New Aftermath Screenshots

[Dario D.]

Personally I don't doubt how good the game will be.

Valve made HL2 didnt they? Best stuff on earth... they can do it again; who better? They made HL and HL2. They're good game designers; if it's coming out dumb, they'll fix it.

The expansion will most likely blow our socks off to some degree. If lenghty E3 movies couldn't prepare us for the awesomeness of HL2, then how can we judge this expansion by screenshots alone?

I want to see it in action Of course it will pwn. :thumbs: They'll think of ways to make a good game. They're Valve; good game designers.

 

[filmguy123]

indeed. the expansion should be more of the same, much like opposing force. this is a good thing. not sure if it will blow our socks off like HL2 did, since we've seen the tech/gameplay before. But I expect a good 8-10 hours of thoroughly enjoyable gameplay. It better not be some 4-5 hour deal.

 

[Icewolf717]

Translated by google....


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' Half phu 2: After every su ' screen syas #1





' Half phu 2: After every su ' screen syas #2


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Valve software ' half phu 2' for a production with 3 dimension graphic engine ' sources which it devises especially ' it will be able to embody a head of a family actuality physical epidemiology law from game in order, it helps, ' the summer-wear 2' the engine it introduces, to me to give, position situation it will be identical with an actuality and it will judge and it will confront and and is the possibility where it will feel and the game environment which is constructed the maximum feature of game.





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(2005. 04. 19)


[ Kwen Young possibility journalist [email protected] ]

 

[bliink]

Steam-only release?

Soon they will be burning Valve products in the streets.

Thats a contradiction in terms.

Maybe they'll burn their credit card receipts

 

[Cruor]

its not a surprise its steam only. thats the whole point of steam. Valve made it so that someday, developers could release their products directly, via online-distrib. This is a good thing. It means games being released when they are ready, money straight to publishers which will likely resulted in boosted morale/motivation and thus better games.

Anyway its a brilliant move for Valve. HL2 requires steam, so everyone who owns it already uses it and recieves content updates regularly. They are used to it now. So it is easy to release over steam without losing sales. It will pop right up and say buy now, play now! And all the money goes right to Valve's pocket. I doubt they'll lose many, if any, sales.

And even if they 'lose' some sales from people who would have bought only in the store (for who knows why), they'll still make more money, since they get all the money from the steam sales instead of a fraction from store sales. So bob who would buy either way, but go store if store was available, will buy Steam instead now and give Valve 3x the money than if he had gone store. This makes up for 2 people who they 'lost' a sale to.

Anyway, this is the way all software is headed in the future, and its not a bad thing. So best be getting used to it now...

Only problem with this little developers revolution is that I don't want 15-20 of steam-like applications on my computer requiring me to be connected to play my games and hogging up my resources. So if it stays with Valve then fine but if it spreads to other gamedevelpers then hell no...

 

[Dario D.]

- I predict Valve will eat this one, and never release a game on Steam ever again. Not after the kind of protest I predict is in store from gamers throughout the world... Every magazine and related tv show on the planet is going to ridicule the idea. :O

 

[filmguy123]

Only problem with this little developers revolution is that I don't want 15-20 of steam-like applications on my computer requiring me to be connected to play my games and hogging up my resources. So if it stays with Valve then fine but if it spreads to other gamedevelpers then hell no...

Yes that's a valid point, but it most likely WILL be like that, and there's nothing we'll be able to do. However it doesn't bother me, as I'm sure the way it will work will be a bit different. Many programs have auto-updates on them now, and ppl play online all the time. I think the online downloader/checker will be built into the game itself, which will cause the game to take more resources. It's not a problem for me with HyperThreading and 1GB Ram... but not everyone has that though. However, in a few years, everyone WILL have that, and probably better - more RAM and dual cores. It won't even be an issue. In the worse case scenerio, that every game would have its own steam (which I highly doubt), its not even that terribly big of a deal. Since you're only running one game at once, you'd only be running one "steam-like" app at once. Sure, it would take maybe 10mb extra for every steam like app, but thats negligible. But as for memory, only one would be loaded at a time, and ideally would auto-quit upon exiting the game.

