Need help using HL2 w/o fast internet connection

[oczad]

First let me say i'm pretty new to gaming and don't understand a lot of the lingo and how things work. so please speak in laymens terms if you reply. thanks.

I ordered HL2 a few days ago and it's arriving today. But after lots of research i'm finding that i may not even be able to play it due to my dial-up connection. What i've learned is that i must connect, then register, then allow it to download some huge files. I know now that i won't be able to download the needed files when i register it after reading a ton of posts on the issue suggesting download sizes that are just too big for dial-up. And being in a house where the phone line is used by others i can't lock it up for hours. So am i stuck with a game i paid for but can't use? Is there any way around this? If now i would suggest this is a rip-off, as i wan't informed when i bought it that my connection would have to be broadband. Therefore i would think it would be sierra's obligation to make sure anyone who sells this game online should be required to inform buyers that w/o a broadband connection they couldn't play the game unless they could tie up thier phone line for what could be a day. Thats just not right.

So can anyone tell me if there is a workaround? I have DSL at work, but from what i hear the files are so big it would take me a week or 2 to take home 256 mb (have a 256 mb thumb drive) of them at a time. Did i just throw away my money on this game or can anyone help? Thanks...

 

[Mevoki]

I don't think you have to download all the updates, you should be fine with just registering the game to your steam account.

 

[Laivasse]

I had the same worries, but it's possible to get all the updates done in about 2 hours on dial-up (was for me at least). I know it's still long and unreasonable, but it's quicker than I was led to expect from what I had read.

One possible thing you could do if you have a CD-R or even a DVD-R drive at work (highly unlikely I know), you can install it there, update it, then back it up. You can do this using the back-up facility in Steam, but many people have said that it is broken, so it's best just to burn normally - put all your GCF's (the HL2 data files) on CDs, or if you have a DVD then just burn the entire Steam folder. Then take them home - I think you might have to preserve the file paths too. Eg, if it's C:/Program Files/Valve/Steam at work then it has to be the same at home too.

If you can't burn CDs at work, then I doubt your 256meg data stick will be much use, sorry.

I don't think you have to download all the updates, you should be fine with just registering the game to your steam account.

Until the game is fully updated, you can't play it offline. Steam takes ages to update too at first.

 

[Slainchild]

Yeah, the updates aren't that big. I don't even think there have been many updates to HL2, just some random engine fixes and stuff.

The only problem I can see is if you installed CS Source or Deathmatch, which would require big updates.

 

[Laivasse]

Yeah, the updates aren't that big. I don't even think there have been many updates to HL2, just some random engine fixes and stuff.

The only problem I can see is if you installed CS Source or Deathmatch, which would require big updates.

Well you have to install CS Source for the HL2 install to work. However there might be a way to stop it updating...once Steam has loaded go to CS Source properties and set it to "Do not automatically update this game" and hopefully it wont affect being able to play HL2 offline.

 

[oczad]

I had the same worries, but it's possible to get all the updates done in about 2 hours on dial-up (was for me at least). I know it's still long and unreasonable, but it's quicker than I was led to expect from what I had read.

One possible thing you could do if you have a CD-R or even a DVD-R drive at work (highly unlikely I know), you can install it there, update it, then back it up. You can do this using the back-up facility in Steam, but many people have said that it is broken, so it's best just to burn normally - put all your GCF's (the HL2 data files) on CDs, or if you have a DVD then just burn the entire Steam folder. Then take them home - I think you might have to preserve the file paths too. Eg, if it's C:/Program Files/Valve/Steam at work then it has to be the same at home too.

If you can't burn CDs at work, then I doubt your 256meg data stick will be much use, sorry.



Until the game is fully updated, you can't play it offline. Steam takes ages to update too at first.

Well, if it only takes 2 hours i suppose i can do that. But if it takes too long and i decide to try and do it at work and can burn them, let me get this stright.

install and register the game at work and D/L the files, then burn them and take them hone and put them in the same folders as they are in the game at work, correct? Then heres the question....if i do that, will the steam account allow me to choose where i download them to? If not, how do i know which files to burn? And if it DOES allow me to choose a download folder and i do that the\n burn them, how will i know which folder to put them in at home?

