than DoD: S ? Because of all the extra commentary ?

 

[Cole]

That doesn't seem very logical, why would it be bigger than DoD: S ? Because of all the extra commentary ?

It's free..........and half of the community dosn't relize than it's 15 minutes ^_^.

 

[Cypher19]

That doesn't seem very logical, why would it be bigger than DoD: S ? Because of all the extra commentary ?

Nono, it's because of the textures and sheer map size.

For one, I've heard the 10-15 minutes number being tossed around, which is damn long for a HL2 map, but that may be more than I think.

Plus, since every texture is coming in at a fat-ass resolution of, like, 2048x2048, that is a HUGE amount of data. For example, let's assume that on each object in LC, there is the following (all at 2kx2k):

-Albedo texture (colour, three 8-bit channels)
-Normal texture (three 8-bit channels)
-Environment map coefficient (one 8-bit channel).

That amounts to TWENTY EIGHT megabytes per object uncompressed, and it is certainly not out of the question. I'm not sure what the compression ratios are for VTF, but if we assume even a REALLY LOW ratio like 3:1, you only need thirty objects munching up those high requirements before you shoot past DoD:S's preload size (I'm pretty sure it was around 280MB...)

Also, that doesn't include the extra data from the HDR lightmaps (those are probably a high resolution as well), or even the map, model, or audio data!



Btw, I can't WAIT to see how an X1800XT performs on this map, especially since it'll have the big performance AND 512MB of memory to boot.

 

[giant384]

Nono, it's because of the textures and sheer map size.

For one, I've heard the 10-15 minutes number being tossed around, which is damn long for a HL2 map, but that may be more than I think.

Plus, since every texture is coming in at a fat-ass resolution of, like, 2048x2048, that is a HUGE amount of data. For example, let's assume that on each object in LC, there is the following (all at 2kx2k):

-Albedo texture (colour, three 8-bit channels)
-Normal texture (three 8-bit channels)
-Environment map coefficient (one 8-bit channel).

That amounts to TWENTY EIGHT megabytes per object uncompressed, and it is certainly not out of the question. I'm not sure what the compression ratios are for VTF, but if we assume even a REALLY LOW ratio like 3:1, you only need thirty objects munching up those high requirements before you shoot past DoD:S's preload size (I'm pretty sure it was around 280MB...)

Also, that doesn't include the extra data from the HDR lightmaps (those are probably a high resolution as well), or even the map, model, or audio data!



Btw, I can't WAIT to see how an X1800XT performs on this map, especially since it'll have the big performance AND 512MB of memory to boot.

wow lol can u imagine steam servers crashing when its realeased

 

[MuToiD_MaN]

*looks at calendar*

sigh.

 

[^Ben]

no.........................

 

[:Rex Saw:]

i wish i could make myself enjoy DoD:S so i wouldn't have to think of lost coast so much.

valve: hurry, the ****, UP! this shit is getting irritating

 

[jocky68]

i wish i could make myself enjoy DoD:S so i wouldn't have to think of lost coast so much.

valve: hurry, the ****, UP! this shit is getting irritating

Is the biggest load of bull*&@t i have ever come across. This keeping people waiting and giving no info. Get your shit together valve and just tell everyone what the hell is going on, we are all sick to death of waiting for what might/or might not be a good short tech demo. This debate of when its going to be released is getting on my tits, just release the thing for fu%@*&^$!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

 

[DoctorWeeTodd]

So many in the media have already played it alledgedly complete. Why hasn't it been released yet? How much fine tuning does it need?

 

[The Dark Elf]

It's just a map with high res textures that 99% of you wont even be able to play properly anyway, whats the big deal about it.

Just to put it in perspective. Arenanet released as a freebie, new area's with quests, bug fixes, new enemies, objects, more features and improvements, for free.. that alone was bigger than HL2 in full. And did it in a third of the time its taken Valve to do a map with some high res textures they will have already had anyway. Seriously, 20 minutes after its arrived people are gonna complain its too short, its too boring, there's not enough to do, why couldn't it have been another area, etc, etc, etc, you know how it goes.

