My copy is being picked and packed!!!

[Volcane]

I just received an email from GAME to say my copy will be with me shortly, and checking the order tracking page it says it is being picked and packed. I can't wait to here the sound of the the postman posting it through the letter box and then to rip it open like an eager child opening their presents on Christmas morning .

 

[Tork]

whoa cool, looks like they are starting now.

 

[bananaman]

does steam authentication requirement mean that even if you get the physical CD/DVD early you will not be able to play until the world wide release date?

 

[DigiQ8]

coool !
its near

 

[Maxi]

Zomg! My retailer says on their website that they still haven't received the game.

Anyway, they currently have 127 preorders on the CE and 387 preorders on the standard edition.

 

[fez]

its gonna be great, going to buy my new pc parts this weekend ready for next tuesday

 

[Abdi]

does steam authentication requirement mean that even if you get the physical CD/DVD early you will not be able to play until the world wide release date?

yes, no one can play until the game is unlocked through steam

 

[Tork]

Just afraid of one thing, i really dont know how the cd's are but if say the cd's are not encrypted like our preloads are then someone could crack it so it works, so if its like our preloads then i could see nobody playing earlier but if its some other way were its with steam and its not encrypted im sure it will get cracked, again this is all speculation, just guessing here. It wouldnt really matter though since the release is just a couple of days away.

 

[afrogoat]

what is included on the CDs or DVD (depending on where you are) is exactly the same as what the steam users have preloaded so it is still encrypted

 

[Tork]

what is included on the CDs or DVD (depending on where you are) is exactly the same as what the steam users have preloaded so it is still encrypted

cool, good to know :cheers:

 

[LGs0pHT]

Vivendi is now fuxx0red because a store broke the street day. Thus Valve is legally allowed to unlock HL2 via Steam.

pwnz.

 

[BlackMesaDude]

Vivendi is now fuxx0red because a store broke the street day. Thus Valve is legally allowed to unlock HL2 via Steam.

pwnz.

eh what are you talking about ?

 

[afrogoat]

well he aint actually received the game yet ++ HE WONT BE ABLE TO PLAY TILL THE 16th anyways because the servers to verificate and unlock the game wont be up till 12 midnight valve time or 8am uk

 

[LGs0pHT]

eh what are you talking about ?

I am talking about: Vivendi, Valve, Half-Life 2, the street release date and the unlock permission for valve which is the consequence about a store breaking the street date.

 

[LGs0pHT]

well he aint actually received the game yet ++ HE WONT BE ABLE TO PLAY TILL THE 16th anyways because the servers to verificate and unlock the game wont be up till 12 midnight valve time or 8am uk

Steam users: Half-Life 2 will be unlocked on Steam on November 16th as well. Unless of course any retailer breaks the street date and puts it out on shelves sooner, then Steam will unlock Half-Life 2 sooner.

Steve Gibson, Shacknews

 

[Tiddalick]

No way would the files be encrypted on the CD/DVD.
That would be compleltly illogical.

Thats why its a world wide release, so everyone plays at once!
Maybe steam unlocks when it detects someone trying to authenticate the game that they have bought....

 

[afrogoat]

what i am trying to say is yes it may well say that he hasn't actually received the game yet so game hasnt broken the street date YET dont get me wrong i aint sayin you are incorrect and i aint sayin i dont want it to be released early.

 

[afrogoat]

the files are encrypted on the CD/DVD thats why you need to validate the game online using steam it unlocks the game and prevents any leaks of the game because the files are locked

 

[-JeZ-]

Vivendi is now fuxx0red because a store broke the street day. Thus Valve is legally allowed to unlock HL2 via Steam.

pwnz.

What he means is that if a high street retailer sells HL2 before the 16th then VALVe can unlock Steam copies becuase the clause in the contract between them and VU states that they cannot unlock the pre-loads until the game goes on sale in stores. If a store did sell the game early (like one chain of stores did with Halo 2) this would do as proof the the game is 'on sale' in stores then VALVe can unlock away with impunity.

 

[Raziaar]

I'm just excited that this is the first game ever that i'll be able to play as soon as its released and not have to install it, instead of waiting for the box to arrive from fedex!

 

[LGs0pHT]

If the author is right we will play HL2 on the weekend or... maybe right now:

Volcane, forward your confirmation mail to [email protected] and tell him that he should unlock HL2 now.

 

[FISKER_Q]

I like how you know about the contracts Vivendi and Valve has signed.

There's no clause, it just won't be playable until the 16th november. That way it's fair to both Valve and Vivendi.

 

[MiccyNarc]

My copy is collecting dust on my hard drive, waiting for the 16th....

 

[Volcane]

If the author is right we will play HL2 on the weekend or... maybe right now:

Volcane, forward your confirmation mail to [email protected] and tell him that he should unlock HL2 now.

I don't think that having it being picked and packed is grounds for it to be unlocked. The email says it will be dispatched my chosen delivery method to reach me by morning of release, so I probably won't receive it until the 16th. But if it does come earlier I will hope it unlocks when I install it, and also unlocks everybody elses steam orders .

 

[lonestar]

does steam authentication requirement mean that even if you get the physical CD/DVD early you will not be able to play until the world wide release date?

if retailers send it off earlier than the 16th, valve will follow and unlock hl2 on steam. you can play, immediately. so, the same goes for the retail version, for sure. why should they unlock it before the 16th, when you can't play the boxed version, anyway.

