Half-Life 2 Articles and Screenshots

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Gameguru Mania News - Aug,16 2004 -

Half-Life 2 Articles and Screenshots - media
(hx) 04:04 AM CEST - Aug,16 2004 - Post a comment / read (18)

PlanetHalfLife just posted 20 brand new screenshots of Half-Life 2 that were demonstrated at the Siggraph conference in Los Angeles by Valve's art director Viktor Antonov. It looks like Half-Life 2 is shaping up to be one of the most realistic first person shooters to date, some of these shots are extremely impressive. They also has posted a reader Q&A with Valve employees, and a hands-on Counter-Strike: Source preview.

Q: Will we see any graphical enhancements and/or support for future technologies through Steam?

A: Gabe talked about how through Steam they could add enhanced graphics as they become available. "If a user say, installs a brand new x900 (assuming that's what is next) that has some fancy new features that their old card didn't support, such as pixel shader 3 (for example). We (VALVe) could release a small update to the game to download that content to that user's computer as soon as Steam discovers the new Video Card". Basically they can release custom content to your computer depending on your system; and if you upgrade to hardware that enables a new technology, it can enable it!

last 10 comments:

xxxx	(06:51 AM CEST - Aug,16 2004 )
cough, this game will own if it looks this good

FX5900	(07:37 AM CEST - Aug,16 2004 )
That first Infrastructure photo looks so real it must be fake. :D Half-Life 2 looks set to become the definite DOOM3 killer.

yhancik

(01:11 PM CEST - Aug,16 2004 )

i believe some pictures are reference photos

look for example to http://www.planethalflife.com/screenshot.asp?src=/features/articles/sigg04/phl_c17_Slide08_hi.jpg
and http://www.planethalflife.com/screenshot.asp?src=/features/articles/sigg04/phl_c17_Slide10b_hi.jpg

and there http://www.planethalflife.com/features/articles/sigg04/index11.shtm
(the first one could be a reference for lightings, used on the second one)

xxxx

(06:38 PM CEST - Aug,16 2004 )

FX5900> That first Infrastructure photo looks so real it must be fake. :D

Half-Life 2 looks set to become the definite DOOM3 killer.

someone told me those are actual screenshots from the game... as i said, this game is gonna kick butt if this is true. god and i was gonna start kicking off doing a mod for UT2K4. i think i'm gonna wait to actually see HL2 before i do that. god i hope they don't screw up like iD... please please don't f it up Gabe!

Sabot	(07:50 PM CEST - Aug,16 2004 )
My, my how xxxx changes he's tune about 'everyone buying HL2 are the same that buy DOOM3' hypocrite. I've seen water quality just as good in Far Cry -you wouldn't know of course- Besides who cares what water looks like, it's GAMEPLAY i'm interested not 'shiny,sparkly cheap thrills' Easily impressed or what.....

devilhood

(08:10 PM CEST - Aug,16 2004 )

I'm fairly confident that HL2 will turn out to be a lot more playable than Doom 3. I feel already pretty bored with Doom 3, the gameplay has grown quite tiresome for me and the whole game itself feels like something is missing- shamedly a rush job even with the amount of time and supposed effort put into it. There aren't enough multiplayer maps, localized damage is almost non-existant, the weapon balance is terrible, single player missions are quite stale, the only good factor is the sound (although no EAX support), scary atmosphere and nice graphics the game has. I'll agree with xxxx on the wall textures though, they are pretty disgusting.
HL2 will have much better support mod-wise for it and will without a doubt have better longitivity. My bet is on Doom 3 fading away just like Far Cry did (though Far Cry is a pretty stunning game). What on earth is happening with the game industry?

xxxx

(08:15 PM CEST - Aug,16 2004 )

@devilhood, ya the graphics are unbelievable in HL2(almost unbelievable), tell me this game ain't gonna kick butt. From what i read today there is likely going to be some recoil issues and stuff in the game but who cares, hahaha..i'm just simply dying here to see a real game with all the eye candy. Vampire Masquerade looks not too bad either using same engine..sucks i missed on the CS 2 source preview due to some ignoramuses who gave out the download info.

Sabot

(08:31 PM CEST - Aug,16 2004 )

Devilhood, it's all about 'eye-candy' these day's. Try and get the punter to buy the MOST expensive graphics card to make the most money because of tie-in deals with card manufacturers and games publishers.
You just need to look at the free HL2 coupon *ONLY* with high end cards or buy an AMD64 CPU and recieve a free copy of Far Cry or the reviews with DOOM3 *AGAIN* all trying to push us into buying the 'latest-and-greatest'.

