Today is the day

Ownzed

Ownzed

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It's the day when VALVe and VU go to court. What do you think is going to happen? Gold maybe?
 
all I can say is...

GOOD LUCK TO YOU!!!
GO GET 'EM VALVe!!!
 
I fully expect a judge with very little knoledge about the internet to file a injunction ordering valve to pull back its steam release, and give everyone a full refund.

And then VUG will cancel the project.
 
Homer said:
I fully expect a judge with very little knoledge about the internet to file a injunction ordering valve to pull back its steam release, and give everyone a full refund.

And then VUG will cancel the project.
Click to expand...

lmao.. just plain old, lmao. sad.. sad..
 
Go on VALVe, go kick those ungrateful vivendi boy's butts so we can all laugh at them, and by the way, why would VALVe announce HL2 going gold when they are due in court? What is the link?
 
Homer said:
And then VUG will cancel the project.
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Are you saying VU will cancel HL2 ? I highly doubt they would cancel the most anticipated FPS game ever. They know they will make good money off of this game so I dont think they will cancel. :thumbs:
 
I'm rather confused about this whole situation. Why are Valve even using a publisher [Vivendi] in the first place? Surely they could release it whenever they want using Steam; since it's the whole point that it cuts out the publisher. Have they already signed a legally binding contract or some such? If anyone could elaborate for me, I'd be grateful.
 
Remember, publishers are the devil. they dont like games, they only exists to ruin what could be great games.

EA was the first to go over to the dark side, but now almost all of them have fallen into darkness. Nothing can be done now but get steam working and kill them like the money-grubbers they are.
 
Evil evil publishers. Lets all rebel against VU with our l337 crowbar skills we have developed over the past 5 years!
 
I have a reeealy bad feeling that Valve is gonna get owned and HL2 won't come out for another 6 months. I hope it doesn't happen.
 
Well, isn't that the purpose of steam? To get rid of the publisher, allowing developers to distribute their own products. That's why Vivendi is so intent on stopping it. Steam is the secret weapon of good, and the dark side must stop it before it's too late. :sniper: :flame:
 
Why would VU sit on HL2 for 6 months? They know they are gonna get money out of it so they are just gonna try and put it out soon so they can get more money. *pulls out his crowbar* who is with me?!
 
Vug cant stop steam. All they have a chance to do here is stop halflife2 from going out on steam, and try to bind valve up in legal contractual stuff so that they cant start selling it to othe developers.
 
It would be incredibly stupid of VU to push back the release by six months. Given the fact that so many people are already buying off of steam, the longer they sit on the game, the more people are going to buy off of steam simply because they can. Lets just hope they make the right choice and release it as soon as possible. It helps them get more sales, and helps all the gamers because those that bought it off of steam get HL2 sooner, and those that are waiting to buy retail will be able to hop to the store and hand over their cash.
 
The longer it takes for halflife2 to be released, the more people will never use steam again.
 
This is a serious question: what would happen if tomorrow Valve decided to just release Half-Life 2 over Steam, leaving retail buyers in the dust (at least until VUG ships it)? This is a hypothetical, so I certainly would not expect it to actually happen. Legality-wise what could potentially arise from Valve making a move like this? I would assume VUG making a new claim and then getting a hefty settlement, perhaps along with a Judge's decree to pull the plug on Steam and refund all paying customers (HL2 buyers) their money post-haste. Would it be possible (in general) for VUG to win the complete rights to the Half-Life franchise in court? This is contradictive of their agreement, but could something like this actually occur?
 
Homer said:
The longer it takes for halflife2 to be released, the more people will never use steam again.
Click to expand...

uhm, sorry can't follow your reasoning.
 
spitcodfry said:
This is a serious question: what would happen if tomorrow Valve decided to just release Half-Life 2 over Steam, leaving retail buyers in the dust? This is a hypothetical, so I certainly would not expect it to actually happen. Legality-wise what could potentially arise from Valve making a move like this? I would assume VUG making a new claim and then getting a hefty settlement, perhaps along with a Judge's decree to pull the plug on Steam and refund all paying customers (HL2 buyers) their money post-haste. Would it be possible (in general) for VUG to win the complete rights to the Half-Life franchise in court? This is contradictive of their agreement, but could something like this actually occur?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure on the specifics, but you can bet there would be harsh punishments.
 
