HL2: Episode 1

[ocmyface]

so. its unlocked now. anyone playing it yet?

im sure everyone wants to know if its worth the money

give us your thoughts and screenshots :toast:

[G4h4o8s6T]

I just started playing, the opening cinematic was good and of course raises more questions, it looks AWESOME, better interaction/gameplay......SO MUCH FUN. Havnt gotten too far, only about a half hour into it, but from what Ive played so far its def. worth the $20.

Here a few screenshots I took while playing.......they arent the best, just random shots, so Ill take more if anyone is interested.

[5-Clicks]

Does running still use the HEV energy?

[G4h4o8s6T]

Does running still use the HEV energy?
Yeah of course, I didnt expect them to change that :p:

[5-Clicks]

Neither did I really, but it's one of those aspects that you'd think Valve might have changed...since apparently someone didn't have their coffee when they wrote that part of the script :p:

[Eclipsed]

Sweet, thanks for the screens!

[Celeron Gamer]

Seems like they fixed up the lightning A LOT. Do they require SM 3.0? Or is it using SM 2.0b?

[einCe]

Seems like they fixed up the lightning A LOT. Do they require SM 3.0? Or is it using SM 2.0b?
hdr, you can use 2m 2 for hl2 hdr

[ocmyface]

man that looks nice. keep em coming :)

[G4h4o8s6T]

I read a few people beat it already in about 3-4 hours, and the ending wasnt too great, but they still said its worth every penny. I wasnt expecting it to be too long, so 3-4 hours doesnt sound to bad to me :) Im probably about 1 1/2-2 hours into it, like I said above, its so much fun, challenging and there are quite a few puzzles you have to figure out along the way.

Here are a few more screenies....

[Danger30Q]

Is there a chance multiplayer mods will be based off of this new release? For me, games aren't fun unless there is a multiplayer component. I will say that the screenshots look gorgeous.

[Hicks]

What a complete Joke. Im sorry but 18 months for that? it took me 3 hours.

No new weapons. 1 new enemy. 1 strider, 1 gunship, same locations.

Major let down IMO. Valve are steadily going downhill. Sure it was good, very polished, and the graphics were awesome, but thats like paying 10quid for a steak, taking one bite, and finishing it.

bah, i wanted some massive fights, you'd have striders, and gunships looking for you, it was pretty run of the mill stuff. The look of the Citadel was cool though.

SPOILER:

Also what trailer. I sped away on the train, the Citadel let some wierd ships out, and then the screen went white and then the credits rolled, and it sorta showed my desktop for a second, then loaded the game again

[Cooper]

What a complete Joke. Im sorry but 18 months for that? it took me 3 hours.

No new weapons. 1 new enemy. 1 strider, 1 gunship, same locations.

Major let down IMO. Valve are steadily going downhill. Sure it was good, very polished, and the graphics were awesome, but thats like paying 10quid for a steak, taking one bite, and finishing it.

bah, i wanted some massive fights, you'd have striders, and gunships looking for you, it was pretty run of the mill stuff. The look of the Citadel was cool though.

SPOILER:

Also what trailer. I sped away on the train, the Citadel let some wierd ships out, and then the screen went white and then the credits rolled, and it sorta showed my desktop for a second, then loaded the game again

Totaly agree :(
Was waiting for something alot better than this.
And there`s alot less music too.
3 hrs of some rutine play.

[epox4life]

Looks nice.

[Major_A]

Couldn't agree more with the moaning about the length. I spent $18 on a tech demo, Valve and EA are both a**holes for releasing crap like this, booster packs and episodes. Unless I read that Ep. 2 is twice as long Valve can keep it. This is the 3rd game I've bought through STEAM that I regret.

As far as someone else mentioning how the movement is clunky I concur. There were a few accidental deaths (ala looking over an edge here and there) in this game that wouldn't have happened with a more precise movement system.

[Kano]

It was good. Very Impressive. I like it better than HL2, but it was very short.

If you want to watch the Ep 2 trailer go to the last chapter you unlocked at the end entitled comming soon. It will first go to desktop, then it will load, give it a couple minutes.

BTW, not everyone payed for this game...

[KoHaN69]

BTW, not everyone payed for this game...

:toast:

That's right, and vALVE won't make a demo, wait this is a demo! a $20 demo!

[pancake]

18 months for this!! Dont waste your money, a few hours gameplay and nothing new in it except a bit more story revealed.