Anyway, i think i will install it tonite (it just arrived according to the fedex tracking) and try and do it there. If it takes too long and i quit in the middle of the download, is there anything i should know about getting it to work after i put the files i download from work in the correct folders? i mean, will it still keep trying to go to steam online and download the files?

 

[oczad]

Well you have to install CS Source for the HL2 install to work. However there might be a way to stop it updating...once Steam has loaded go to CS Source properties and set it to "Do not automatically update this game" and hopefully it wont affect being able to play HL2 offline.

So you're saying it's the online multiplayer part of the game which is responsible for most of the big download, and that if i stop it from doing that the download will be much smaller? If so, can you give me a step by step from the beginning to end of the install process to get singleplayer working w/o cs downloads?

 

[Laivasse]

install and register the game at work and D/L the files, then burn them and take them hone and put them in the same folders as they are in the game at work, correct?

Make sure that HL2 is 100% updated first! Then you'll be able to play it without having to go online once at home.

Then heres the question....if i do that, will the steam account allow me to choose where i download them to? If not, how do i know which files to burn? And if it DOES allow me to choose a download folder and i do that the\n burn them, how will i know which folder to put them in at home?

All you're downloading are updates, not the actual game files. The actual install, before you update anything, works like a normal install - you can choose the folder and whatnot. Then once they are all updated, take them home and put them in the same paths, just to be safe.

Also, the GCFs are pretty big! There are some that might not fit on a standard CD. You might have to split them up into archives, if you can. It could take a fair few CDs to get all the GCFs.

If it takes too long and i quit in the middle of the download, is there anything i should know about getting it to work after i put the files i download from work in the correct folders? i mean, will it still keep trying to go to steam online and download the files?

Now that's something I'm not sure of....technically, if you take a 97% updated file and put it in the same folders at home, then it should still try to update as normal. It will also mean that you can't play HL2 offline until it's done. I'm not sure if it will work like that, though!

It has worked like that for me....I had to format not long back, so I just burned my entire Steam folder to DVD. I then put it all back in the exact same place, and was able to play offline still. Then when I went back online, HL2 updated as normal. There are a lot of variables though, and if there is something slightly different about your file set-up, I dunno....

 

[Unfocused]

Don't you have any friends with broadband? Just bring the harddrive to them and they'll download the content for you (I guess it shouldn't be a problem for a friend).

 

[Laivasse]

So you're saying it's the online multiplayer part of the game which is responsible for most of the big download, and that if i stop it from doing that the download will be much smaller? If so, can you give me a step by step from the beginning to end of the install process to get singleplayer working w/o cs downloads?

Eih, my own method was more of a spit and sellotape kind of thing, but I'll have a go...

If you're installing at home:

1) choose to install HL2 and CS Source
2) steam will try to update itself
3) once steam is working you'll have the steam window, with all Valve games listed - go to CS source and set it to "do not automatically update this game" - HOPEFULLY this should stop it updating, but you might have to restart steam
4) keep checking HL2 properties in the same window until it is 100%...you should then be ready to play offline (disconnect from the net and Steam wont attempt to connect).
This process took me about 2 hours iirc

If you're installing at work:
1) choose to install HL2 and CS in the same file path you would have it in at home
2) install, and wait until HL2 is updated....actually if your connection is blinding wait until *everything* is updated
3) back-up HL2, bring it home and put it in the same place on your comp
OR
3) back-up just the GCFs, install steam at home and let it update, then stick the GCF's in YourDrive:/Yourpaths/Valve/Steam/SteamApps

It's the backing up part that could be complex there, due to the size of some of the files - 2 are over 1Gb, many are not much smaller than that. There are 6 really big files, some of those will not fit on a standard CD. Of all of the Gcfs, some are not essential to HL2, but are needed for other games. Not sure which, though. I could tell you the size of all of mine put together, but it's misleading, because I installed HL2DM and recently dl'ed all the really big updates: mine's over 5Gb, but I remember it being a little smaller when I backed it up. If you're backing up to DVD, bring 2 to be safe.

edit - I should add that I don't think it matters if you can't get the entire thing updated at once on dial-up. Spend a while updating HL2, disconnect half way, go back on and continue - should be ok. But you wont be able to play it offline until it's done.

