This is poor.

[Aziraphael]

First of all i'd like to stress that this is not a troll.

I'd just like to say how disappointed i am with the issues regarding HL2. The sound stutters, and a detailed search of these and other boards shows it to be a common problem with, atm, no apparent cure.

I've also got video artifacts, tho' i'm willing to concede that they are probably driver related and can be solved.

Factor into this the fact that it seems a lot of people that have bought the retail boxed version can't even activate their game and the whole launch seems to be shambolic.

And what's Valve's response to this? Who knows as they've gone and taken their forums down "for a breather"! How nice for them, all these people who need technical support and no central database for them. Outstanding planning. I realise that their servers are probably taking a hammering but did they really expect anything else?

We constantly hear that downloading pirate games via Bittorrent etc. damages the buisness but, i submit, that poor launches of supposedly A grade titles such as this pushes people in that direction. Once bitten twice shy, try before you buy, etc.

I'm sure that, in time, these problems will be sorted, but the fact remains that with a titlle such as HL2 they shouldn't be here in the first place! Especially given the long, long development time.

Still, best wishes to those who've got the game running well and now that i've let off steam (no pun intended!) i'll go back to refrshing the tech support forum every five minutes in the hope that someone finds a magic cure for the sound issues!

 

[Max Payne]

Well, firstly, I'd like to say:

YOU GO TO HELL! YOU GO TO HELL AND YOU DIE!

I personally had no problems getting the game on Steam, and I think it definitely has potential. Once the quirks are fixed, it could become *the way* to release games. Eliminating the problem of piracy on the PC could help it regain the popularity it has lost to evil things like the eggsbox.

As for all those people having problems. I believe its being overamplified. You only hear of those having problems because most of those that got the game working are busy playing the game. Within a few weeks more people will come back with long unshaven beards and long hair to tell us how great of a game Half-Life 2 is.

Other than that, I agree. They could have planned it better. I don't think this will hurt them much, however. They probably made a fair share of money from the preorders on Steam.

 

[h00dlum]

Have been working flawless for me all the way since i put the DVD in the DVD-ROM..hope it works out for you too soon!

 

[Nex321]

Did you see how long it took for hl2 to get pirated? Yes AFTER THE RELEASE, its the first game that does so, I belive. They saved alot of money there. And activate the game early is really stupid, its not Valve's fault but the selllers since they broke their contract by selling it early.

 

[azz0r]

You know its funny that everyone but me seems to have technical problems with games.

I rock!

 

[czrsink]

Anybody who has problems with HL2 is one of the following:

- Lame
- Noob
- Pirate
- Off their heads
- Able to take a joke

I've had no problems with my Steam install on 2 completely different spec PCs, therefore anyone who does must be an idiot.

I jest. But there are always going to be issues with new games. I'd like to bet that the majority have been playing HL2 for some time today without any problems.

 

[Tkmaster]

i do admit there is sound glitches but its a minor issue the game is still fun

 

[Dragoro]

No sound glitches for me, and no problems unlocking or playing too. Most of the time, when theres a problem, its almost always the users comp and not the game itself.

 

[Mountain Man]

Some occasional sound stuttering, but otherwise the game runs flawlessly. Great visuals, great framerates--nothing to complain about really.

 

[kilword]

game works flawless for me its great!....maybe its your computer causing the issues? stuff running in the back ground? video card issues? if your gonna rant like that post you specs with it and maybe someone migt give ya a tip on what might be the issue.
if your getting artifacts then update your drivers if issue still arrises mess with the settings see if anything gets fixed... :hmph:

 

[The Monkey]

The unlocking was slow and stopped all the time, but while in the game it wasn't any problems at all.

 

[Teddy]

First of all i'd like to stress that this is not a troll.

Shutup, troll.

I'd just like to say how disappointed i am with the issues regarding HL2. The sound stutters, whinge, whinge, whinge, whinge

Upgrade your computer. It stutters because it's taking so long to cache, usualy means you need more ram or faster CPU.

 

[Aziraphael]

if your gonna rant like that post you specs with it and maybe someone migt give ya a tip on what might be the issue.

Hardly a rant!

As i said, i know i can fix the video issues with some fine tuning. As to the sound issues, there's a least two posts in these forums regarding them with ,as yet, no solutions.

All background apps and processes have been killed with Enditall.

As to posting my system specs, take it from me the rig is more than able to run HL2. Runs CS:S fine, 80+ FPS in the benchmark test etc. All drivers are up to date, in the case of the video ones too much so as i'm using the Cat 4.12 beta's.

I repeat, i'm certain that Valve will fix the sound issue in time but the way they've ducked into cover over the laucn day is poor.

 

[Apos]

Actually, the sound problem is obvious: you are running out of memory. Reduce texture quality or sound quality a notch. The reason it doesn't stutter in CS:s is because HL2 is PACKED full of content far more CPU and memory intensive than CS:S.

As for Valve hiding their heads, didn't you hear my story? My game wouldn't even load without crashing, and not one but THREE different Valve guys personally sought me out (I didn't know to check the support section of steampowered, which is revamped and quite great) and started troubleshooting with me until we figured out the problem and got it working.

