I need help with this whole Steam idea.Please help

[Poltergeist]

Alright, people are saying the Steam Half Life 2 is different from the one in the normal box with either Alyx, G-man, or gordon on it.

This is confusing. How exactly is the source one different that the normal one? How do we get the source one? Do we download it from source server or something if we have a CD Key? If not, answer 2 things.

1- Which is better? Source or not? (The normal one has CS:source on it).

2- What is source?

[Duoae]

They are exactly the same. There is no difference except with one you get a useless DVD and case.....

[EDIT]

Source is the engine that valve used to "make" Half Life 2. It is derived from the modified quake 2 engine that was used from the original half life.

There is a difference between Half Life and Half Life: Source - which is a slightly modified version of the original Half Life.... i think you may have been confused with this concept.

The same goes with CS:Source, it is a slightly modified version of CS, but not fully modified to the standard of the full source engine.

[Cerberus_e]

actually it's quake, not quake 2.
recently, I've read in John Carmack's blog that there are parts from quake in HL2.
I'll search for the url and then paste here in an edit

EDIT: look at the part of "quake 3 source"
http://www.armadilloaerospace.com/n.x/johnc/Recent%20Updates

they are allowed to do that I think, because they licensed quake.

[Poltergeist]

Cerberus_e said:
actually it's quake, not quake 2.
recently, I've read in John Carmack's blog that there are parts from quake in HL2.
I'll search for the url and then paste here in an edit


Well, Steam is a bunch of bullshit, so I am simply not ever going to get a Steam copy.
Why?

Okay, I run Steam, and I want to play Half Life 2 Demo. I open it, and it says "Not enough disk space to play this game."

WTF? I installed this game and played it a couple of times! Bull! Anyway, I deleted lots of crap, and now I have 2 drives. C and D.

In C, there are 16.9 GB disk space free.
In D, there are 14.4 GB disk space free.

I open Steam and it says the same thing? WTF?

Steam is retarded = I'm never getting my copy of hl2 from there. I'd rather buy one bullshit-free.

Oh yeah, and I also restarted Steam, so don't tell me to restart it. Already done.


And 1 more thing, the whole Steam idea is if we download Half Life 2 full from the steam server, that's if we have the CD-Key and stuff? Or is it a totally different case? And what is up with that DVD box? What's the idea?

[Duoae]

Look. I already said. There. IS. NO. DIFFERENCE!

You cn download it off steam or buy it on DVD from the shop.

You "need" steam to be able to install and unencrypt HL2 as you download the same content that is on the DVD. You get no cd-key with the downloaded version because you pay for the game before downloading it. It is attached to your account and is unlocked. The DVD comes with a cd-key so you can verify that you have bought it.

[Cerberus_e]

yes, and you NEED to have steam if you want to play HL2, even with the DVD version (or cd)

[Poltergeist]

Yeah, but you said the DVD case one was crappy?

[Dutch]

Both versions of the game are the same.

He referred to the dvd case as being useless, because it doesn't really have a use. There's no manual in it. You'll have to connect to steam every time you play regardless of if you download it or buy the dvd.

[Orochi Avlis]

Poltergeist said:
Okay, I run Steam, and I want to play Half Life 2 Demo. I open it, and it says "Not enough disk space to play this game."

WTF? I installed this game and played it a couple of times! Bull! Anyway, I deleted lots of crap, and now I have 2 drives. C and D.

In C, there are 16.9 GB disk space free.
In D, there are 14.4 GB disk space free.

I open Steam and it says the same thing? WTF?


If it's giving you that error, I doubt it's Steam related error.
Out of all the problems I've heard, you probably the first one who has that "problem".




Oh yeah, and I also restarted Steam, so don't tell me to restart it. Already done.



Delete ClientRegistry.blob first. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[Mountain Man]

Poor Poltergeist! He asks a simple question and is inundated with misinformation and negativity!

Here's the real deal, my friend:

There are technically five different versions of Half-Life 2. This may sound confusing, but it won't be once I explain.

First of all, there are two ways to obtain Half-Life 2: 1) Purchase and download it through Steam (not Source. Source is the game engine that powers Half-Life 2); and 2) Retail box (Note: the retail version must still be authenticated through Steam after installation).

There are three "packages" available through Steam:

1) [u]Bronze</u>: This gives you access to Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2 Deathmatch, and Counter Strike: Source.

2) [u]Silver</u>: Consists of Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2 Deathmatch, Counter Strike Source, Half-Life: Source, Day of Defeat: Source, and Valve's back catalog. (In my opinion, this represents the best bang for your buck.)

3) [u]Gold</u>: Same contents as the Silver package but you also get a collection of memorabilia including a sound track CD, posters, a hat, postcards, the Prima strategy guide, and a collector's box.

There are two retail versions:

1) [u]Standard Edition</u>: This is essentially the Bronze package on CD.

2) [u]Collector's Edition</u>: Same as Bronze but includes Half-Life: Source, a strategy guide sampler, and a t-shirt.