 

[oczad]

Yea, sounds like the files are way to big to do it at work. I think i'll have a go at trying to find a crack for it. I don't know what else to do if the D/L is too much for dial up. Besides, i paid for the damn thing, so if valve doesn't like the idea of a crack they can take the game back and give me my friggin money back ! I'll tell you this...i will not buy another valve game, period. I just hope thier sales suffer more from driving people away with this garbage than they would have from piracy w/o using steam.

 

[^Ben]

Snore.

Install steam FIRST and then right click on the games in the STEAM PLAY GAMES WINDOW and select "do not automatically update game" voila, it dosent update anything.

Although I would suggest letting it update JUST HL2 because of some bug fixes and engine optimisations, but those updates are quite small at best.

and then once all that is set up, click "browse games" and then "register a product I already own" and just input your cd key and hey presto non updating game.

 

[kupocake]

Besides, i paid for the damn thing, so if valve doesn't like the idea of a crack they can take the game back and give me my friggin money back ! I'll tell you this...i will not buy another valve game, period. I just hope thier sales suffer more from driving people away with this garbage than they would have from piracy w/o using steam.

If you use the crack, Valve will likely have ways of finding out. If you return here and say "OMG! VALVE BANNED MY ACCOUNT!", I will find out your address and hit you on the head with the "I told you so" Hammer: If you resort to cracking the game, Valve will likely resort to "taking the game back from you". No money for you though

Sadly, though the Steam process is an annoying one, you have to accept that you one little vigil of boycotting Valve's games isn't going to work. You're a dial-up user with a PC capable of running Half-Life 2. You're the last of a dying breed. Besides, I don't see how the HL2 updates are so big that you can't just leave it running overnight and then once it's authenticated, you switch onto offline mode and never connect again.

 

[Laivasse]

Should also note that the file decryption bit of the installation process can take a while, but some people say that that's down to your comp speed, rather than your connection.

Snore.

Install steam FIRST and then right click on the games in the STEAM PLAY GAMES WINDOW and select "do not automatically update game" voila, it dosent update anything.

Although I would suggest letting it update JUST HL2 because of some bug fixes and engine optimisations, but those updates are quite small at best.

and then once all that is set up, click "browse games" and then "register a product I already own" and just input your cd key and hey presto non updating game.

If he doesn't update HL then he wont be able to play offline, which I think was his main hang-up.

 

[^Ben]

You can still play offline IIRC if you have specifically set it up NOT to update automatically, im currently testing this on a VM machine.

 

[Laivasse]

You can still play offline IIRC if you have specifically set it up NOT to update automatically, im currently testing this on a VM machine.

Really?? Maybe that can happen sometimes, but it's pretty temperamental. I had HL2 at 98% once and set it not to update, but it kept telling me it wasn't ready to play offline. But I also have a vague memory of another time where I went online, it started to update, I told it not to, then restarted Steam and it was 100%. I don't think that happens all the time though.

 

[^Ben]

Well for some reason when ever I reinstall HL2 from "old" gcf's it's always set to "do not update" and it lets me play, im curently testing this.

 

[Asus]

Hope you get to play. It's a lot of fun.

FYI Internet is stated in their requirements.

 

[oczad]

Well, almost 3 hours from install to complete downloads on dial up. Now the game doesn't work. I'm literally getting about 1 FPS if that. This game is BS. No other game even comes close to this kind of trouble. Had i know this they'd have had to pay ME to get it.

 

[DiSTuRbEd]

I'm literally getting about 1 FPS if that. This game is BS.

Game isn't bs, its something with your hardware if you are getting 1fps....:|

 

[Hectic Glenn]

What are your system specs? Also do you have your latest nvidia, or ati catalyst drivers installed? What card do you have? Have you tried turning down the settings?

Also, for many many people there is no trouble at all, but remeber, the problems are all YOUR side, how can valve be blamed for the fact you only have 56k open to you for short times. They are stopping piracy (so people like you who bought the game get a fair deal). If the game runs slow on your machine, YOU have the problem, the game works for 98% of people great. Cut it some slack, once you get playing you'll be hooked, let that negative energy be channeled into something more productive.