[einCe]

18 months for this!! Dont waste your money, a few hours gameplay and nothing new in it except a bit more story revealed.
i completley disagree. i took my time and had fun with it. totalled in at around 3.5-4 hours. those few hours were more fun than hl2 in its entirety for me. in addition to hdr they implemented they're colortone effects and a few more goodies. every minute or so i would stop and talk to alyx just to see what she said. the game was intense. best 20 dollars ever spent.
want some high res screens? of course you do
http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/1858/ep1c170000600el.th.jpg (http://img20.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ep1c170000600el.jpg) http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/2821/ep1c170000643ls.th.jpg (http://img20.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ep1c170000643ls.jpg) http://img238.imageshack.us/img238/8407/ep1c170100665dt.th.jpg (http://img238.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ep1c170100665dt.jpg) http://img238.imageshack.us/img238/2747/ep1citadel0000101ek.th.jpg (http://img238.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ep1citadel0000101ek.jpg) http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/9682/ep1citadel0000127mc.th.jpg (http://img20.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ep1citadel0000127mc.jpg) http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/6548/ep1citadel0000130ig.th.jpg (http://img20.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ep1citadel0000130ig.jpg) http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/6704/ep1citadel0000186nx.th.jpg (http://img20.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ep1citadel0000186nx.jpg) http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/5158/ep1citadel0000274db.th.jpg (http://img220.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ep1citadel0000274db.jpg)
http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/3541/ep1citadel0300485cd.th.jpg (http://img220.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ep1citadel0300485cd.jpg)
im gonna go play through it again with commentary on now. have a nice day

[SamHughe]

I finished in 3 hours. Doesn't worth the money IMO. The price should be $9.99 or maybe even $4.99. Everytime I killed and enemy or solved a puzzle Alyx would go "Good job!". Ridiculous! I felt like I'm in kindergarten again.

[pancake]

I finished in 3 hours. Doesn't worth the money IMO. The price should be $9.99 or maybe even $4.99. Everytime I killed and enemy or solved a puzzle Alyx would go "Good job!". Ridiculous! I felt like I'm in kindergarten again.

Yea and when your health gets low she would say " i think you need a medi pack"... Really you dont say

[DilTech]

I believe I remember telling everyone like 6 months ago to stay away from this crap...

Valve was hoping to make big bucks off the source engine, that fell thru as no one is licensing it. So, to try and make up what they expected to make, they're going to release a series of "episodes" in hopes that people will buy all of them.

As for the "graphical updates", I'm still completely unimpressed. Wake me up with they do real-time Per-Pixel lighting and a unified lighting/shadow system rather than lightmaps and 320x240 resolution shadows. It's 2006, no need for blocky shadows and light effects. Source was 3 ears too late, and is still truly LAST GEN graphics. As in, the generation before the doom 3 engine.

First, we got the "one way street" that was HL2. Now we get the "Short, dead-end, one way street" that is episode one.

[Hicks]

I believe I remember telling everyone like 6 months ago to stay away from this crap...

Valve was hoping to make big bucks off the source engine, that fell thru as no one is licensing it. So, to try and make up what they expected to make, they're going to release a series of "episodes" in hopes that people will buy all of them.

As for the "graphical updates", I'm still completely unimpressed. Wake me up with they do real-time Per-Pixel lighting and a unified lighting/shadow system rather than lightmaps and 320x240 resolution shadows. It's 2006, no need for blocky shadows and light effects. Source was 3 ears too late, and is still truly LAST GEN graphics. As in, the generation before the doom 3 engine.

First, we got the "one way street" that was HL2. Now we get the "Short, dead-end, one way street" that is episode one.

Don't know about that. It's still the most impressive engine out there at the moment IMO. But what have graphics got to do with how good the game is?

[einCe]

I believe I remember telling everyone like 6 months ago to stay away from this crap...

Valve was hoping to make big bucks off the source engine, that fell thru as no one is licensing it. So, to try and make up what they expected to make, they're going to release a series of "episodes" in hopes that people will buy all of them.

As for the "graphical updates", I'm still completely unimpressed. Wake me up with they do real-time Per-Pixel lighting and a unified lighting/shadow system rather than lightmaps and 320x240 resolution shadows. It's 2006, no need for blocky shadows and light effects. Source was 3 ears too late, and is still truly LAST GEN graphics. As in, the generation before the doom 3 engine.

First, we got the "one way street" that was HL2. Now we get the "Short, dead-end, one way street" that is episode one.
what other engine do you know of that can look the way it does, yet provides 100-150+ average fps on todays hardware. it may be classified as a last-gen engine, but its still, and will be one of the best until crysis and ut07 come out.

[Hicks]

Totally agree.

[Special_K]

nuh bought Ep1, and don't plan to, but http://www.insmod.net/ could be the game that drags K away from BF2

look how schaweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet it looks, and all on Source engine

[mdzcpa]

LOL...for the money that a lot of folks around here spend on hardware its funny to hear so much whining over $19. :stick:

Overall the game was a nice easy play for 3.5 to 4 hours. If you take your time and enjoy the game, and stop to enjoy the graphics and hidden places along the way, its easily worth $19 given that high quality full length games run $39 to 49 now. I enjoyed it a lot for what it was meant to be.

[[XC] Angstrom]

I'm easily impressed most of the time, mainly by graphics and cool locations. But the gameplay was great too and didn't seem that short.

Worth the discounted price I paid.

[Kano]

what other engine do you know of that can look the way it does, yet provides 100-150+ average fps on todays hardware. it may be classified as a last-gen engine, but its still, and will be one of the best until crysis and ut07 come out.