 

[Sharrd]

As for Valve hiding their heads, didn't you hear my story? My game wouldn't even load without crashing, and not one but THREE different Valve guys personally sought me out (I didn't know to check the support section of steampowered, which is revamped and quite great) and started troubleshooting with me until we figured out the problem and got it working.

Kickass.

 

[Aziraphael]

I can't see it running out of memory, i've got 1.5MB of Ballistix DDR2-667 running at a latency of, i think. 2-2-2-6.

My guess is a problem with Creative soundcards, hardly unknown, though be honest, they're not exactly obscure. Valves FAQ doesn't mention any specific problem, their nearest solution is to move PCI slots (don't work) or Reduce sound acceleration (don't worK).

Oh, and Teddy time to run off for tea now, Mummy's calling. Try not to spill juice down your bib, there's a good boy.

Sad act.

 

[ForumLamer]

The sound stuttering coincides with autosaves if you notice... so something with the autosaves causes the sound to do this, sometimes it even does it when you do a regular save.. besides that game is great..

 

[subtlesnake]

Actually, the sound problem is obvious: you are running out of memory. Reduce texture quality or sound quality a notch. The reason it doesn't stutter in CS:s is because HL2 is PACKED full of content far more CPU and memory intensive than CS:S.

I've lowered everything to minimum and the problem still persists with 512MB.

As for Valve hiding their heads, didn't you hear my story? My game wouldn't even load without crashing, and not one but THREE different Valve guys personally sought me out (I didn't know to check the support section of steampowered, which is revamped and quite great) and started troubleshooting with me until we figured out the problem and got it working.

I've looked at the find answers section, but I can't find a way to add my own questions. Sorry if I'm being a bit dense but what were the exact steps you went through?

 

[dOOGy]

aziraphael your problem is you have 1.5 meg

 

[Aziraphael]

aziraphael your problem is you have 1.5 meg

Worked fine in my Amiga 500.

GB, then, Smart ass.

 

[junglespider]

First of all i'd like to stress that this is not a troll.

I'd just like to say how disappointed i am with the issues regarding HL2. The sound stutters, and a detailed search of these and other boards shows it to be a common problem with, atm, no apparent cure.

I've also got video artifacts, tho' i'm willing to concede that they are probably driver related and can be solved.

Factor into this the fact that it seems a lot of people that have bought the retail boxed version can't even activate their game and the whole launch seems to be shambolic.

And what's Valve's response to this? Who knows as they've gone and taken their forums down "for a breather"! How nice for them, all these people who need technical support and no central database for them. Outstanding planning. I realise that their servers are probably taking a hammering but did they really expect anything else?

We constantly hear that downloading pirate games via Bittorrent etc. damages the buisness but, i submit, that poor launches of supposedly A grade titles such as this pushes people in that direction. Once bitten twice shy, try before you buy, etc.

I'm sure that, in time, these problems will be sorted, but the fact remains that with a titlle such as HL2 they shouldn't be here in the first place! Especially given the long, long development time.

Still, best wishes to those who've got the game running well and now that i've let off steam (no pun intended!) i'll go back to refrshing the tech support forum every five minutes in the hope that someone finds a magic cure for the sound issues!

its not a problem with the game .... your just one of them ppl thats probley got probs with the pc , needs updateing and sh*t .what are your pc specs that cud have something to do with it...and i dont think you shud be takeing it out on the game , the problem is on your side.....
i dont have no probs at all

 

[nullvector]

No problems here:

P4 - 3.0C HT - OC'd 3.4
1GB Corsair XMS
9600pro 128mb
Audigy2 ZS Platinum

Runs smooth as glass, at 1024 4xAA, which I was surprised it even runs decent at 1280x1024. 9600pro is actually good enough to play this game with, while the 6800GT is in the mail

 

[Dr. Freeman]

I repeat, i'm certain that Valve will fix the sound issue in time but the way they've ducked into cover over the laucn day is poor.

no offense here but u clearly stated in ur first post how Valve would be in tough as far as meeting the demands for this game.. i mean afterall it is only one of the most anticipated games ever to be released.

personally i think it doesn't matter what extra measures Valve could have/would have had in place, they would be swarmed regardless and pple will find reasons to complain. not to say ur reason isn;t legit but at least keep in mind that Valve aren't sitting around picking noses ya know? :upstare:

 

[Aziraphael]

its not a problem with the game .... your just one of them ppl thats probley got probs with the pc , needs updateing and sh*t .what are your pc specs that cud have something to do with it...and i dont think you shud be takeing it out on the game , the problem is on your side.....
i dont have no probs at all

Here they are if you think it will help:

AMD Athlon 64 FX-53 *Socket 939*
Asus A8V Deluxe
3 x 512 Ballistix DDR2-667
ATI Radeon 9800XT 256MB Cat 4.12 drivers.
Westen Digital 200GB w/8MB Buffer
Creative Audigy 2 ZS 7.1 Plat Pro
Plextor PX-712A
Water Cooling
Windows XP Pro w/ SP2
Ultra 600Watt PS