 

[oczad]

Well, it started working for whatever reason. My PC is pretty new with a P4 3.0, radeon 9800 and a gig of dual channel DDR, so that wasn't the problem. Anyway, i'm having a problem figuring out where to go. I downloaded a walkthru and printed it out but found that after the 1st 5 or 10 loading points it ended. i thought it was the full walkthru. I'll have to get another. but anyway the problem is that unlike farcry for example, which has a radar, theres nothing to let you know where you're supposed to go. so i had to read a few sentances of the WT and play for a minute, then pause and read again, then play, etc etc. Any ideas as to a better way to play it w/o having to do that? i realize i could just wander around till i find the right way, but i really don't wanna spend hours running around to get to the next loading point, or map or whatever you'd call it.

 

[Asus]

Ah but that's the fun of HL2. It's not as free as Farcry so you don't need a radar to direct you. It's designed to let you flow through the lvl without going the wrong direction. And figuring out what to do and also the puzzles are for you to think through and have fun.

Just keep your eyes open and look for the way the lvl flows. A broken fence, bunch of boxes blocking the way, hole in the roof or ladder going down. If you just keep walking strait you will run into a dead end and wonder where to go.

 

[oczad]

well see, heres the thing. Last nite i went where i thought i was supposed to at one point and ended up on a sewer chamber where i spent 1/2 hour trying to figure a way out. Now i'm no gamer really, but honestly, i'm not stupid ! There was no way out that i could find. the only exit was a pipe and i could not find a way up into it. I couldn't stanck things to jump up on or walk pipes to it or any of that. Now maybe i'm just not savy as HL2 goes, (well, no doubt about that) but i want to enjoy the game, not make it into work. I do that 8 hours a day and thats plenty for me. Plus i didn't buy the game expecting a puzzle. I was hoping it was a FPS!

That said, hopfully the learning curve will not take too long and things will fall into place after that.

 

[Hectic Glenn]

Yeah well the game will progress in difficulty, try and work these things out, and you'll pick it up eventually. The puzzles in HL2 arent that taxing, they are mostly associated with physics or turning the occassional valve. Remember you can use the bouyancy, weight etc of physical objects to solve things. Nothing is really that complex. Dont use a walk thru, you can do it without one easily. You'll love it, stick with it.

 

[Laivasse]

BTW if you're describing the place I'm thinking of, it'sa physics puzzle. Just deal with it the way you might irl.

Weight one end of the plank with bricks, and use it to get up to that ledge. I actually didn't figure that out the first time through the game and just built some steps out of bricks - still worked + didn't take long. HL2 is a very flexible game.

 

[oczad]

Yea, i did the brick/see saw thing because it was in the walkthru. Thats not where i'm describing at all. I would assume the game would be designed so that there are no areas you could end up in that have no way out. But still for the life of me i could not find a way out of that sewer chamber.

Anyway, can someone tell me how to get past the opening scene. You know, the "good morning Mr freeman" before point insertion. In far cry for example you can hit spacebar and it bypasses cutscenes. Is there a way with HL2?

Also, anyone know of a place i can find descriptions of all the player functions in the options list? (movement, attack, and all the player key bind functions) Some aren't obvious to me like that gravity funtion and a few others.

 

[JellyWorld]

Yea, i did the brick/see saw thing because it was in the walkthru. Thats not where i'm describing at all. I would assume the game would be designed so that there are no areas you could end up in that have no way out. But still for the life of me i could not find a way out of that sewer chamber.

Anyway, can someone tell me how to get past the opening scene. You know, the "good morning Mr freeman" before point insertion. In far cry for example you can hit spacebar and it bypasses cutscenes. Is there a way with HL2?

Also, anyone know of a place i can find descriptions of all the player functions in the options list? (movement, attack, and all the player key bind functions) Some aren't obvious to me like that gravity funtion and a few others.

There's only two cutscenes in the whole game And I don't see the difference between downloadeding huge patches off the web and downloading huge patches off steam. To tell the truth, I've never personally met anyone in like 5 years who uses dialup. Probably because broadband is cheaper than dialup here Why do you people use dialup?