Perhaps it will be something more like direct-2-drive , or perhaps it will be an application something like Steam (or Steam itself, if valve licenses it to other developers. then it would just login to different servers depending on the game). Or maybe it will only be a seperate app and required to download the game and thats it. Who knows. But things will be online-delivery based.

Personally, I like Steam. I don't have a problem with the extra memory it takes; I only run it when playing HL2. I like purchasing things straight online, and I like supporting valve. I like all the easy to manage content updates and mod managing. It is very stream lined, easy to keep things up to date, and I like the online server browsing and how it is integrated into the game menus. Me, I give Steam a thumbs up.

 

[Resvrgam]

"Operating System not available at this time...please try again later."

Steam is what's left over when you leave a big pile of shit out in ths cold.

Taking tangible ownership away from consumers under the aupsices of "sticking it to the big, bad publisher" only fools the weak-of-mind for so long.

Valve grabbed consumers by the man-berries when they pulled this "You need to connect to the internet in order to play one of the MOST hotly anticipated Single-Player games of this decade."

I'm not one to think it's cool to be pesimistic or to bash a company for trying something new but seriously, Steam is like Communism - better on paper than in practice.

 

[Funky Munky]

Does anyone know a price for this yet $30? Or something?

 

[omikron]

soon we will buy games via programs like steam only and there wont be any boxes in shops so we may as well get use to it now. good initiative from Valve pushing things forward. (bye bye to student discounts tho

 

[Apostle11]

Nothing new yet, as has been said, these could have been screens from HL2 from scrapped ideas or something. I hope they put some new stuff in-game, by stuff I mean models, textures, maybe a new vehicle?

 

[Glo-Boy]

I was gonna say, at least one of these is from the Beta. These aren't new screens to anyone at all. Ever.

 

[Gunner]

GNASoft, the Korean publishers of Steam have released a bundle of new screenshots.

LOL...

 

[polyguns]

This is such a great and important argument we're having for gamers. Steam, wether you like it or not, is revolutionary in gaming.

The go steam and go valve people are forgetting the most important victim in this, which they always do, which is the local game vendor.

its easy with a class warfare mentality to be "yea, valve is sticking it to the big guy, damn VU" but they are also sticking it to your neighbors, at your local gaming store.

They are also sticking it to fans. Fans without broadband, fans without internet at all, or a credit card. All to play a single player game?

I have my doubts that the steam like practice will spread. companies jsut don't have the fanatical fanbase like steam that will allow them to do anything, no matter how shady, and still have hundreds of thousands who will drop money into their pockets.

Its not like valve is hurting for cash, they do love screwing over their publisher, out of greed or whatever, bitterness, either way it doesn't seem healthy to me. It also tells me that they are much more concerned about getting the most money out of their games as possible, and not satisifying their fanbase by providing for all of them "by means of retail dist and no online requirement".

it will be evident, valve games will not go down in price. they won't pass the cost on to the consumer, or use the money to make extra content. hl2 was $50, still is i think, at my store. They will charge for this. Which was prolly cut content from hl2 anyways.


whatever, don't matter to me, i ain't buyin it . Unless i get a box

 

[Lemonking]

those are old.....wait is Aftermath just recycled BS then???

 

[Resvrgam]

Steam feels as hostile to consumers as MMOG business practices...without the Massively-Multiplayer novelty.

I guess the days of firing up old games for another romp through memory-lane are a thing of the past.

I'm already seeing it now: Someone dusts off their retail copy of HL2, installs it and then gets some bizarre message like "Steam Server Not Available...please try installing later." It's like an MMOG now: consumers can't play the product they purchased whenever they want anymore....I wouldn't be surprised if Valve started charging people a monthly fee to play their $50+ single-player games.

In such a volatile, hit-driven market, Valve could make that unthinkable 'bad game' sooner or later and when enough bad games are made; the company goes under (and thanks to Steam - takes games like HL2 with them). Perhaps it won't even need a bad game so much as an economical crash that factors like increased oil prices seem to be implying for our near future.

