[Grey Wolf]

.... is Valve itself. Found this over at HardOCP:
http://halflife2.filefront.com/news/HalfLife_2_Pirated_Warez_Version_Info;13907

[Taristin]

Valve sucks.

[vyper]

Okay while I'm probably going to buy HL2, that article reeks of fanboyism taken to the extreme.

[Ransom]

Sounds like a good idea to me.

As for fanboys, has anyone seen the major HL2 forums? They're really quite distressing. If anyone even implies HL2 isn't the digital Jesus, they get flamed down a well and a permanent ban thrown after them.

[Fineus]

Ransom Arceihn has a point about the major HL2 forums, they really are very elitist there - anyone who implies that the game isn't the greatest ever (for instance.. voices that they didn't like the lack of storyline explanation) gets flamed for not loving it entirely.

As for Valve, while I admire their abilities as a software house - I grow continually peeved at their actions of late. Yes they've created Half Life 2 - but they've also seriously screwed their fans over with Steam, and now seem to have spent more time working on a specially created warez copy of HL2 with the specific aim of catching users out.

I wonder if their commitment to creating a good game has been forgotten in the wake of trying to catch people out instead. Certainly Steam is a very unpleasent program to use and I hate having to go through it just to play the game (why the hell should I have to, I bought the game - do I really need to prove I am who I say I am every time I try to play?)...

Suffice to say, I'm not impressed. However since the game does run for me - I'm less pissed than I could be. Let's put it this way - if I was one of the many users who've had problems with Steam or had the game crash on them - I'd be totally livid that Valve have spent time creating anti-warez copies of the game in place of ensuring Steam is stable for everyone and that the game runs well for all users (both of which are apparently not the case).

Meh.. they need to sort themselves out. Their priorities are wrong.

[Rictor]

*swears profusely*

The whole thing is a mess. There are a million rumours floating around, and just as many versions. Keeping it all straight is a full time job I tells ya. Yes, you can get it working, many (most?) people have, its quitr easy, but we're talking about 4gb of content here, so unless you either preloaded or are lucky enough to know the right people to get on a private ftp server, its a long wait. Two days spent on IRC and forums, and still nothing to show for it.

By the way, EMPORiO was the first to crack the game, and there is every indication that their lead coder, Maddox, got nabbed. Basically, they just disappeared all of a sudden, leaving only the occasional cryptic message on their website.

[Jetmech Jr.]

This thread should be deleted... someones opinion i no, but Halflife 2 deserves no critsism it is soooo good

Quoted from a thread I found on that sites' forums where someoe said they were disappointed with HL2.

ROFL

I honestly thought you were exaggerating, Kal. Guess not.

[Fineus]

It's worse than that, believe me. Sad isn't it

[Liberator]

You know, before I was just meh..., but now I probably won't buy it.  I mean if they don't trust me so much, why should I patronize them?

That and I'm pissed off at Nvidia.  The AGP version of the 6600gt is $50.00 more expensive that the PCIx version.  I mean, WHERE IN HELL DO THEY GET OFF?  It's supposed to be mainstream card targeted at the avid game who want's value because he doesn't upgrade often.  I mean, I just built this system a little under a year ago and already I can't get parts?  GEEZ!


*edit*
Jetmech, it gets worse:

Half Life 2 is the best game out. There is no nagatives witch i can see and if can complian about a game like this you need.

A. Your head examined
B. Question whither your really a gamer
C. Blow your head off because you can't be pleased

[Grey Wolf]

Liberator, that's because it's not the AGP version of the normal 6600, but rather the AGP version of the 6600GT, with slightly slower RAM.

EDIT: Misread your post. Do you mean they're selling it for $250? If they are, it's still most likely the post-release price spike...

[Fineus]

Liberator, don't be fooled by my negative statements at all - HL2 *is* a great game. However I'm bitter on account of the install process and Steams requirements of you.

Fact is - when you get into the game and it's all running as it should - it's magic. Tremendous fun and I'm glad I bought it. Having finished it though, I'm mentioning the negatives so that people aren't under the illusion that it's an easy ride.

[Jetmech Jr.]

That place must be a Troll's Dream-come-true...

[Liberator]

I didn't misunderstand Kal, I just refuse to buy/play a game that requires me to connect to the internet to play the single-player component.  That's the same reason I don't play mmorpgs, no matter how pretty or well put together.

Also, post release spike my hairy fat ass, there's only 3 vendors producing them and XFx is the only one I can find at any online dealer.

The PCIx version is $185.00 at New Egg.  The AGP version, which is still a large percentage of the after market, is $235.00.  I could buy an AGP 6800 for not much more than that.

[Grey Wolf]

There's always a spike. 6800s and 6800 GTs have dropped ~$100 since launch. High demand and low supply equals high initial cost.

[übermetroid]

I will nto be getting HL2.   What happens when I try to play it and I do not have internet access?

[Rictor]

AFAIK, you only have to activate it once, and you can do that on any computer, not necessarily the one you will play on, though you have to install Steam on whichecer computer you will be registering with.

[Liberator]

Grey Wolf, the PCIx version has been out for months and the only difference is the bus, how can there be a low supply?  They should've had 2,000,000 units ready to ship when Nvidia gave the okay.

[Turnsky]

the whole registration process of half life 2 via steam irked me to no end, really. 'cause it took its bloody time in doing so, personally, i see steam as something that eats up more of my dwindling system resources..

[Kamikaze]

Software is bound to get cracked however much effort they put into "anti-piracy" measures.

It'd be wiser to invest more money into quality games than in fascist distribution schemes. Would make more of their real customers happy too.

Why do developers or the managers of software companies not get this?

(maybe because those worshipping trolls exist?)

[Grey Wolf]

The actual difference is the prescence of the BR2 bridge chip, and the reason there's a short supply is quite simply because the major companies don't have them out in force. You mentioned seeing XFX, but the prices won't drop until you start seeing the MSI, Gigabyte, and Asus parts show up, as those are the three biggest motherboard/graphics card companies.