Totally agree. But Valve better get busy with the source engine because Crysis will certainly blow it out of the water.

One thing I liked about EP 1 was the commentary. I got a few things from it that I didn't know or hasn't noticed. Like how Dr. Mossman was in the arctic and things in that room with the combine advisor.

[wildcard]

Wow, nice screenies. I think I'll put my $20 down and get it.

[Major_A]

Wow, nice screenies. I think I'll put my $20 down and get it.
If you have a Fry's nearby I saw it in their ad for $12.99.

[DilTech]

what other engine do you know of that can look the way it does, yet provides 100-150+ average fps on todays hardware. it may be classified as a last-gen engine, but its still, and will be one of the best until crysis and ut07 come out.

Last time I checked, the doom 3 engine is capable of never dropping below 60, even with QuakeWars(according to interviews). The engine also makes source like like quake 2.

Honestly, the graphical power of source is alot less than even cryengine 1. It's the low resolution support of lightmaps and shadowmaps, poor excuse for bump-mapping, the fact that they can't even MODEL A DOORKNOB OR WINDOW FRAME!... Yeah, source is far from impressive, and thats why no one is licensing it, and that's why they're releasing these short episodes. To make the money they expected to from licensing the engine.

As for gameplay, it's just like any shooter from 1999 or before. 100% linear, there's never even 2 ways into one room. The AI is probably the worst I've ever seen in the last few years, and the only difference between easy and hard is the number of hits the enemies take(the age old tactic from the quake 2 and earlier days). The only attempt at an innovation was the physics gun, and even THAT was just that, a lame attempt.

[Hicks]

Last time I checked, the doom 3 engine is capable of never dropping below 60, even with QuakeWars(according to interviews). The engine also makes source like like quake 2.

Honestly, the graphical power of source is alot less than even cryengine 1. It's the low resolution support of lightmaps and shadowmaps, poor excuse for bump-mapping, the fact that they can't even MODEL A DOORKNOB OR WINDOW FRAME!... Yeah, source is far from impressive, and thats why no one is licensing it, and that's why they're releasing these short episodes. To make the money they expected to from licensing the engine.

As for gameplay, it's just like any shooter from 1999 or before. 100% linear, there's never even 2 ways into one room. The AI is probably the worst I've ever seen in the last few years, and the only difference between easy and hard is the number of hits the enemies take(the age old tactic from the quake 2 and earlier days). The only attempt at an innovation was the physics gun, and even THAT was just that, a lame attempt.

Lesson number 1 kids.

IT'S COOL TO HATE VALVE AND HALF LIFE.

Dil stick to talking about hardware. You have no idea what makes a quality game.

[Kano]

Last time I checked, the doom 3 engine is capable of never dropping below 60, even with QuakeWars(according to interviews). The engine also makes source like like quake 2.

Honestly, the graphical power of source is alot less than even cryengine 1. It's the low resolution support of lightmaps and shadowmaps, poor excuse for bump-mapping, the fact that they can't even MODEL A DOORKNOB OR WINDOW FRAME!... Yeah, source is far from impressive, and thats why no one is licensing it, and that's why they're releasing these short episodes. To make the money they expected to from licensing the engine.

As for gameplay, it's just like any shooter from 1999 or before. 100% linear, there's never even 2 ways into one room. The AI is probably the worst I've ever seen in the last few years, and the only difference between easy and hard is the number of hits the enemies take(the age old tactic from the quake 2 and earlier days). The only attempt at an innovation was the physics gun, and even THAT was just that, a lame attempt.

You are really starting to sound like an ID soft fanboy. I've played Doom 3 and Quake 4 and was certainly not in any way blown away by the AI. While Doom 3's graphics were impressive when they came out, the source engine was at least on-par. Quake 4 was even less impressive graphically, just a revamp of D3.

Also, plot-wise the HL series takes the crown from just about any other game I've ever played. On another note, there are certainly a lot more third party games based on the source engine than the D3 engine.

[DilTech]

I can't think of more than 3 source engine games...Other than Vampire(we won't count the games you buy from steam, valve has a part in all of them), which other ones were there? Currently Nerve, Human Head studios, Raven, Splash Damage, and a few other companies are all making games on the Doom 3 engine... Is there even one up-coming game on the source engine that isn't done by valve?

Also, I never said Doom3/quake4 had great AI, I mentioned the Doom 3 engine(when comparing engine to engine), that's it. Didn't mention quake 4 either. I mentioned Quake Wars, which makes source look like Quake 2(go ahead and check the screenshots yourself). The source engine is nowhere near on par with the doom 3 engine. Source = standard polygonal bodies, low rez lightmaps(now with low-rez lightmapped hdr), low rez shadow maps, flat surfaces. It's just a higher rez textured/higher polygon count Quake 3 engine with HDR. That's it... Nowhere NEAR on-par. If you really want to compare, someone remade HL2 maps in the doom 3 engine, and then redid doom maps in the HL2 engine, using the same exact textures from the games.... HL2 looked better on the doom 3 engine, and doom 3 looks like crap on the source engine.