 

[Wildhound]

My copy is collecting dust on my hard drive, waiting for the 16th....

Actually if even one spec of dust were able to get inside your hard drive it would cause severe damage to the disks. At best it would create large quantities of bad sectors, at worst your hard drive would cease to function.

I find it very hard to believe that there is dust collecting only on the physical disk area contaning your HL2 preload files while spreading nowhere and causing no damage.

This is highly improbable.

 

[Feath]

If the author is right we will play HL2 on the weekend or... maybe right now:

Volcane, forward your confirmation mail to [email protected] and tell him that he should unlock HL2 now.

What Confirmation E-mail? It's being "Picked and packed". That doesn't mean it's going to be dispatched today or tomorrow. It'll probably be dispatched on Monday.

Also, I see an astonding lack of evidence regarding the "it gets unlocked as soon as someone gets it" argument.

 

[oldagerocker]

Im waiting for the box in the post and all i need is the dvd-key ! I hope the postman comes early, he seems to arrive around 11 here, which just is not good enough. Although i will be out at a 9:00 lecture anyway.
Cant fooking wait.
/me goes back to WoW

 

[Tiddalick]

the files are encrypted on the CD/DVD thats why you need to validate the game online using steam it unlocks the game and prevents any leaks of the game because the files are locked

No they are NOT encrpyted.
Think of it like Windows XP, once its installed its all there.
The authentication isn't going to magically unlock anything. The programming will just stop you from playing until its got the OK signal from steam.
Once the game is released on the street the authetication will be cracked within a week.
This dosn't mean that those with cracked versions could play online though...

 

[FISKER_Q]

Actually if even one spec of dust were able to get inside your hard drive it would cause severe damage to the disks. At best it would create large quantities of bad sectors, at worst your hard drive would cease to function.

I find it very hard to believe that there is dust collecting only on the physical disk area contaning your HL2 preload files while spreading nowhere and causing no damage.

This is highly improbable.

Thanks that made my day :cheers:

Tiddalick, no. If the game wasn't encrypted we would see a scenerelease somewhat after it was leaked. And no, that's not going to happen.

 

[mutt]

Actually if even one spec of dust were able to get inside your hard drive it would cause severe damage to the disks. At best it would create large quantities of bad sectors, at worst your hard drive would cease to function.

I find it very hard to believe that there is dust collecting only on the physical disk area contaning your HL2 preload files while spreading nowhere and causing no damage.

This is highly improbable.

are you joking or stupid?

 

[kikekun]

But now just imagine a person who goes on the 14th/15th to his shop because the HL2 copies are already there; he gets home, he installs the full DVD, but hey, when he hits HL2.exe the game doesn´t work. Instead of that the guy gets a message saying: "The game will be unlocked on the 16th of November" ...so just imagine now how pissed the retail customers would be. They probably would get their copy back to the shop or something.
If they buy something is because they want to enjoy it at the very same moment they pay for it. So I suppose that unlocking early plans are a Vivendi idea, not Valve´s.

 

[FISKER_Q]

are you joking or stupid?

Don't you mean smart?

 

[Loomis]

I dunno, if someone did download it, and got that message, then it would be the store that took the blame. All vivendi would have to say is "we told them not to sell it, so it's their fault."

If it is planned that it will be unlocked on the 16th regardless, maybe they'll chuck in a card or something with mail order copies saying "playable from the 16th" or something.

I guess we'll have to wait and see.

 

[IonizeMyAtoms]

are you joking or stupid?

He was very obviously joking.
I think we all know who the stupid one is now.

 

[Tork]

No they are NOT encrpyted.
Think of it like Windows XP, once its installed its all there.
The authentication isn't going to magically unlock anything. The programming will just stop you from playing until its got the OK signal from steam.
Once the game is released on the street the authetication will be cracked within a week.
This dosn't mean that those with cracked versions could play online though...

thats exactly what i was thinking. I find it hard to believe that they would encrypt all the data on the cd.

 

[mutt]

He was very obviously joking.
I think we all know who the stupid one is now.

it wasnt obvious though, It’s hard to tell when ppl are joking or being sarcastic when reading text. The fact that he wrote so much for such a unfunny joke made me wonder if he was serious

 

[redrain85]

No they are NOT encrpyted.

Of course it's encrypted! What's on the CDs is exactly the same as what Steam users have in their cache.

This is the only thing that's stopping the scene from releasing the game. If the files weren't encrypted on the retail CDs, a group could get their hands on a leaked copy and release the game along with a crack before it unlocks.

But the encryption is EXTREMELY difficult to break. Hence, no warez versions yet. Nor will there likely be any until the game is unlocked.

 

[YamatoTwinkie]

I dunno, if someone did download it, and got that message, then it would be the store that took the blame. All vivendi would have to say is "we told them not to sell it, so it's their fault."

If it is planned that it will be unlocked on the 16th regardless, maybe they'll chuck in a card or something with mail order copies saying "playable from the 16th" or something.

I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Yes, in this example it would have been the store's fault (although Vivendi should have taken better precautions) But the customer isn't going to blame the store. The customer is going to be mad at whoever locked their copy (Valve/Vivendi). The last thing Valve and Vivendi want is to piss off their customers.

 

[CTTcrew_MrBlue]

yes, no one can play until the game is unlocked through steam

Source? if im correct valve has never said anything about this.