SDK & Steam

[Burn]

Simple question, how do the steam buyers get the SDK? I would think one of the retail cds (There are 6) is the SDK, but what about steam users? Im really interested in getting it..

 

[SLH]

I'm almost certain that anyone who wants it can get it - i think somewhere they said you'd be able to get it as a download or via steam. (Don't think they've said that it's on a retail CD).

 

[bliink]

Probably as a download from a website (eg valve erc)

 

[Chris D]

It'll be website and Steam.

As of yet, there's no information on it being published by Vivendi as part of the retail packages. This is very unlikely as it doesn't seem as though the SDK is finished.

 

[switch]

From the valve info thread (searching is good )

very interesting information here regarding the SDK release and thwe items in the collectors edition.

----------------

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Keva [mailto:[email protected]]
> Sent: Friday, October 08, 2004 11:43 AM
> To: Gabe Newell
> Subject: Half-Life 2 SDK
>
> Hi Gabe,
>
> First of all I wanna say a big thankyou on behalf of all the Half-Life
> community for your ongoiing great work
>
> This is my first time emailing you so hope im talking to the right guy
> lol.
>
> Anyway i have 3 questions for now. Hope i dont tire you out lol.
>
> 1. When do you plan on releasing the SDK?
> 2. Do you plan on releasing it via steam or regular download?
> 3. Will we be able to purchase items that are in the collecters
> edition like T-Shirts etc seperate? as id really love to get my hands on one.
>
> Thankyou for taking your time to read this email
>
> Kev
>
>
On Fri, 8 Oct 2004 11:53:14 -0700, Gabe Newell <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> 1) Soon. We're testing it with two MOD teams now.
>
> 2) Both.
>
> 3) Yes.
>
>
>

 

[fragShader]

i doubt very much the SDK will be on a retail CD
i doubt the SDK will be even be ready when the game is released.
anyway, they have said several times that the SDK will be available for download both on the web, and thru Steam

 

[Alec_85]

How can the SDK not be finished? Doesn't Valve use it every day?

 

[AcousticToad]

I saw a news post the other day on a site, cant remember which one saying that the SDK will now ship after the game is released so that more testing can be done to it.

I doubt it would cost anything though.

 

[czrsink]

Can somebody explain why a CS:Source mappack has been released (and is available for download on Fileplanet)? Surely they've been made with hacked code, or am I missing something here?

 

[GWalker]

How can the SDK not be finished? Doesn't Valve use it every day?

Not necessarily, the SDK is to make moding easy, its not the tool they use.

 

[Darth Valium]

isn't sdk regulary a description for a bunch of tools(aka the complete set of tools to mod those apects which are moddable)?

never heard something about source will get an "powerfull" all-in-one editor like morrowind.

 

[SLH]

Yes, the SDK is a bunch of tools, i guess that was a typo made by GWalker.

 

[Diablo2k]

How can the SDK not be finished? Doesn't Valve use it every day?

Valve uses much more advanced tools then a SDK..

 

[Wesisapie]

god who cares if the maps were made with stolen tools, if people never made mods for DOOM because iD told them not to, then cs, dod, ns, TFC etc wouldnt exist today.

 

[Demonmerc]

My guess is the work with the mod teams is so that they don't overstep their bounds, i.e. making it so we can't do as much with the SDK than with a licensed copy of the engine.

 

[Mountain Man]

How can the SDK not be finished? Doesn't Valve use it every day?

Well, here's the thing: the tools a developer uses to create a game are usually buggy, unpolished, poorly documented, and often difficult to use. The main focus is to get the game done, so any in-house development tools are made "good enough". They're willing to put up with this because they have limited resources and other priorities.

I'm sure you recognize that releasing an SDK in such a state to the public would not be well received. So, after the game is completed, Valve is able to take the time to turn the development tools into something releasable. This is why there's often a lag between the release of a game and the release of the corresponding SDK.

 

[Bluestrike]

My guess is the work with the mod teams is so that they don't overstep their bounds, i.e. making it so we can't do as much with the SDK than with a licensed copy of the engine.

Doubt that since s adk has not the source code and I think you get it (or at least alot more then the sdk) with a licention.

I think the 2 mods what have it now are HL1 mods and is mainly to check what common problems rise with porting HL1 mods to HL2, problems they didn't encountered yet with cs:s dod:s and (?) tfc:s.

 

[Alec_85]

Well, here's the thing: the tools a developer uses to create a game are usually buggy, unpolished, poorly documented, and often difficult to use. The main focus is to get the game done, so any in-house development tools are made "good enough". They're willing to put up with this because they have limited resources and other priorities.

I'm sure you recognize that releasing an SDK in such a state to the public would not be well received. So, after the game is completed, Valve is able to take the time to turn the development tools into something releasable. This is why there's often a lag between the release of a game and the release of the corresponding SDK.

Wow best response of the week :E Thanks. Makes sense.