Stick to looking forward to Aftermath instead, cause you are REALLY going to be dissapointed when you get the lost coast, its been built up so much. Forget about it and expect the worst, when it arrives, don't rush through it, atleast you'll enjoy it more then.

 

[DoctorWeeTodd]

Excactly why we're so anxious for it! It's just ONE level that they've been cockteasing us and promising they'll release "soon" for ages. How long does it take for us to get ONE LEVEL?

And I just checked the weekly Steam news and they said the next thing they'll releasing is Rag Doll Kung Fu, on the 12th! When are they going to quit beating around the bush?

And to believe so many people think they'll release a full expansion in November.

 

[DoctorWeeTodd]

Just to put it in perspective. Arenanet released as a freebie, new area's with quests, bug fixes, new enemies, objects, more features and improvements, for free.. that alone was bigger than HL2 in full. And did it in a third of the time its taken Valve to do a map with some high res textures they will have already had anyway. Seriously, 20 minutes after its arrived people are gonna complain its too short, its too boring, there's not enough to do, why couldn't it have been another area, etc, etc, etc, you know how it goes.

Link?

6charlimit

 

[The Dark Elf]

Link?

6charlimit

http://www.guildwars.com/news/gameupdates.html

Update - Wednesday, September 7

Sorrow's Furnace

* Sorrow's Furnace consists of two new, large and challenging explorable regions located deep in the Shiverpeak Mountains between Spearhead Peak and Snake Dance. These areas contain the following:

o Seventeen new quests, most of them fully repeatable and offering high XP rewards

o Four new cinematics

o A variety of new monsters, including new Stone Summit Dwarves that are the strongest in the Shiverpeak Mountains, and entirely new types of creatures that are being introduced to the game for the first time

o Boss monsters named after the contest winning entries

* Boss monsters in the new Sorrow's Furnace regions drop newly-introduced green "unique" weapons that are named after the boss.


Titan Quests

* The Titan Quests are a series of five new veteran-level quests, starting in Droknar’s Forge and spanning the continent, that continue the storyline for those who have already vanquished the foes of Hell's Precipice. These quests feature some of the most challenging and rewarding content in the game, with ten new types of monsters, including several never-before-seen creature types.


Chests and Loot

* The landscape of Tyria is now dotted with new, randomly positioned locked chests, which are guaranteed to contain uncommon or better items. These chests largely replace the old system of unlocked chests with predictable positions and common loot.

* Whenever your party finds a new, locked chest, multiple party members can each use their own keys to unlock the chest and get their own loot.

* Monsters randomly drop chest keys, and you can also buy chest keys from Merchants.

* Added Superior Salvage Kits and Superior Identification Kits, which are the same as Expert Salvage Kits and Identification Kits except with 100 charges instead of 25.

* Improved the quality of most Crafter and Collector Weapons.

* Increased the drop rate of uncommon and rare items on large maps.

* Increased the drop rate of all insight scrolls.

* Added three new insight scrolls: Adventurer's Insight, Hunter's Insight, and Rampager's Insight. These scrolls provide a level of accelerated XP gain for the entire party but are much more common and less expensive than the existing rare insight scrolls.

* Collectors in Perdition Rock and Sorrow's Furnace now give XP enhancing scrolls in return for collectable monster drops. Conversely, there are no longer crafters for these scrolls.

* Various low-level quests now give additional gold as a reward for completion.


Skill Acquisition

* The maximum amount of XP required to gain additional skill points beyond level 20 has been lowered from 20,000 to 15,000. This change retroactively benefits existing characters.

* The gold cost of learning new skills now follows a price curve similar to armor, rising in cost more quickly than before but capping out at 1 platinum piece after learning 20 skills.

