question order through steam and burn?

[PoiSoNSpiDeR]

if we order through steam and use the preload thing, could you potentialy still burn half life 2 onto a cd? and have multiplayer and all that stuff still work. just so you can have an actual physical copy? :burp:

 

[Roland Deschain]

In the end HL2 is only a CD-key. It'll be just like Doom 3, where you can download the game for free of the internet before the game even hits stores, and only your CD-key distinguished you from those free loaders.

 

[PoiSoNSpiDeR]

im gonna buy half life 2

so if i wanted it on cd and i didnt know how to zip it up n stuff

i could just download half life 2 on the net

and since i would have payed for my cd key then the version i downloaded and burned should work also when i enter my cd key you know what i mean. if i used the downloaded version 1 day with a real cd key

 

[Roland Deschain]

Yep, as long as you pay for it, download it a million times, and Valve doesn't care. They have your money in their pockets and you have your precious CD-key (which you will lose eventually ). Of course, Valve will start having a problem if you distribute these downloaded and burned CD's, but that law for you.

 

[thehunter1320]

Yep, as long as you pay for it, download it a million times, and Valve doesn't care. They have your money in their pockets and you have your precious CD-key (which you will lose eventually ). Of course, Valve will start having a problem if you distribute these downloaded and burned CD's, but that law for you.

you have absolutely no idea what you're talking about

to answer the question... if you buy HL2 through steam you CAN burn it to CD if, for example, you can't download 2GB worth of content. just split the .GCF file (or w/e) into pieces (using a program like winRAR) managable for a CD-R, burn it. when you need to get it back, copy the pieces onto your HDD, unzip the .GCF file, put it in the steam folder (C:\Program Files\Valve\Steam\SteamApps), delete the pieces you took from the CDs... and boot up steam! it will check throught the file to detect any corruption, but thats normal. this works for any steam game

 

[Roland Deschain]

you have absolutely no idea what you're talking about

to answer the question... if you buy HL2 through steam you CAN burn it to CD if, for example, you can't download 2GB worth of content. just split the .GCF file (or w/e) into pieces (using a program like winRAR) managable for a CD-R, burn it. when you need to get it back, copy the pieces onto your HDD, unzip the .GCF file, put it in the steam folder (C:\Program Files\Valve\Steam\SteamApps), delete the pieces you took from the CDs... and boot up steam! it will check throught the file to detect any corruption, but thats normal. this works for any steam game

Bah, I thought steam would offer an easier option (like giving you an .iso), but having to split and compress files using WinRar is annoying and the last time I did that one of the files (1 of 6), was corrupt, so I pretty much had to throw out six CDs.

 

[thehunter1320]

Bah, I thought steam would offer an easier option (like giving you an .iso), but having to split and compress files using WinRar is annoying and the last time I did that one of the files (1 of 6), was corrupt, so I pretty much had to throw out six CDs.

you could burn it to a DVD-R or place the .GCF file on a secondary HDD, incase you want to reformat or something

 

[Gossoon]

I have a dvd burner (which i highly recommend getting), so I don't have to worry about the splitting crap. But someone should write a FAQ and sticky it when the time comes so people won't keep asking this. And you know they will.

 

[urseus]

Steam is an awsome idea for patching and key checking.

But ill be dead in the cold cold ground before i buy a piece of software and dont have the offical copy in my hands. Format. Reinstall from disk. Patch.

Question though: If i buy a copy of hl2 in stores, then lose my CD, can i download HL2 from steam.

 

[thehunter1320]

Question though: If i buy a copy of hl2 in stores, then lose my CD, can i download HL2 from steam.

if you have the CD-key tied to your Steam account... you can download HL2 until Valve's web sever explodes in a plas-tastic explosion

 

[jet jaguar]

Steam is an awsome idea for patching and key checking.

But ill be dead in the cold cold ground before i buy a piece of software and dont have the offical copy in my hands. Format. Reinstall from disk. Patch.

Question though: If i buy a copy of hl2 in stores, then lose my CD, can i download HL2 from steam.

I don't see why not. Just because you bought it at a brick-and-mortar store doesn't preclude you from being able to download it off of Steam. That's a good question, we should get confirmation from Valve on this.

 

[obiwanquinobi]

I frequently back up the whole of my Steam Directory to an external HDD - So if I ever need to I can always just restore from the backup.

Not a bad way to go really because I have EVERYTHING backed up...all the games, configs, the lot!
:thumbs:

 

[PvtRyan]

I'm gonna preload it, at the day it comes out, I rush to the store and buy it, my preloading is done, I insert the cd-key so I never have to touch my preciousssss cd's

 

[Dead-Inside]

Gabe already said you could "Back up" the files, so, well, yes.

 

[Varsity]

you have absolutely no idea what you're talking about

to answer the question... if you buy HL2 through steam you CAN burn it to CD if, for example, you can't download 2GB worth of content. just split the .GCF file (or w/e) into pieces (using a program like winRAR) managable for a CD-R, burn it. when you need to get it back, copy the pieces onto your HDD, unzip the .GCF file, put it in the steam folder (C:\Program Files\Valve\Steam\SteamApps), delete the pieces you took from the CDs... and boot up steam! it will check throught the file to detect any corruption, but thats normal. this works for any steam game

Valve have already taken the liberty of splitting the cache file into CD-size chunks.

 

[Feath]

Anyone know if Valve managed to get round that "I bought it from Steam but I still want a box problem?"

And anyone got the "Send u an envelop with some money in it" picture? It'll bring back memories.

 

[Link]

I don't actually think valve would mind if you distribute the CD to others, as long as they have a key. After all, it won't work without one, and its going to save them bandwidth.

 

[Sparta]

True, but if someone comes up with a CD-Key generator then Valve are screwed

 

[ComradeBadger]

Moved to Multiplayer & Steam

 

[Link]

Sparta - Not true. Firstly, when a keygen is written, people will download from crack sites, then use the keygen. This will produce a key with one of 3 possibilities:
1. Key is issued with game but not yet sold.
2. Key is issued and has been sold.
3. Key has not been issued

In the case of 1, The cracker get away with it untill the box with the same key is sold. They will try and activate, find they can't, contact valve and prove they own it, crackers account is banned.
In the case of 2, the crackers key will not work.
In the case of 3, steam will know this and will not let that key be registered.

Either way, the best a cracker can get is a couple of days play, before he gets his steam account banned. Not really worth it now is it?

 

[muka3d]

True, but if someone comes up with a CD-Key generator then Valve are screwed

Valve ARE screwed? Aren't there a post about this?
http://www.halflife2.net/forums/showthread.php?t=30768