 

[Laivasse]

There's only two cutscenes in the whole game And I don't see the difference between downloadeding huge patches off the web and downloading huge patches off steam. To tell the truth, I've never personally met anyone in like 5 years who uses dialup. Probably because broadband is cheaper than dialup here Why do you people use dialup?

Some places have to use dial-up because broadband isn't available in the area. I hear it's a big problem in Australia, and in the UK it's more common a problem than you would think. A lot of broadband deals in the UK also try to screw you over with low download limits,etc. The prices have gotten better recently, but they're still not especially great.

There is no place in the game where there is no way out - all places have a linear path. There's another place I think you might be talking about - big pipe, runs to dead-end (and shootout) in an outside area? If so, you need to get on the pipe from there and walk back along it.

But yeah most of the player functions are elementary - press 'e' (default) for almost anything that isn't a gun, eg, door, picking something up, lever, switch, valve, etc. Default is ctrl for crouch and shift for limited sprint, then f for flashlight, z for optic zoom, r for reload weapon. All the instructions come up on screen as they become relevant. You wont need to worry about the gravity gun until later.

 

[kupocake]

The prices have gotten better recently, but they're still not especially great.

Nonsense. UK Broadband prices are not the best in the world, but the price increase from Dialup to Broadband is nothing substantial. Because I used to have two lines to have dialup and phone working simultaneously, ADSL actually works out cheaper. I use Eclipse: good speed, no limits. The dialup dilemna is simply one of whether it's available or not.

 

[Laivasse]

Nonsense. UK Broadband prices are not the best in the world, but the price increase from Dialup to Broadband is nothing substantial. Because I used to have two lines to have dialup and phone working simultaneously, ADSL actually works out cheaper. I use Eclipse: good speed, no limits. The dialup dilemna is simply one of whether it's available or not.

Most of the best deals involve you changing your line (from say BT to something else), which for some peoople isn't practical.. Other than those ones, every deal fulfils 2 out of 3 of cheap, good or fast.

It doesn't work out much more expensive than dial-up, you're right, but there are still a lot of turn-offs - obligatory 12 monthers, download limits, etc...

 

[Crowbar 15]

There was a massive update on on one of the PC GAMER (UK) discs, took up one side of the DVD!!! Just register with Steam and (if you can) install the update from the DVD

 

[oczad]

Why do you people use dialup?

See, this is a case of someone who thinks the rest of the world thinks the same as them, is in the same situation as them, same likes, dislikes, motives, etc etc etc. I'm sorry that sounds offensive, but i simple gotta say that this is 100% subjective depending on any number of things involving the individual. yet every time anything comes up that has to do with my connection i get this then have to explain myself. Whats that got to do with anything? I have my reasons and would think it should just be assumed so. But over and over i keep getting this instead of simply addressing the issue. It's like saying you like chocolate ice cream and asking what brand is best, then someone chimes in with why you shouldn't eat ice cream. It's besides the point and they should simply assume the person has thier reasons and leave it be.

Thats said, here ya go since it seems so important to you...

1-I have no need for a fast connection with rare exceptions like this which crop up maybe twice a year

2-i pay $0, zero, zilth, nada for my dial up

3-the cheapest broadband in my area is $20+ a month. Considering need it at most a couple times a year, and for nothing real important, and that i do not play online games, why would i wanna pay $20+ a month more than i pay now which is as i said zero? Think about it.......$20x12=$240 a year for what? To download some game patches twice?! Thats $120 per download.

Have i made my point or do you consider $120 a fair price to download HL2 patches?

 

[Beerdude26]

Now, back to the problem.
Is your hard drive fragmented? (you installed/uninstalled LOTS of files over a short time span, or haven't formatted the drive in a few years)
If it is, HL2 WILL go slow. Honestly, I've got the same specs as you (except RAM, thats 512MB) and I thought, "Hey, this computer is WAY beyond recommended requirements, it'll work".
Guess again! I had to run it on 640X480, No AA or (the other performance consuming thingy, forgot it lol). Quality and all the rest was on high. IT LAGGED LIKE NO GAME HAD EVER LAGGED BEFORE. Seriously. I finished the game (a bit pissed) and continued my unhealthy and dangerous way of life (throwing bricks into the air and waiting for them to come down again). Then I defragmented my drive, installed a mod that made the game MORE intensive, and I could run HL2 on 800X600 everything maxed out.
Hope this helped!
(Btw, that dangerous life thing was just a joke )

Second btw : You don't have to pay for dial-up? I always thought it went through your phone line...