* Skill trainers in towns now offer a wider selection of skills, and there is a newly introduced skill trainer in Ember Light Camp who sells every non-elite skill in the game.


Faction Gain

* The accelerated Faction rewards that were temporarily available during the PvP Extreme Weekend have now become a permanent part of the game.

* The Priests of Balthazar are now located in PvP map outposts instead of towns, so you don't need to have or use a high-level role-playing character to spend your faction points.


Attribute Points

* The concept of Attribute Refund Points has been removed from the game. You can now refund and reassign your attribute points as much as you like, whenever you are in a town or outpost.


Guilds and Guild Combat

* For 100 gold you can now invite someone to be a guest of your guild. As a guest, he can enter your Guild Hall any number of times over the next 8 hours, join your team and participate with you in Guild Combat. If he has been a member of his own guild for long enough to receive full Faction for guild battles, then he will also receive full Faction for playing with you as a guest of your guild. (However, to engage in Guild Combat, at least half the members of your team must be members of your guild.)

* Inviting a new member into your guild now costs 100 gold.

* The opposing guild’s rating and rank are now displayed when you receive a challenge and at the beginning of Guild combat.

* Balance changes to Guild combat maps make the Guild Lord less susceptible to ganking:

o Newly introduced banner messages warn you if your base is breached or if your Guild Lord is attacked.

o The NPC Arcanists have been replaced with Bodyguards who not only cast spells on the enemy team but also heal your Guild Lord. They also now appear in your list of Party Allies.

o The NPC Archers now use Pin Down on the invading enemy team.

o New NPC Archers have been added to the Druid's, Nomad's, and Frozen Isle guild halls.

o The Guild Lord himself, and various defending NPCs, are sturdier than they were before.

* The "Victory or Death!" cry now comes at 30 minutes instead of 45 minutes.

* In Guild Combat, your guild cape is now colored red or blue to indicate your team color.


Other PvP Changes

* Arenas can now match teams with opponents from around the world.

* Prebuilt PvP characters now include Resurrection Signet.

* Default PvP character weapon choices are now more appropriate.

* Pets now stay closer to their owners.

* Players no longer receive XP or Faction from the deaths of enemies that their party did not kill.


Skill Changes

* Updated various skill descriptions to more accurately describe the skill effects.

* Fixed Fevered Dreams so that it doesn't spread conditions to allies.

* Fixed "I Will Avenge You!" so that it doesn't count dead spirits.

* Fixed Physical Resistance so that it no longer lowers your elemental armor by more than it should.

* Fixed Revive Animal so that the health of the newly revived animal depends on the attribute level of the caster.

* Fixed Symbiotic Bond so that it correctly redirects half of the damage from the pet to the master, and changed it from a stance to a shout.

* Fixed Well of the Profane so that targets in the area of effect cannot be the target of new enchantments, rather than not being able to cast new enchantments.

* Fixed Divine Boon, Guilt, Mark of Subversion, Peace and Harmony, Shame, and Zealot's Fire so that when they say "when casting a skill/spell that targets an ally/enemy," they only trigger on targeted skills or spells, not on untargeted ones.

* Fixed the Resurrection Orb so that it doesn’t resurrect dead spirits.


Monster Balance Changes

* Increased the level of difficulty and reward in The Underworld. Several areas have been updated with new creatures to add variety to fights and emphasize teamwork.

* Updated boss monster spawns throughout the Southern Shiverpeaks so that boss monsters are less random, and therefore elite skill capture is more reliable.

* Renamed "Stone Summit Arcanist" to "Stone Summit Heretic," and Shiverpeak's "Grawl Ulodyte" to "Grawl Crone" for clarity.

* Armageddon Lords now spawn Ashen Hulks when they die.

* Blessed Griffons, Mergoyle Wavebreakers, and other creatures who use Grasping Earth, Deep Freeze, or Symbol of Wrath will now use them properly even with only one enemy present.