Whether you purchase through Steam or retail, an internet connection is required to authenticate the game at least once. After that, you can play in offline mode if you desire. However, if you have an "always on" connection then there's no need. Plus, it will save you the hassle of having to manually update your Valve games since Steam offers the convenience of automatic updates.

I hope this has answered your questions.

Edit: Fixed error relating to the Bronze package.

[FireFly]

Bronze doesn't give you access to Valve's back catalogue.

[Mountain Man]

FireFly said:
Bronze doesn't give you access to Valve's back catalogue.


Whoops! You're right. Thanks for catching that!

[Poltergeist]

Ah, now it makes sense. Thank you for explaining, Mountain Man, and to everyone else who replied.

[Airtraffic]

Mountain Man said:

There are two retail versions:

1) [u]Standard Edition</u>: This is essentially the Bronze package on CD.

2) [u]Collector's Edition</u>: Same as Bronze but includes Half-Life: Source, a strategy guide sampler, and a t-shirt.




Might add that the Standard Edition comes on 5 cd's while the Collectors comes on 1 dvd.

[avatar_58]

Airtraffic said:
Might add that the Standard Edition comes on 5 cd's while the Collectors comes on 1 dvd.



I really would like to know why since other games have been released on a dvd without raising prices.... http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/doh.gif

[Inanimate Carbon Rod]

With the collectors edition you also get Valves back catalog... which is essentially Hl1 + mods.

[Mountain Man]

avatar_58 said:
Might add that the Standard Edition comes on 5 cd's while the Collectors comes on 1 dvd.


The higher price is for the extra goodies included (Half-Life: Source and a t-shirt). Granted, the extra goodies aren't all that spectacular, but talk to Vivendi if you're unhappy. Take a look at the Gold package available throught Steam if you want to see Valve's idea of a collector's edition!

[Cerberus_e]

Mountain Man said:

avatar_58 said:
Might add that the Standard Edition comes on 5 cd's while the Collectors comes on 1 dvd.


The higher price is for the extra goodies included (Half-Life: Source and a t-shirt). Granted, the extra goodies aren't all that spectacular, but talk to Vivendi if you're unhappy. Take a look at the Gold package available throught Steam if you want to see Valve's idea of a collector's edition!



indeed! an audio cd full of crap, with only 2 songs, the rest being background music from the game, for example the ravenholm background music, which is boring to listen too if you don't play.

[FireFly]

That's what all game music CDs are. They're not going to record fresh material just to stick on some CD that 1% of the fanbase gets to hear.

[Mountain Man]

Cerberus_e said:

Mountain Man said:
Take a look at the Gold package available through Steam if you want to see Valve's idea of a collector's edition!


indeed! an audio cd full of crap, with only 2 songs, the rest being background music from the game, for example the ravenholm background music, which is boring to listen too if you don't play.


The Gold package comes with considerably more than just a soundtrack CD. And while I appreciate that you hold the opinion that the soundtrack is "crap" and "boring to listen too (sic) if you don't play the game", it hardly seems necessary to point out that not everybody will agree with you.

[John]

FireFly said:
That's what all game music CDs are. They're not going to record fresh material just to stick on some CD that 1% of the fanbase gets to hear.



Yeah, some game's music is great to listen to by itself however.

I remember sticking the Quake 2 cd into a CD player.

Have any of you ever done that? I like the music that comes out http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif


(Plus, is there any way to get a DVD version of the game without paying extra? It's quite tiresome to put in each CD to install the damn game.)

[FireFly]

Move to Europe.

[John]

\o/ I've always wanted to! http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/love.gif

[Mountain Man]

John said:
(Plus, is there any way to get a DVD version of the game without paying extra? It's quite tiresome to put in each CD to install the damn game.)


Buy through Steam, use Steam's back-up feature, and burn the resultant file to DVD. It amounts to the same thing in the long run since no matter what, you have to unlock the game through Steam. Of course, the initial install is quite lengthy since you're downloading several gigs of data.

[John]

http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/doh.gif They sure did have a great idea until it's truly implented.

[Mountain Man]

Personally, I've had no problem with Steam.

[John]

I used to say the exact same thing.


Until one day, my road runner connection stopped working because they were fixing some LAN poles down the street. (My whole neighborhood is connected through a LAN)

My internet was down for a good 4 days.

I was thinking on the first day, "Hell, I'll go and play HL2 SP through again"

But then when I tried to use Offline mode, it told me it doesnt work because I can't connect to the network.

Why is this?

[Mountain Man]

John said:
Why is this?


Dunno know. Admittedly, I've only tested offline mode by yanking the DSL cable, but it's worked every time. I couldn't say what was going on in your situation.

[Duoae]

Offline mode doesn't work unless you have stayed logged in when you turned steam off. ie. You are verified..... of course, if you don't log off then you leave yourself open to an account banning since you didn't take precautions.....

Catch 22....