Of course older gamers want (or rather i DO)gameplay rather than buying a $400 card to watch lot's of exploding things on screen for less than 8hours gameplay.

The big problem with HL2 is that it will most probably be HEAVILY scripted -as per the first one. Remember HL1 *started* the serious scripting to make us believe we were in a living,breathing world. Games like DOOM3 have just continued it and it no longer grips us like the marines in HL1. I suppose it's not any different than watching a good action packed movie with specialy effects. Watch it once and it's jaw-droppingly-good. Watch it again and it's NEVER the same.

devilhood

(09:40 PM CEST - Aug,16 2004 )

Scripted indeed, I suppose the alternative would be to go for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. with it's utterly non-scripted enviornment, but I reckon both games will compliment each other and both will be released apart from each other anyways.

The main thing in games that mean a lot to people now is freedom, the little things you can and cannot do, the things that let people know that it's polished off and great care has been taken to making it, or the bugs, hardware conflicts, sloppy coding, lack of SDK, naff weapons and poor level designs that determine whether or not a game will last.

The time we are in at the moment is quite dodgy because of how everything is advancing, we are on the borderline of what is now considered Retro and Modern, the realism in games are really being pushed to the limits with the rapid advancement of technology.

I think eventually a norm and common ground will exist where there will be less competition over graphics and rather more time will be spent on making a game extremely playable.
don't get me wrong though, personally graphics do not bother me hugely because I grew up with the C64 and Amiga.
I believe that people who played through those machines really do have a greater appreciation and different mind-set to a lot of the new generation of gamers coming through. There still exists people who are looking back at what was before them though, the beauty of all the old computers and consoles, and naturally this should be encouraged.

Music in games is pretty poor as well, with only a few exceptions such as FF7, most other RPG's and the Silent Hill series.
Here's a pretty good article I read on the current situation of music in games: [URL=http://remix64.phatsites.de/index.php?load=Featured_In_The_Name_Of_Progress]Click Here[/URL]

xxxx

(09:45 PM CEST - Aug,16 2004 )

it's not solely about the eyecandy, it's about providing a nice engine with nice graphics and little compromise(efficient coding of the engine). Doom 3 didn't do that. Doom 3 requires all the new video cards and stuff or you lag or the game is just not like it's supposed to be. HL2 will run on any system practically and to the limits of their card. For one of my machines with a 9700 it will run silk smooth and i can have virtually all the eye candy on($200 card). there are a lot of people still running HL1 and i think it's a good service and a good hint that some of those people will need to upgrade to see the game better, thus the coupon. for older gamers as you say, i would figure they are smart enough to optimize their system to run the game properly and as Gabe says, better your machine the more updates you get thru steam to match your system description. i don't think it gets much better than this. i can't say HL1 is the best there is or was but the support was there and people went nuts with mods. their success is not questionable, it's the reality. i believe HL2 will go in the same direction because of their support and with steam their jobs are that much easier. as i said, it's a shame that the god of games aka carmack had zero forsight with doom3. it's a dud or will be in 6 months time from now. a dud that scored 9/10 on some review sites. i been all around the net reading other peoples remarks and i'm glad my feelings and statements follow 100% along what others have said too. it's the younger generation that will get scared playing doom 3 and it's the younger generation that will go gaga on the graphics. for me, it was fun for the first few hours and now it's just draggin on and the spawning of monsters is just way to predictable. there is one point you go in this room and pick up a motherload of ammo and supplies, gee guys, wonder what's in store for me? HL 2 by screenshots is what gamers are looking for, guys like me looking for an all round good shooter that is going to have promising mods. all the qualities seem to be in HL2 and I am axious as hell to get my hands on it and join the thousands of gamers that will flock to it. from all acounts on HL2 and some comments i heard from the limited beta testers is the game is gonna be huge and i'm with em whether it be scripted sequences or not..

devilhood

(09:55 PM CEST - Aug,16 2004 )

I'm with you on that one xxxx.
Steam will definately be a great asset to HL2 as well, like you said, it offers a really flexible system of updating Valve's titles, you can't really go wrong there.
Though for the main issues on Doom 3, it does run pretty well on some older systems, just that the main problem for most people are issues with the sound because of literally no hardware support (Audigy 2 users experience most issues), Nforce mobo crashes and some other mild problems.
Don't forget about some of the newer titles coming out though, it's not all about HL2 hehe :wink:
That point and click adventure game 'The Moment of Silence' will breathe a sigh of relief into a lot of gamers hearts.

xxxx	(10:01 PM CEST - Aug,16 2004 )
true there is a lot of games coming including BF 2, STALKER and Band of Brothers that look really cool.