As for AI, look at games like Far cry and Fear's AI. They use squad tactics, flank, work accordingly to what YOU do. Now look at HL2's. They run forward, say things that have nothing to do with the battle at hand(like call for a squad to move up, when that squad doesn't even exist), and just kinda shoot. Even SWAT 4 had better AI than HL2. Now that I think about it, even HALO had better AI.

As for the plot, the plot doesn't make a game, infact alot of people still have no idea what HL is about(google and see, it's HIGHLY criticized for it), even after beating it and all the expansion packs.

As for hicks, what makes HL2 good to you? What's great about going down the only path they select for you, kill the enemies who don't even think about putting up a fight(beat it on hard, which was like Far Crys easy setting), ride the monotonous vehicles that felt more like they were tacked on than part of the game(the buggy anyone?), grab a few things with the physics gun and launch it(look at me, I can throw a ball), and shoot 30 rockets into a walker who doesn't even have the aiming skill of a gangsta going 75 miles an hour with hydraulics on!

I think that about sums it up, I'd rather have to out-think, use cover, out-aim(another HL2 problem, headshots count on easy but not normal or hard), out-class, and play mind games(like breaking a vent on far cry, throwing in a grenade, then going around and taking down the survivors).

All of these are things that do not even exist in HL2. Infact, when you break down to the actual gameplay factor, nothing but the gravity gun exists in HL2 that wasn't done by games in the late 90's(right down to the AI). Again, dare I say it, even halo had more substance.

[Plywood99]

I am sick of Ant Lions...

[gr8golf]

I've loved the Half Life series - and I'll buy this one when the price drops (it should). As far as gaming goes - multiplayer is the only *real* AI you'll ever need. I love CS and DoD, and as much as I loved the Call of Duty's (both 1 and 2) - I love the CoD multiplayer way more.

[dnottis]

After playing through Oblivion, which is tough on a system, this was refreshing to see such great graphics at a high framerate. I know there are issues with the Source Engine - but for the performance you get I wish more games used it. 6xAA 16AF, 1280x1024 and it ran great, was definitely worth $20. Frys now has it for $12.99 now though.

[einCe]

Last time I checked, the doom 3 engine is capable of never dropping below 60, even with QuakeWars(according to interviews). The engine also makes source like like quake 2.

Honestly, the graphical power of source is alot less than even cryengine 1. It's the low resolution support of lightmaps and shadowmaps, poor excuse for bump-mapping, the fact that they can't even MODEL A DOORKNOB OR WINDOW FRAME!... Yeah, source is far from impressive, and thats why no one is licensing it, and that's why they're releasing these short episodes. To make the money they expected to from licensing the engine.

As for gameplay, it's just like any shooter from 1999 or before. 100% linear, there's never even 2 ways into one room. The AI is probably the worst I've ever seen in the last few years, and the only difference between easy and hard is the number of hits the enemies take(the age old tactic from the quake 2 and earlier days). The only attempt at an innovation was the physics gun, and even THAT was just that, a lame attempt.

60fps is a long way home from previously mentioned fps. as for the looks, imo the source engine was not developed to stay on top for a long period of time, but rather to provide respectable looking games that will run on virtually any hardware i remember being able to squeeze out a solid 60-70 fps out of hl2 at 1280x1024 with everything on high except aa and af on a 30$ mx4000 and a 2.4 ghz northwood . i agree it doesnt have some of the effects i would like it to, but the ability to keep upgrading the engine and the versatility of it make it a very good engine that will last for at least another year or two before either they A: do a major overhaul, or B: develope source engine 2. remember how we all were when hl1 came out? after a while there were better looking games that came out but we still kept playing hl1 engine games as well because it still looked good enough to stay mainstream.
lets try and get back on topic now instead of trolling the source engine shall we?

[dnottis]

60fps is a long way home from previously mentioned fps. as for the looks, imo the source engine was not developed to stay on top for a long period of time, but rather to provide respectable looking games that will run on virtually any hardware i remember being able to squeeze out a solid 60-70 fps out of hl2 at 1280x1024 with everything on high except aa and af on a 30$ mx4000 and a 2.4 ghz northwood . i agree it doesnt have some of the effects i would like it to, but the ability to keep upgrading the engine and the versatility of it make it a very good engine that will last for at least another year or two before either they A: do a major overhaul, or B: develope source engine 2. remember how we all were when hl1 came out? after a while there were better looking games that came out but we still kept playing hl1 engine games as well because it still looked good enough to stay mainstream.
lets try and get back on topic now instead of trolling the source engine shall we?


I had never played through Lost Coast before, even though it has been unlocked for awhile. The old man you run into when you start, when you are up close looks almost as good as the new Crysis shots. I disagree about the source engine - I think its capable of incredible graphics and it's already proven it. What other games can you run with HDR and AA and still get close to 100 fps? Not only that going back and looking at that old mans face, I cannot believe the detail.

http://www.3dxtreme.net/other/HL2%20Lost%20Coast/hl2%202006-06-05%2011-55-03-96.jpg

[DilTech]

Now, look at his jacket and sweater, or the walls/windows/doors in the same game and you'll see how uncapable the engine is.