While on topic for Steam-related things, does anyone know if the folder/executable system for Half-Life 2 will be identical for retail buyers as well as Steam users? I know you need Steam to run anything HL2-related, but will retail purchasers need to use a cache system similar to what downloaders will be using, or will their file folders resemble more of a conventional game install folder's (i.e. Doom 3's)? I'd think they'd both need to use the same system for Steam compatibility, but I'm not sure.
 
IF VUG wins, it doesn't matter. They just get a bigger piece of the cake from Steam. We should have HL2 on scheduele (late Nov) if VUG wins. If VUG loses, that might make them to speed up the gold announcement to get as many hard-copy sales as possible, and HL2 will maybe be released earlier.
 
What's wrong with publishers?? If Valve could cut out Vivendi and release the game only on Steam....what good does that do a lot of the folks still out there without broadband. Valve would miss a huge part of their market.

VUG profiteers no more or less than Valve. Only difference is that Valve made the game. So they're stuck in a shitty agreement....that's why they're in court. It doesn't mean that VUG is a horrible company and there's no way that Valve foregoes any publisher....ever. I also think it's silly that VUG is fighting this as heavily as they are as the % of people that HL2 will reach via Steam is not as high compared to how many will buy it in stores.

At the same time, there's nothing wrong with Valve having an in house publisher, but I don't know the current structure of the deal with VUG and if they'd get out of it.
 
What are some game developers that also publish their games? Doesn't Blizzard release their own material? Also, to be able to launch a distribution operation on your own (wisely, not actually constructing oodles of jobs and positions and erecting warehouses) for games, does anyone know a ballpark estimate of what an international release like Half-Life 2 would cost? Valve has money, and lots of it. But distribution must cost tons if they can't poney it up themselves (which is why, of course, most need publishers).
 
From what i have read of the court procedings, today is a summary judgement. The actual court case has been moved to march, and discovery(submitting of evidence to be used) is to end at the end of the year. With that in mind, it can be assumed that VUG would want the game released before the end of discovery, as if the STEAM sales are a large figure, when it comes time to go to court, they can have tangible proof to thier claims.
VUG wants a share of the procedes, and thier reasoning is that hte development of STEAM slowed the HL2 production (netcode issues, maybe, for the MP part of HL2), and becasue it has affected VUG's revenue(the delay from STEAM), they deserve a cut. This could also be part of the reason that CS:S is the MP for HL2, as then Valve can say, "No, we had a separate team for STEAM, HL2 has it's own issues."

VUG, in essence, does have some weight behind thier claim, but it almost seems to me that Valve have things covered. No new contract with VUG has been signed, only the Sierra contract stands. Sierra didn't care about online distribution, as 3 years ago, STEAM would not have been as successful as today. VUG claims Valve knew that it would take this long for development, so screwed Sierra, which VUG now owns. Stupid technicalities from corporate takeovers complicate the release, and nothing other than that. This dispute has been going on since VUG took over Sierra.
 
My main worry is a conflict between Steam users getting their share of the pie (pre-ordered Half-Life 2) opposed to whatever settlement is reached. I'm reluctant to purchase a Half-Life 2 Steam package because of this. I'm not worried about my money being lost or anything. I'd just like some assurance that I'm gonna get this thing when everyone else does (retail purchasers). I suppose we really won't know that verdict until sometime after today (crosses fingers for a favorable settlement regarding Valve's position).
 
spitcodfry said:
While on topic for Steam-related things, does anyone know if the folder/executable system for Half-Life 2 will be identical for retail buyers as well as Steam users? I know you need Steam to run anything HL2-related, but will retail purchasers need to use a cache system similar to what downloaders will be using, or will their file folders resemble more of a conventional game install folder's (i.e. Doom 3's)? I'd think they'd both need to use the same system for Steam compatibility, but I'm not sure.
Click to expand...