 

[junglespider]

Here they are if you think it will help:

AMD Athlon 64 FX-53 *Socket 939*
Asus A8V Deluxe
3 x 512 Ballistix DDR2-667
ATI Radeon 9800XT 256MB Cat 4.12 drivers.
Westen Digital 200GB w/8MB Buffer
Creative Audigy 2 ZS 7.1 Plat Pro
Plextor PX-712A
Water Cooling
Windows XP Pro w/ SP2
Ultra 600Watt PS

ha them specs kick the sh*t out of my rig ... just gose to show you dont need to spend a great deal to run hl-2 smoothly .... soz dude but thay must be something verry wrong on your side ... ied probley try the cat 4.11 drivers and not the beta

 

[Javert]

Sound stuttering and video artifacts are your hardware's problem.
Try turning your settings lower and updating your drivers.

 

[Aziraphael]

Yeah, i solved the video problems with a driver roll back.

As to there being something very wrong with the rest of the rig, take it from me it's fine. Run's everything else sweet as. Just got this damn problem with HL2.

Changing settings makes no differnce, nor should it on my system which is more than capable or running all the bells and whistles.
All my drivers are the latest versions, MoBo, soundcard, videocard, the works.

Ho hum.

 

[Ahnteis]

I noticed some audio problems when my HL2 settings were at "headphones" but my windows settings were "5.1". Might check into that.

 

[God™]

I'll give my 2 cents...

Game works perfectly for me (Steam install).

I'm on a P4 1.6 (overclocked to 2.2 with stock cooling no less) using a Ti4200 (overclocked a bit), 512 MB of RAM, and on-board sound (Realtek 650). OS is Windows 2003 server. Vid driver is 66.81.

I'm sure the people with issues are experiencing driver issues for the most part... Not to say Valve can't do anything about it, but people shouldn't necessarily blame the game (or steam).

 

[WhiteZero]

Shambolic release? Uhhh... I got activated and was playing within 20minutes. VALVe was right on time.

 

[Someone]

Good to see what's working, or not working...so I'll add mine. Works 100% perfect with:

Steam Installed version
Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe (newest Mobo drivers)
Athlon Xp 3200+ (not oc'ed)
1 gig Mushkin (2x512 dual channel) (not oc'ed)
Radeon 9500 pro (Oc'ed 370/310) (Catalyst 4.11)
Using onboard Sound ( Realtek ALC650)
WinXp Pro sp1
SATA 80gig Western Digital HD
(fresh format last night)

1024x768 All settings at high with 2x AA.

The only slight problem I noticed was when using headphones the sounds were reversed during certain parts of the game. Left was right/right was left. Didn't seem to do it all the time though. Haven't played with speakers yet so don't know if it's the same.

 

[Bolleh]

I can't even get ingame. When I select New Game, it just brings up the loading screen for about a second, then goes back to the main menu.

 

[Apos]

for support, you have to create your own support account, and then start a ticket.

 

[Apos]

Bolleh, you need to go here:
http://www.shacknews.com/ja.zz?id=9010282

 

[Aziraphael]

Just a small point but Rick Ellis has posted in the audio problems thread in the support forunm regarding adding an a-sync entry in the autoexec.cfg. and that valves looking into the stutter problem.

Guess maybe it's not my end after all.

Out of interest i've found an old Hercules Fortissmo souind card - i'll give that a go and see if it makes a difference.

 

[VivendaLab]

Using beta drivers is a risc, especialy with a new game. I using only official drivers and the game works fine, so now i will try the beta. If i get some problems at least i know that it come from the beta drivers.

Why don´t you uninstall all your drivers, install all official drivers and try it.(may work)

Sorry for my english

 

[MaStA]

no problems for me took me bout 20 mins to validate the files. But had no problems in game hasnt locked up, no sound issuesm looks great. the loading screens r perhaps too long but other than that nothing to complain about. o just love the intro with the gman. "Wake up Mr freeman and smell the ashes"

 

[wtfmates]

The only problem I had was the sound issue with my 5.1 speakers but I fixed that by changing it to 2 speakers in the sound menu. Sure it's not surround sound like I wanted, but the sound doesn't skip, so it's all good.

 

[DannoHung]

I had some sound stutters and video artifacting when I first started the game. Then, I had a BSOD.

I was like "Ohhhhh ****.. oh **** oh ****"

I rebooted, tried again... and everything worked flawlessly (Well, aside from the long load times). I reason that there must have been some RAM corruption or something.

 

[GuNzABlaZiN]

My sound also stutters and I've got a decent system.

AMD A64 3000+
1gig ddr3200 (kingston)
R9800 Pro 128mb (4.11)
K8V SE Deluxe mobo (onboard sound)

Changing sound settings from "headphones" to "2 speakers" did help somewhat but the stuttering still interferes with gameplay. So all the people that flamed the original poster can go to hell, just because you don't get the problem, doesn't mean the same for everyone.