So, in the end, no one wins with business practices like this...especially not the consumer. In their *proven usless* tactics to combat piracy, Joe-Average-Consumer seems to be a casualty of this war.

If hostile business practices like Steam are given creedence, we can all kiss privacy, consumer rights and the illusion of tangible ownership goodbye. Polyguns brought up a very interesting point: how come the Steam version of the HL2 distro wasn't a lot cheaper (if at all) than the supposedly more expensive retail SKU version published by VU?

Oh yeah: Go Greed!

Oh well, that's just my take on this matter. I doubt whining in a forum thread will make much of a difference but hopefully someone will take something from away from this and realize how consumer rights are going the way of the Dodo thanks to business practices like Steam.

 

[filmguy123]

1.) If steam/valve go under, they will undoubtebly release a patch to allow the game to be played without need for authenticating through steam servers. No, the days of firing up old games are NOT gone.

2.) Gone are the days of tangible ownership? If you read the EULA you'll realize thats only an illusion anyway. You have never once owned a game, you LICENSE games. They are not yours, it's like a permanent rental. There are many things people do with their games that are against the EULA, and with the online stuff, it enforces better. Perhaps you don't like it, but it is completely fair.

3.) Steam did not prove useless in combating piracy. Unless you define useful as completely eliminating the possibility to pirate a game, which will probably never happen. Steam stopped an early release of the game, and delayed a properly working cracked version, encouraging more sales. Playing mods, playing online, receiving updates - all important, though not critical, are extremely difficult without a retail version. In any case, their MAIN goal was not to combat piracy, but to move to online distribution and increase revenue.

4.) "Sticking it your neighbors at the local game store"? That's interesting. I think it will be years before all content moves to online distrib, so local game stores will be around for a while. I think they will eventually be, for the most part (though not completely) phased out. This isn't a bad thing, its simply a change in direction. That's like saying DVDs & TiVo are sticking it the poor VCR repair shops or VHS rental tape stores, and Pay-Per-View and online rentals are sticking it to the local rental stores. Its simply a shift. Companies go out of business as things change, and new businesses open.

5.) Sticking it to fans without broadband, internet, or credit cards... uh-huh. One, think long term. In a few years as this begins to take over, everyone will have broadband internet. Modems will be all but extinct soon. Money itself is moving more and more to digital transaction and credit/debit cards. Anyone who doesn't have a credit/debit card is either a kid, whose parents can order for them, or simply needs to a get a card of some sort to be able to do many things that you simply can't do with cash/check only.

And as for internet, in a few years when its even more common, its like saying to release a movie on DVD only (no VHS version) is 'sticking' it to the poor consumers who still have only VCRs. Honestly, thats the consumers problem. I'm sure you've upgraded your 486 by now. Time to upgrade your internet.

The truth is, the amount of people who won't buy due to no broadband/credit card is so small, it is negligible. Sorry if you're one of them, but from a business point of view, its just the way it is. No one develops based around the lowest technology, they develop around what is mainstream. This is what drives technology and improvement. While many times they develop with backwards compabitility in mind, that only lasts so long. You can still play HL2 on an older graphics card, but you're not gonna play it without a CD-ROM drive and with no graphics card. Eventually things get phased out, and in a few years time 56k will all be phased out.


And this one just cracks me up... its not like Valve is hurting for cash, why not charge us less? LOL... WHY? The standard for games is $50, while often you can find deals in retail stores for as low as $30, $50 IS the standard, and its not like HL2 is not worth it. A day of snowboarding costs about $40-$45, weeks of entertainment (probably more for multi) at only $50? Even the single player alone, if you beat it in one (long) day, is still worth it. I'd be upset if they were charging $100 for a game, but few ppl would actually buy it if they did.