Even more-so, keep in mind that lost coast requirements are alot higher than standard hl2 requirements.

[Hicks]

Now, look at his jacket and sweater, or the walls/windows/doors in the same game and you'll see how uncapable the engine is.

Even more-so, keep in mind that lost coast requirements are alot higher than standard hl2 requirements.

For gods sake man go away, if your a Half life hater.

And i suppose the Doom 3 engine looks better? LMAO!

Both engines do things very well. The Source engine, is a much better alround engine, than anything out there at the moment. What you say about the requirments of the Lost Coast is irrelevant, because Episode 1 runs really well, with HDR enabled.

Are you buy any chance :banana::banana::banana::banana:ing John Carmack?:D

[xenolith]

Now, look at his jacket and sweater, or the walls/windows/doors in the same game and you'll see how uncapable the engine is.

Even more-so, keep in mind that lost coast requirements are alot higher than standard hl2 requirements.

And if they were modeled correctly instead of just textured, it would require even higher hardware requirements. I don't think that what you're pointing out is necessarily a limit on the engine's capabilities, it's just a choice the developer makes in what to emphasize in a scene that the most common hardware can handle.

I very much liked HL2:EP1 overall. I feel I got what I paid for...

The only thing I might have changed would make Alyx more vulnerable and have limited ammo.

[Kano]

"...As for the plot, the plot doesn't make a game..."

Say no more. That one statement shows that you have no idea what you are talking about.
Have you even played HL2; Ep 1?
Go hate somewhere else.

It makes me very angry when people judge things they have not even tried. Thus, fanboyism.

[STEvil]

as to plot...

I cannot believe I just read that statement from you DilTech.


Why the heck should we even try putting a storyline into a game if this is the case? Lets run around with stickmen.. orcs, elves, headcrabs, etc.. they're pointless.

[littleowl]

I think you guys need to just calm down!! :eek:

one thing I like about this forum is there is not a lot of fighting but this thread has a good bit of it!! :slap: :slapass: :nono:

lets all get along and get back to the topic! do you like the game? (yes) why? (well this is why) ........ that is the end of it! don't go yelling at somone because they did or didn't like it!! Please

[ocmyface]

I think you guys need to just calm down!! :eek:

one thing I like about this forum is there is not a lot of fighting but this thread has a good bit of it!! :slap: :slapass: :nono:

lets all get along and get back to the topic! do you like the game? (yes) why? (well this is why) ........ that is the end of it! don't go yelling at somone because they did or didn't like it!! Please

its a debate. debates happen, no offense but i hate when people do what you just did and step in the middle of a debate and tell everyone to calm down and just be friends. this is what the forums are for, expressing and sharing eachothers opinions without being able to take a bat to eachothers cars :p:

[Mr. Tinker]

Now, look at his jacket and sweater, or the walls/windows/doors in the same game and you'll see how uncapable the engine is.
That's not the engine, that's the artist. Duh.

What other engines can do HDR + AA on all current and even some past-gen hardware from both camps?

[ocmyface]

source engine is higher polygon and lower texture whereas D3 engine is the other way around. thats why people's heads are shaped naturally in HL2 and people in D3 look like coneheads.

D3 skin and faces may look a tad bit better, but thats becuase they are significantly sacrificing polygon count hence the conehead shape. the source engine on the other hand manages to make realistically shaped bodies while at the same time amazingly detailed facial expressions and appearance

and just becuase non-interactive windows and doors, as well as jackets and shirts arent as detailed as the faces doesnt discredit the entire engine. there is so much being rendered in every scene of HL2 (unlike Doom3, darkest game ever made) that if all the windows and shirts (things that dont matter much and you dont interact with) were as detailed as everything else. only the high end systems would run and everything else would crawl to a halt. do you honestly think the source engine is incapable of detailed windows and shirts? please :rolleyes:

seems to me like you are really digging deep for reasons to bash the source engine

[Hicks]

seems to me like you are really digging deep for reasons to bash the source engine

Or Valve, and te whole Half Life universe. He wouldn't be the first, and wouldn't be the last.

Back to the game. The commentary, was very good, amazing how small little things, make such a big difference. Gonna be a long wait till xmas for Episode 2, hehe.

[ocmyface]

are these epsidoes supposed to replace HL3? ive never found a solid answer before

[Hicks]

Good question, i dunno.

Hopeully, there will be Ep 2 and 3, and then HL3 will wrap the whole series up.:)

[Kano]

Acording to Valve the episodes are a way of getting more HL to the fans sooner. For now we only know of it going as far ep 3. But there might be more.

On HL3: I remember Valve saying a while back that HL3 would be closing for all the HL games before it. Not the last Half-Life game, but maybe the last that you play as Gordon Freeman. They also said it would not be released untill video game graphics had evolved to the point at which realism was possible. Or roughly, graphically on-par with movie CGI.