GCF's would be on the cd's and decrypted upon install. Online versions download the GCF's, and then decrypt. I expect no GCF's on the HD's of retail users, or much smaller ones. If you've had the CS:S beta, you can see some of the textures, etc are pulled from the GCF and dumped into the CS:S folder under your user name.
Might also just copy GCF's to your HD and then you need the online component to activate the decryption. Then, ever time Steam gets online, it gets an update(or not), verifies that files are the way they were when installed/downloaded, and you can access the games.
 
cadaveca said:
GCF's would be on the cd's and decrypted upon install. Online versions download the GCF's, and then decrypt. I expect no GCF's on the HD's of retail users, or much smaller ones. If you've had the CS:S beta, you can see some of the textures, etc are pulled from the GCF and dumped into the CS:S folder under your user name.
Might also just copy GCF's to your HD and then you need the online component to activate the decryption. Then, ever time Steam gets online, it gets an update(or not), verifies that files are the way they were when installed/downloaded, and you can access the games.
Click to expand...

Cool, thx for the explanation.
 
spitcodfry said:
My main worry is a conflict between Steam users getting their share of the pie (pre-ordered Half-Life 2) opposed to whatever settlement is reached. I'm reluctant to purchase a Half-Life 2 Steam package because of this. I'm not worried about my money being lost or anything. I'd just like some assurance that I'm gonna get this thing when everyone else does (retail purchasers). I suppose we really won't know that verdict until sometime after today (crosses fingers for a favorable settlement regarding Valve's position).
Click to expand...



Won't happen. Valve will just have to pay VUG the % that the court orders. I wouldn't be surprised if the judge orders that procedes end up in a trust fund(or the % that VUG wants in the fund) until the case is decided. Neither side wants STEAM stopped, Both just want what they think they deserve from the sales.
 
cadaveca said:
Won't happen. Valve will just have to pay VUG the % that the court orders. I wouldn't be surprised if the judge orders that procedes end up in a trust fund(or the % that VUG wants in the fund) until the case is decided. Neither side wants STEAM stopped, Both just want what they think they deserve from the sales.
Click to expand...

That's good to know. Now where's my credit card?
 
lol. Your purchase on Steam is a contract, and VUG/Valve will have to honor it. Refunding people money and pissing them off would just be a loss, both of revunues already generated, and in potential future sales. Letting things continue, and waiting to get a slice, when the pie is actually cooked, is a far better business practice.
 
The Bait said:
Why would VU sit on HL2 for 6 months? They know they are gonna get money out of it so they are just gonna try and put it out soon so they can get more money. *pulls out his crowbar* who is with me?!
Click to expand...

Knowing their greedy selves, they'd hold it till christmas
 
lordoftheroot said:
Can Valve even release a demo of HL2 with out VU OK?
Click to expand...


I really don't think so, and this may be part of the reason there isn't one. Technically speaking, tho, CS:S is the HL2 beta. BEcasue of the lack of netcode in the SP version, you'll be able to fit alot of physics props and such that you can't with the online, so it's a almost even trade-off. Vavle, in thier great plan, decide that cs:s is better, as, unlike a BETA from another company, playing CS:S does not give away any story, but lets u experience the possible environments, detailing, and physics.(just my speculation)
 
ya know, its kinda funny to see how people are now on the Steam side of things. Go back 8 months ago and EVERYONE was anti-steam. (well, not everyone, but...)
 
Cyber$nake said:
ya know, its kinda funny to see how people are now on the Steam side of things. Go back 8 months ago and EVERYONE was anti-steam. (well, not everyone, but...)
Click to expand...

I just like that i no longer need a cd in my drive. No physical copy? I've burnt the gcf's and the STEAM installer to a DVD-R, which is my legal right here in Canada. If they make other payment forms available, i'll go GOLD and get a box for my DVD-R too, as well as 14 games. How can STEAM be bad?
 
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