Valve has every right not to pass along their "savings" to us. What would be the point then? A business exists to make money. Why go through all the trouble of developing online distrib, managing it, paying for servers, fighting VU, to make exactly the same amount as a retail sale? They like making awesome games, and they, like anyone else, like getting paid for it. They are not being unfair. You shouldnt expect them to pass along savings to you. I am self-employed, if I develop a better more effecient way to make my products (same quality), that means I make more money. I'm not going to say "oh good, now i can charge people less" when I am already charging a fair price. I am going to say "oh good, this is a raise for me. I also now have incentive to continue to find better ways of doing things."


Statements like "it is obvious that they don't care about their fanbase and won't make extra content" are ridicioulous. One, they have proven this to be the opposite - releasing multiple maps, weapons, patches, fixes etc. for their game. They even released the DM mode. You can say "this should have been in the original" or whatever, but it WASNT, and you knew it before you bought it. Valve doesn't owe you anything except what they said they'd deliver, and that you got when you got HL2 "as is" on that first day of release. Everything else is above and beyond. Valve takes better care of their community better than any other company/developer I have seen, and releases for more additional content, on a regular basis, for free, than any other game I am aware of. To think they "owe" all this additional content and community support to people free of charge is ridiculous. And to think its simply out of love for the community is also ignorant; its a business plan. Releasing updates and taking care of the community is a business strategy to build loyal customers and make more sales, since people know "when I buy HL2 I get lots of continual updates and great customer service." There is always incentive in it for the business. And its not wrong or evil, its simply "the facts of life." Someday if you are in business you will understand. There are examples of bad business, valve is not one of them - quite the contrary. And the service, support, and updates, not to mention the game itself, is a great value at $50.

 

[polyguns]

good comeback to the video on demand thing. the difference is , if i want to watch a video, i can get it on tape, i can buy it at the store, i can buy it off a friend, i can rent it on dvd, or wait for it to come out on hbo, if i didn't see it at the movies first.

with hl2, or any new valve products (since i doubt they will ever get another publisher who will want to work with them after seeing how spiteful and vindictive they are) I will have the option of getting broadband, and downloading it in a few hours, or get dial up, and download it in a couple days with no phone capabilities. If i live in a dorm, where I don't control my firewall, well im just screwed.

I understand in a free market in america, no one is garunteed a place, and thank goodness consoles will prolly dominate for at least another decade, and the rate at which gamers grows, they will prolly prosper.


oh, and valve does owe us something, THE HYDRA ! they did state alot through screens or whatever that would be in the game that wasn't there when i got it.

the thing is that when others go this trend, it wuold cut into their profits, and also hurt the physicalized social communities that tend to go with games.

im wondering when hl2 comes out for the x-box, will you have to install a version of steam on xbox live to play it?

 

[Pi Mu Rho]

oh, and valve does owe us something, THE HYDRA ! they did state alot through screens or whatever that would be in the game that wasn't there when i got it.

Screenshots/videos of early versions of the game do not count as any kind of promise.

hen hl2 comes out for the x-box, will you have to install a version of steam on xbox live to play it?

No.

 

[Resvrgam]

Without getting into any type of flame war over differences in idealologies; Steam sucks (IMO):

1.) Valve releasing a patch to play the game without the need to contact a server imbedded into the executable after they go belly-up? Doubtful. Profit dictates there's no necessity in legacy support. We live in a disposable world and when there's no profit to be gained in supporting an old product because a minority would like to install a game for a deceased company, the game remains inaccessible.... Tribes 2 anyone? Anyone read the fine print on BF1942's retail box?

2.) Despite whatever the EULA defines as "ownership," I'm not given any hassle to install my copy of Betrayal at Krondor and play it - regardless of the fact that Dynamix (its developer) has long since died a gruesome death. Heck, everytime I upgrade my computer with anything substantial, I have to call Microsoft and ask them if I can use the $200.00 Operating System I legitimately purchased from them. Anytime a consumer has to contact an exterior source in order to use a product they purchased (see: not rented), its another blow to consumer rights.

3.) Steam was a nuisance to the honest consumer and hasn't really slowed down any real pirates from gaining access to their products. Half-Life 2's Alpha-leak was proof positive of how insecure Valve's systems are.