Source 2?

[xenolith]

and just becuase non-interactive windows and doors, as well as jackets and shirts arent as detailed as the faces doesnt discredit the entire engine. there is so much being rendered in every scene of HL2 (unlike Doom3, darkest game ever made) that if all the windows and shirts (things that dont matter much and you dont interact with) were as detailed as everything else. only the high end systems would run and everything else would crawl to a halt. do you honestly think the source engine is incapable of detailed windows and shirts? please :rolleyes:

Exactly. It was stated numerous times in the developer's commentary that the detail on some (insignificant) things in a map were sacrificed to accommodate the higher quality detail that could now be afforded to those things to which the player interacted. The main purpose being to save on polygon counts/system requirements and development time.

Until most everyone owns the latest SLI system available and gamers are willing to cough up a lot more $ for the developer's wares, that's the way most PC games will be developed.

[einCe]

are these epsidoes supposed to replace HL3? ive never found a solid answer before
they did this so that we wouldnt be left with a cliffhanger while they are developing hl3, remember, they started hl2 right after hl1 release. we wont see hl3 for 6-10 years.

[xenolith]

Enough of this HL3, please. Gabe Newell referred in his latest interview at eurogamer.net (http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=65345) that EP1-3 is HL3.

Any rumors and speculation of a "HL3" beyond the current EP1-3 format is just that - pure rumor and speculation. That is until Gabe comes out with some info, and that's probably a long way off.

And with that said, may I speculate? The next iteration of the series (HL3 or HL4 or whatever) probably won't even include Gordon Freeman as the main charactor. ;)

[littleowl]

Well ocmyface I am not saying not to debate any of it! But telling someone they are stupid because they like it is not a debate it is an argument!! I think that it looks good but if it only takes a couple hrs to play it is not a game, its just a add-on!! I believe the same as a couple other people on here that they are just trying to get some of the money they lost be no getting enough leases for the engine!

its a debate. debates happen, no offense but i hate when people do what you just did and step in the middle of a debate and tell everyone to calm down and just be friends. this is what the forums are for, expressing and sharing eachothers opinions without being able to take a bat to eachothers cars :p:

[xenolith]

I think that it looks good but if it only takes a couple hrs to play it is not a game, its just a add-on!!

Actually it's an episode.

ep·i·sode: n. 1. An incident or event that is part of a progression or a larger sequence. 2. A portion of a narrative that relates an event or a series of connected events and forms a coherent story in itself; an incident.

[littleowl]

Exactly it is just an add-on/episode!! Shouldn't really be any different then hl2!!!!!!!! So why are certain people getting upset and arguing how bad it is!! It should not look any better or any worse then hl2!! I would guess if you go looking it still links into hl2 to get most of the source code it is using! By the way I don't feel we need any sop operas for pc games and that is all an episode is!

Actually it's an episode.

ep·i·sode: n. 1. An incident or event that is part of a progression or a larger sequence. 2. A portion of a narrative that relates an event or a series of connected events and forms a coherent story in itself; an incident.

[lutjens]

I thought Episode 1 was excellent, albeit a bit on the short side. I do wish Valve would loosen up the "plot-strings" though and spill more of the beans when it comes to the overall storyline...Episode 1 progressed the plot very little in terms of the big picture.:(

[ocmyface]

Well ocmyface I am not saying not to debate any of it! But telling someone they are stupid because they like it is not a debate it is an argument!! I think that it looks good but if it only takes a couple hrs to play it is not a game, its just a add-on!! I believe the same as a couple other people on here that they are just trying to get some of the money they lost be no getting enough leases for the engine!

i wasnt saying anyone was wrong or right. just saying let the argument/debate go on.

and when someone jumps into a thread just to state how much they hate the item in discussion and how much better B is than A, then expect there to be some guff. because nobody here is afraid to step on someone's toes when they disagree with him/her. thats what makes this forum so great :toast:

EDIT: yeah xenolith is right. read that interview on eurogamer

Probably a better name for it would have been Half Life 3: Episode One, but these three are what we're doing as our way of taking the next step forward, but Half-Life 2 was the name we used.

[littleowl]

yes it does make the forum great because that is how I learn stuff! :) but I guess maybe I misunderstood this thread because I thought what it was for was to show some screen shots and say this is why I like it and this is why I didn't like it!! As for the debate about the engine I think most of the graphics problems you are pointing out is because of the artest not the engine!

[ocmyface]

yeah. youre right about that. this thread did go way off-topic, but meh. it happens

[littleowl]

I must agree though from what I can see from the screen shots that have been posted, they didn't really improve on anything noticable!

[ocmyface]

thats not the point tho. the point was too add onto the story and make some easy money

[littleowl]

very true they are trying to do that and they will try too for a few years to come!