* Centaurs and Dwarves in The Traveler's Vale now respond more intelligently to ranged attacks.

* Flesh Golems now cast Death Nova.

* Kings Guards in Thunderhead Keep are now appropriate level, helping reduce the initial difficulty of the mission.

* Tengu Groups in Twin Serpent Lakes now have a better variety of creatures.


User Interface

* The Quest Log now groups quests by importance and region.

* The green Quest Arrows now guide you towards the next step of the quest even if it is more than one map away.

* Traders now display a "last paid" price on the sell tab.

* Item upgrades on Priests of Balthazar are now color-coded to show the enhancement level.

* The Priests of Balthazar now display information about previously unlocked items.

* The names of Major Runes now appear purple (uncommon), and those of Superior Runes are now displayed in gold (rare).

* Faction bonuses for Flawless Victories and Winning Streaks are now displayed with different text in your chat window.

* The Skill List now sorts skills by attribute in its default setting.

* The trade window more clearly distinguishes between platinum and gold offered, and displays a warning if the other player offers customized items.

* A button on the Guild tab provides easy travel to your Guild Hall.

* After leveling up, a new on-screen button provides a visual reminder to spend your new attribute points.

* Added new tooltips to many user interface elements.

* Updated European and Korean translations.


Bug Fixes

* Fixed several quests with missing NPC locations in the quest log.

* Fixed missing exclamation marks over key NPCs.

* Fixed bugs in the following missions: Fort Ranik, Thunderhead Keep, Iron Mines of Moladune, The Underworld, and Fissure of Woe.

* Fixed bugs in the following quests: Counting the Fallen, Defend the Temple of War, Endangered Species, Family Reunion, Final Blow, Fires in the North, Gift for Althea, Oswalt's Epitaph, Royal Papers, The Misplaced Sword, To Kryta: Journey's End, and Tower of Courage.

* Fixed doors in the holdout at the end of Thunderhead Keep.

* Fixed pathing issues in D'Alessio Arena, Dragon's Gullet, Druids Isle, Scoundrel's Rise, and the Isle of the Dead guild hall.

* Fixed inaccuracies in the sword symbols which are displayed after completing a primary or secondary mission.

* Fixed green quest markers so that they properly update on the Map Area window.

* Fixed a display error that sometimes caused skills from your old secondary profession to still continue to be displayed in your skill inventory after switching to a new secondary profession.

* Fixed a bug which caused vendor items to sometimes show an "Under Construction" icon.

* Fixed Condition, Hex, and Enchantment Health bar icons that were not updating correctly for out of range targets.

* Fixed movement key state not being restored upon release of opposite movement key.

* Fixed profession and level truncation in party window invites.

* Fixed the potential for accidental item drops that existed when releasing items on the background of the multiple bag interface.

* Fixed chat bubble stacking.

* Fixed various minor glitches related to window sizes and text clipping.

* Fixed miscellaneous rare crash bugs.


Just completing the new area's takes longer than it does to play HL2 and covers a larger area. Thats just the summer update not the actual full game.

A single map does NOT take over a year to do. Ever.

Excactly why we're so anxious for it! It's just ONE level that they've been cockteasing us and promising they'll release "soon" for ages. How long does it take for us to get ONE LEVEL?

And I just checked the weekly Steam news and they said the next thing they'll releasing is Rag Doll Kung Fu, on the 12th! When are they going to quit beating around the bush?

And to believe so many people think they'll release a full expansion in November.

I think instead of worrying about Lost Coast, look forward to the HDR updates to HL2 itself when they arrive eventually. Cause I find it hard to believe Valve will leave the game with only a map using HDR and high res textures and the rest the same as before. Look forward to that update, it'll be worth it, and probably come with some decent fixes and extra's aswell.

Dunno what this ragdoll Kung Fu thing is, sounds like badly dubbed Japanese version of Garry's Mod