4.) I could care less about online distribution vs. brick-and-mortar publishing so much as I retain some tangible piece of the product I purchased: be it an executable installer I can burn to media, a snail-mailed CD-ROM/DVD-ROM copy of said product or something that says I still possess the product I purchased after a harddrive or other mechanical failure. Regardless of how I attain the product itself is of no consequence to me in those regards.

5.) Suggested Retail Values are determined by the costs per-capita (aka: how much the product costs and how much profit a company can expect from a single SKU). If the costs for production are greatly reduced, why shouldn't the savings be passed on to the consumer? If the product is truly great, it will still attain larger profits than inferior products that possess higher prices.

It seems we have differences in opinion about Steam and the hostilities it has inflicted upon consumers, but I think we can both agree (regardless of our opinion on the matter); This is the future of software.

 

[Deleter]

maybe this was mentioned earlier, i only skimmed the last two pages, but maybe the reason this has the same textures, and has old looking pics, and very little new content, and hl2 didnt seem quite finished....see where im going? its a little far fetched , i know but who knows?
As far as 15-20 steam apps, there is a possibility you might have one that does a lot of games? I mean, these stupid IM programs, there is at least a handful of them ,do they expect me to have every IM program to be able to talk to everyone? no, just get trillian or something. Its different i know, but it might happen. A second note, how many games do you play and keep on your system at a time? I play like 2 or 3....it probably wont be anywhere near as big of a deal as you all say. Considering that if such a thing happened companies would lose money to pissed of consumers. so, i think they will make it reasonable, maybe not at first, but in 2-3 years time it will be all sorted out. or else steam will be the only app like it because every other company sees all the complaints about it....sorry for all the words....

 

[rpgprog]

maybe this was mentioned earlier, i only skimmed the last two pages, but maybe the reason this has the same textures, and has old looking pics, and very little new content, and hl2 didnt seem quite finished....see where im going? its a little far fetched , i know but who knows?
As far as 15-20 steam apps, there is a possibility you might have one that does a lot of games? I mean, these stupid IM programs, there is at least a handful of them ,do they expect me to have every IM program to be able to talk to everyone? no, just get trillian or something. Its different i know, but it might happen. A second note, how many games do you play and keep on your system at a time? I play like 2 or 3....it probably wont be anywhere near as big of a deal as you all say. Considering that if such a thing happened companies would lose money to pissed of consumers. so, i think they will make it reasonable, maybe not at first, but in 2-3 years time it will be all sorted out. or else steam will be the only app like it because every other company sees all the complaints about it....sorry for all the words....

you dont have nearly as many words as some of the others

and to Resvrgam :
i think Steam is good because it saved me the hassle of having to go out and buy it and waiting for it to arrive by mail. And you can burn it to CD so wat are you complaining about.

 

[Pesmerga]

Pi Mu Rho, why do you always have to sound so...authorative all the time?
*Pesmerga rubs Pi Mu Rho's shoulders*

Anyway, things like Steam are a gift from da lord, if you ask me. Way better than WON or GaySpy.

 

[AzzMan]

Oh yea and btw a no-steam crack was released the day after HL2 was released......

 

[Dario D.]

The day after? I believe they had the first crack ready when the 1st copy left the factory converyor belt :naughty:

Just playing with ya

 

[Pi Mu Rho]

Most games are cracked before they even hit the shelves. Doom 3 was available to download several weeks before you could buy it in Europe.
HL2 wasn't cracked until after it was released. No game is crack-proof, but HL2 did far, far better than most.

 

[Garfield_]

Maps got atmosphere and looks realistic and cold

 

[Rickyohead]

any ideas on the cost of the expansion? HL2 was expensive enough ($55). In the future, I'll spend $60 for HL3 no problem, I just hope the expansion is a fair price.

 

[UltraProAnti]

If it costs something, you'll need a CC - so how are people too young to have a CC going to get it?

 

[Ames]

If it costs something, you'll need a CC - so how are people too young to have a CC going to get it?

If they're too young to get a credit card, then they shouldn't be allowed to play. However, this would also rule out people who are old enough yet can't get a credit card because of some financial dealy.

They can still get it from their parents or friends though.