 

[DiSTuRbEd]

oczad, people have downloaded patches on 56k fine, just takes a bit longer, in this day in age, if you have 56k and want to patch ANYTHING, its going to be awhile, its something you must get use to.

 

[oczad]

You don't have to pay for dial-up? I always thought it went through your phone line

Yea, but a phone line is necassary for other reasons so it's already there whether or not i have a computer. That would be the same as saying someone gave me a free TV then you telling me it's not free because i have to pay rent for the house i keep the TV in. So yes, the dial up IS free.

Anyway, as far as the PC, it's well maintained including regular defrags. but HL2 is working fine now anyway so thats water under the bridge.

oczad, people have downloaded patches on 56k fine, just takes a bit longer, in this day in age, if you have 56k and want to patch ANYTHING, its going to be awhile, its something you must get use to.

I'm fully aware of that. It's pretty obvious. But the point wasn't that i expect anything more than that, but that Valve in thier infinate wisdom decided to side-step piracy by using a system that demands you either use broadband to install the game or wait for what could be a day if you have dial up and there happens to be a lot of new patches avalable over and above what your perticular CD's contain depending on when they were made. And because of that i believe they should tell you that. They say you need a connection, but they don't tell you it should be a broadband unless you can tie up your phone line for 2 to ? hours. It took me 3 hours to install a friggin game ! I'm sorry, but thats just not acceptable IMO. Not acceptable that the company has gone so far in trying to ward off piracy that they've decided to make the legit buyer pay the price, and after all that even charge about as high a price for the game in the 1st place as i have ever seen ! You may love the game and feel i'm being pissy about this, but it's people who won't accept terms like this that keep it from being even more previlent than it is. If unlike myself you all allow them to keep doing this by buying thier product at PREMIUM prices and putting up with this BS, the next game will require you to sell your first born to install it. It's just wrong, thats all there is to it. WRONG. I paid $20 for Far Cry and so far it's looking like HL2 isn't near the game it is, plus the entire install was 5 minutes. Thats how it should be. Not like buying a house...it's a friggin game ! Sorry for the rant, but i just don't understand how a company can ream you a new one so badly and everyone gladly pays a premium price for them to do so with a smile.

 

[Beerdude26]

You don't have to pay for dial-up? I always thought it went through your phone line

I meant, that when you use dial-up, it activates your phone line and it starts costing money! Just like when you would pick up the phone and call someone. And dial-up has the worst price/dl-upl comparison EVER.

 

[DiSTuRbEd]

Sorry for the rant, but i just don't understand how a company can ream you a new one so badly and everyone gladly pays a premium price for them to do so with a smile.

Sorry but not everyone is getting "ream"ed. You would be downloading the patches anyways even without VALVe, but its much easier now, you don't have to go look for servers to get the patches from, etc.

 

[oczad]

I meant, that when you use dial-up, it activates your phone line and it starts costing money! Just like when you would pick up the phone and call someone. And dial-up has the worst price/dl-upl comparison EVER

It doesn't cost me anything because the numbers i use are toll free.

Sorry but not everyone is getting "ream"ed. You would be downloading the patches anyways even without VALVe, but its much easier now, you don't have to go look for servers to get the patches from, etc.

True, those who don't have BB aren't. but the point is some like me are and aren't warned of this when they buy the game. Yes, the say internet is nedded, but no, they don't tell you if you have dial up it takes a good 3 hours to install or that in some cases it could be much longer. For Close to 60 bucks i don't find that acceptable nor do i think my finding it unacceptable should be considered nit picking.

as for downloads, with other games if i want certiain downloads it's optional, not to mention i can download them at work. But with HL2 we aren't talking about optional add-ons. We're talking about downloads that have to be done or the game cannot be played. Thats the difference between a FC or other game download and HL2 download.

 

[^Ben]

I've got the cure for you.

Buy an xbox.

Or because you have free dial up, leave your PC on overnight. I dunno how long only half life 2 would take but it only took me about 10-20 minutes to update on 512k broadband.