Sabot

(10:43 PM CEST - Aug,16 2004 )

Devilhood, it must be old or poorly maintained PCs which are causing crashes with nForce and DOOM3.

My machine is an ASUS A7N8X Deluxe Rev2.0 nForce2 using the onboard SoundStorm APU. It's quite frankly GORGEOUS the sound which comes out of it with DOOM3 8) Pretty damn good 5.1 Surround

There is no lag whatsoever and i only experienced crashes because i was using older card drivers. When i installed the latest 4.7s the problem was solved -i've been playing on/off since Fri.

I'm waiting for Operation Flashpoint 2 -although it's approx 2006 for release- that was my ultimate game OFP1 for true freedom with AI that actualy out-flanked you and used buildings,bushes etc for cover.

It's funny that you mentioned 'point and click' as a favourite genre LOL
It was mine too! Simon the Sorceror,Full Throttle,Beneath a Steel Sky,7th Guest,Broken Sword,Blade Runner and the Monkey Island series were all my TRULY best gaming moments of the early 90's. No fancy cards in those days eh :)

STEAM may be a good and a bad thing, there is still lot of people that do not have broadband -yes even in 2004 people are still on dial-up with limited internet time before being cut off and having to reconnect. I remember an interview with Oleg from IL-2:Forgotten Battles and he was asked how much sales he got from online players and those that played SP. Amazingly it was 95% SP and only 5% played online.

I've only ever thrashed RTCW,Duke3D,Quake1 and Half-Life to death on the internet for a continued period of time. Other than that i've generaly dabbled with new games online. Far Cry was crappy and laggy (i'm on 750kb braodband) haven't tried DOOM3 yet as i'm still playing.

So how does STEAM truly work? What does it cost?

xxxx

(11:34 PM CEST - Aug,16 2004 )

steam i thought originally sucked and was a marketing tool, but since i had gotten back to CS and used it through steam i was pretty impressed. it keeps track of your games and updates when applicable, all in the background, or you can cancel that. If you have a license and an account, you don't even need to install your mods, it does it for you (i started with a 600mb download of steam). Like CZ i bought, i had re-installed Steam and i didn't even reinstall CZ and it started installing it on it's own.. pretty cool. It took a while even on my fast broadband connection but it was neat none the less. all my keys seemingly got saved somewhere and i was back in and playing as if i never had nuked my box. it's going to be great to have steam and the infrastructure behind it is pretty serious too.

as for the problems with doom3, it's interesting to note you havent had any problems considering the game was made for Creative cards especially and Creative Labs is even trying to force some sort of patent out of carmack for the sound(was it really that good? honest to god, i have yet to be scared, i'm sitting with 6.1 speakers and Audigy2 cranked. Sound is fine nothing to write home about it, it's well done. But Capt.Star as he said has a 9600 XT and 4.7 drivers and similar board to you Stumpus and he is crashing on and off. I've checked his system remotely and he doesn't have anything abnormally running and all drivers including chipset drivers are all latest and greatest.. only thing i can say is he has 512MB of ram..you didn't mention your ram. I got over a GB in my rig.. I haven't had that much lag unless i go to 1280x1024..

CaptStar however has a SoundMAX card.. i wonder if others crashing have that? Or is your sound board a similar if not same card?

devilhood

(11:37 PM CEST - Aug,16 2004 )

I know a great number of people that don't have poorly maintained PC's (trust me on that account), they even have their BIOS updated and it still causes lockup issues. The game is severly buggy for some, you're just lucky enough to have hardware that isn't causing issues :wink:
For me personally however, the game runs perfectly smooth with no issues.

I'm not as excited about the sound as you though, the resolution and quality of some of the samples used are pretty low at times, and quite franky, a game without full EAX support is almost criminal.
It could have been just that 'little' bit better; they had more than enough time to consider such an option as well.
There's no option to even manually change the output sample frequency either (very minor issue for the majority of gamers). A game like UT2004 for example has superb sound drivers for it with far greater flexiblity.
I'm only saying this because I hold sound and music as a very important factor for games, I am a producer myself and write my own material, and because of my experience with Music Technology you can safely categorize me as an Audiophile hehe.