[ocmyface]

however. to be fair the idea behind it is very good, especially if you read the interview posted earlier by xenolith. i just think they are charging way to much for it. granted you do get up to 4 games for that price. everyone already owns two of them and its not fair to make us pay for half life deathmatch source or whatever. id rather pay ten or 5 bucks and just get EP1

[dnottis]

thats not the point tho. the point was too add onto the story and make some easy money


Read the interview that is online with Gabe Newell today - I think Shacknews has the link - this is basically HL3 Episode 1. They are breaking it into 3 episodes intead of working on it for 3 years, they are releasing one now, one at the end of the year and part 3 next year.

So basically pay $60 for it all at once after 3 years or $20 per episode and not have to wait so long. It's not just "making some extra money and adding useless story" it's what we would have gotten in a few years called Half Life 3.

[ocmyface]

yeah. i came to that conclusion about 7 posts ago. like i said its a good idea but i think 20 bucks is a little high

[Negative Design]

I can't wait to play this game...definitely worth the price and more!

And this game is 10,000X better than doom3(IMHO) and I play HL2 at 1940x1280 at maxed out settings with fakefactory ultra high res mod AND still get amazing frame rates.With the same high res mods for D3 my system lags heavily but D3 beats HL2 in sound by a LOOOOOONG shot its the best sounding game of all time(IMHO) if you have the H/W for it.

And I'm shocked at Dil's thoughts on this game...wow...and I'll leave it at that.

[Turok]

Now, look at his jacket and sweater, or the walls/windows/doors in the same game and you'll see how uncapable the engine is.

Even more-so, keep in mind that lost coast requirements are alot higher than standard hl2 requirements.

OMG, I had to answer this even if its 1.5 pages late :slapass:

Surely, you havent seen the FakeFactory retexturing mods to critisize texture quality :rolleyes:
http://halflife2.filefront.com/files/search/?keyword=FakeFactory&game=32&search_category=all&fields_name=1&fields_filename=1&start=0&limit=25&descriptions_in=0&outdated_in=0&summary_in=0&show_screenshot_in=0&sort=date&date_direction=desc#results

Valve designed the Source engine and HL2 to be accessible to a wide range of users, so they had to use low res textures. The engine is pretty efficient compared to most engines, and its probably the best SM2 engine to date.
With Lost Coast and Episode 1 the source engine's potential is still not in the fullest. Its the ONLY SM2 based engine that I know of that mimics HDR verry well. Other SM2 engines just use ugly Bloom effects.
The engine is efficient enough that if you remake BF2 (another SM2 engine) on the Source engine, it will run and look A LOT better.

[Kano]

Speaking of FF, he just came out with a pack for EP 1 today. :)

[Cooper]

Turok this mod simply amazing :slobber: But this somehow turns off AA :(

[Negative Design]

You won't need AA with this mod ;) especially for me since I run 19X12 :)

[Cooper]

Well I run 1024x768 on 7600GT :D
And missing AA is certainly a miss for :(

Few pics :

http://img489.imageshack.us/img489/1411/hl220060607003833293tl.th.jpg (http://img489.imageshack.us/my.php?image=hl220060607003833293tl.jpg)http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/7745/hl220060607004322172df.th.jpg (http://img211.imageshack.us/my.php?image=hl220060607004322172df.jpg)http://img489.imageshack.us/img489/3904/hl220060607005523561ez.th.jpg (http://img489.imageshack.us/my.php?image=hl220060607005523561ez.jpg)http://img211.imageshack.us/img211/3953/hl220060607005550375lz.th.jpg (http://img211.imageshack.us/my.php?image=hl220060607005550375lz.jpg)

You just gotta love those jeanz ;)

[perkam]

You won't need AA with this mod ;) especially for me since I run 19X12 :)wth...i need both aa AND af.

Perkam

[Negative Design]

Try forcing it in CCC,me I'm happy no jaggies here(HL2).

[Kano]

The reason AA does not work for you guys is because all current NVIDIA video cards do not support both AA and HDR at the same time. While the new 1k series ATI cards do support both.

For Nvidia fans, you'll have to wait until Geforce 8 for both HDR and AA. :( But that will also come with SM 4 and DX 10 support. :)

[Cooper]

The reason AA does not work for you guys is because all current NVIDIA video cards do not support both AA and HDR at the same time. While the new 1k series ATI cards do support both.

For Nvidia fans, you'll have to wait until Geforce 8 for both HDR and AA. :( But that will also come with SM 4 and DX 10 support. :)

HL2 uses different implementation of HDR - NV does run both HDR and AA

[Kano]

HL2 uses different implementation of HDR - NV does run both HDR and AA

HL2 does not have HDR. HL2 EP 1 and Lost Coast do.
Trust me, you cannot have both AA and HDR with a current Nvidia card.

[Cooper]

HL2 does not have HDR. HL2 EP 1 and Lost Coast do.
Trust me, you cannot have both AA and HDR with a current Nvidia card.

Wanna bet on it ? :p:

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/7958/hdraa6ze.th.jpg (http://img220.imageshack.us/my.php?image=hdraa6ze.jpg)

[Turok]

Wanna bet on it ? :p:

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/7958/hdraa6ze.th.jpg (http://img220.imageshack.us/my.php?image=hdraa6ze.jpg)

Ummm.... he is partially right...
The Source engine uses Shader Model 2.0 and the HDR effect was coded to the engine. Its not the real API HDR from SM3.
My x850xt can do HDR+AA on HL2 too.