Sabot

(12:04 AM CEST - Aug,17 2004 )

LOL the permutations of hardware eh?

XXXX, the sound for me is quite incredible, it does truly surround me and the screams have a very 'surround sound depth' It's the nvidia SoundStorm APU that i have (good review here http://www.3dss.com/reviews/nForce/nForce.html , it's dedicated hardware -not all nForce boards now ship with the SoundStorm, seemingly the cost put paid to that as it has an official Integrated DSP based Dolby Digital Content Encoder (DICE) onboard.Because there is licensing cost (Dolby) in the APU part, and in the MCP2-T there is also additional technologies (3Com Ethernet and Firewire) 3COM was also dropped from future boards as it added to the costs (thank god i bought 2!!! 8) )

The 'SoundStorm' isn't a sound card it's an integral part of the first- and second-generation nForce media and communications processors. Utilizing five DSPs (three fixed, two programmable) dedicated to audio processing, the NVIDIA nForce APU is both the muscle and brains behind the nForce audio system. http://www.nvidia.com/object/apu.html

http://www.nvidia.com/object/feature_soundstorm

Anyway, i have 512mb or RAM along with an XP2800+ Barton and the 9800 Pro. I do build my machines so maybe that's a factor?

Has Captstar tried lowering his sound hardware slider and see if that stops the crashing? If it does then it most likely is his sound card. I had terrible crashes with OFP and couldn't put my finger on it until i lowered my hardware slider on my (then) SBLive! When i bought my present board it *was* my SBLive! that was the problem as the older sound card was causing a bottleneck.

xxxx

(01:51 AM CEST - Aug,17 2004 )

thanks for the info, and true, i didn't check if he had a sound hardware acceleration but I don't like messing with that because then it requires you to go back and adjust it again for proper performance in another game. but ya, Capt.Star should change that in the audio properties. by the way, as funny as it sounds, i always build systems for people with top rated parts. currently my p4p800 SE is performing quite well.Capt.Star has a P4P800, both rewarded boards...and ya i really likfe nforce and it will likely be on my next board..Creative is another company not setting a foot in my pc from this point on. My feeling is nforce and that have caught up to them now and there is no need to rely on this monopoly anymore, especially more so that developers are designing games more for 5.1 which is standard pretty much on sound cards today..

devilhood, i don't agree it's severely bugged, i think the game upon release was actually very stable and I expected nothing less from Carmack and crew. If one thing Carmack does is ensure his engines are very stable. It's actually quite odd nobody came up with this crashing..there is a few things i learned. it's not that drivers are not current and chipset drivers are not current and it seems to be nothing to do with XP in general. I was thinking perhaps that it was a memory issue dealing with those with faster ram, dual channel in particular or bios settings. In Capt.Star machine I am unable to see all the settings in his bios..I could use the phone to confirm, but i'd rather wait and see what iD says as there are numerous threads on their forums about the same thing.

anyhow..

Hey stumpus, your board is really nice, check out the P4P800 SE, it is also very very nice. I still have a lot of life left in this board. Also, is the 5.1 standard across all cards? I have most of what you got, but probably no competition in sound but then I got and Audigy 2 that counts for something..Mmmm, nforce...

wow, this is a relatively clean conversation. 8)

Sabot

(05:40 PM CEST - Aug,17 2004 )

Hey XXXX, here's a brilliant comparison review of the Audigy 2 V nVidia SoundStorm http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/audigy2_versus_nforce2/default.asp

Just get CaptStar to type 'Dxdiag' (without the quotes) in the start/run box. Click the 'Sound' tab and slide the hardware slider down to 'none' or 'basic' You don't need to restart the machine to do this :wink:

Then run DOOM3, if it works then cool, if not then just reverse the above.

That's a nice board you've got, but then it's made by ASUS as well! 8) The stability of the boards are excellent eh? You should bung in a 9800 Pro and you would be REALY flying with your games xxxx. Especialy now it's so cheap. The DOOM3 card review on the main page says "the 9700 Pro stumbles a little with Medium Quality and 4X antialiasing." Consider i can play DOOM3 with x2AA X2AF and HIGH textures and it's smooth should give you an idea what you'll get AND what HL2 will be like!! :shock:

What RAM do you have in your machine ie PC2700/3200?

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