As far as I know, nVidia can NOT do HDR+AA in pure SM3 HDR.
Unless you prove me wrong and you find a nVidia card running HDR+AA on a SM3 game ;)

[Kano]

I think when you force the AA, it forces the HDR to the Bloom effect. Thus its no longer HDR. While it looks kinda like it.
But maybe I'm wrong. :)

[Major_A]

Ummm.... he is partially right...
The Source engine uses Shader Model 2.0 and the HDR effect was coded to the engine. Its not the real API HDR from SM3.
My x850xt can do HDR+AA on HL2 too.

As far as I know, nVidia can NOT do HDR+AA in pure SM3 HDR.
Unless you prove me wrong and you find a nVidia card running HDR+AA on a SM3 game ;)
He never said nVidia could do full HDR and AA. At the moment only ATi's X1X00 line can do full HDR and AA, but there are only a handful of titles that I know you can actually use both, Far Cry and Oblivion being the big ones.

[perkam]

Found It :)

http://img476.imageshack.us/img476/4858/ministrider4rl.jpg

Perkam

[Turok]

Found It :)

Perkam

What's that you found? A mapping error?
The right side doesnt have anything bounding it.

[einCe]

he noclipped outside the map to the room where mossman reports and get attacked. nothing spectacular

[ocmyface]

bought the game today. i liek it so far. i jsut got past the part where alyx snipes to cover you. the first 20 minutes is awesome

[Negative Design]

bought the game today. i liek it so far. i jsut got past the part where alyx snipes to cover you. the first 20 minutes is awesome


Woohoo! ruin the game some more for us if u don't mind ;)

:nono: :slapass:

[Kano]

Why are you in this topic if you haven't played it?
Not to be rude...

[Negative Design]

Buying it soon...like several here who've posted.

[Kano]

Leave before you tempt me to give away major plot points. ;)

Like the fact that at the end Alyx-...

[einCe]

Leave before you tempt me to give away major plot points. ;)

Like the fact that at the end Alyx-...
does nothing. aw crap i spoiled it

[r3w4]

Episode 1 was good by itself, but didn't add much besides plot. I was hoping you would get to play as Alyx with the automatic pistol. They could have changed the skins a little more too.

[ocmyface]

Woohoo! ruin the game some more for us if u don't mind ;)

alyx shooting a gun doesnt spoil much :D

[Negative Design]

alyx shooting a gun doesnt spoil much :D

I was kidding.

[ocmyface]

I was kidding.

are you serious? :rolleyes:

anyways, beat the "episode" just now. really good def worth the twenty bucks

[Cooper]

Found It :)

http://img476.imageshack.us/img476/4858/ministrider4rl.jpg

Perkam


How you got that SS ???
I don`t remember this thing in EP1 :confused:

[ocmyface]

How you got that SS ???
I don`t remember this thing in EP1 :confused:

post 87
he noclipped outside the map to the room where mossman reports and get attacked. nothing spectacular

[Cooper]

I wish I could understand that more. Who`s mossman and what room ? At least what chapter is that ? Wanna try this out

[ocmyface]

oh ok. the best i can remember is that at the beginning of EP1. while you and alex are still in the citadel, mossman puts out a report of their current status and ppl trying to get out of city17 and as she is reporting, she yells that the combine has found her and one of those blue things shwo for the first time. its not a room that you physically see AFAIK, i think its shown through video or "jumps" to it. sorry but thats the best i can remember/say without giving stuff away

mossman is the woman doctor from HL2 that works for breen and alyx's father (black doctor)

as far as chapter. one of the first ones, thats best i can do, sorry

[Alec]

Completed it earlier this morning - definatelly the funnest Half Life sequel I've ever played. So crammed full of shooting / action, and working with Alyx just makes it so much more interesting! :D

It is quite short though, like most of you guys are saying (took me about 4 hours to complete), but the quality of those 4 hours was top-knotch. I quite like Valve's new idea of making new, smaller sequels - as long as they release them quite frequently, saves us having to wait for aaages for like "half life 3", spend a day playing it - complete it and thats it for another coupel of years.


If any of you guys want any movies of some of the action, jsut ask - I am happy to redo some parts of ti again and record it! :D :banana:

[chunkylover77]

This game is on sale at Circuit City for $7.99. For those who thought $20 was a little expensive that is a real good price.

[Larry]

I have just finished Half life 2 :) i really enjoyed it, but one thing that bugged me was your sand flies and squad following you all the time, every movement they follow getting in in the way. Well i am thinking of buying episode 1 and after reading this thread i will be and its dirt cheap now but i see you can get the orange box anyone pre ordered?

[hoax]

I pre-ordered... and have been wasting all available time on tf2 :p:

but I am more interested in portal then any other game on that box...althought tf2 was a nice surprise... didn't expect it to be this good :up: