wow, it's great! I only had Alyx die once and I think it was a lucky orb/grenade shot from a Combine Elite soldier. I'm in zombie territory right now, not one of my favorite places to be but it's nice having Alyx around for backup.
I just got in to the third 'scene' and man, it's great! Much more scripted sequencing and story telling - and I'll definitely be playing it again to check out the commentary.
I was going to buy it untill the reports came out about it being 3-4 hours. I can go see 2 film for less than that that entertain me for the same time. And given how sparse HL story actually is, i'll pass.
I recently played through HL1 to see if I was missing anything, and I had no idea how much of a simple 'same shit, different graphics' game HL2 was. Down to the bug spores, which was hailed as some new miracle of FPS's.
So...is it worth even the $20? Is there any replay value? Do the Combine forces work with you?
Even at such a price the idea of being able to beat it in one or two sittings kinda makes it look not worth it, I still haven't played Blue Shift for that very reason heh.
Sure, there is cheaper entertainment out there, and if that's for you, then go do it. Not much sense complaining about it. The way I see it it's, 20 bucks for a DVD, or 20 bucks for a game. The latter is dynamic and each time through can be a bit different.
There's also all the commentary stuff. Going to have to see how that works a bit later.
I can officially say that I don't like escort missions now.
Combine forces don't work with you.
You can get Blue Shift now for like 3 bucks at an EB near you. That's how much I paid for mine.
As far as comparing it to HL1 and saying it's the 'same shit, different graphics', that's your opinion. Sure, when you boil it down, it's a shooter where you have to figure ways around things in order to advance the story. That's so vauge that it fits alot of FPSes. Though, show me in HL1 where you drive cars, boats, control bugs, had a physics gun. I really don't know where you can say it's the same thing.
Either way, if you guys are already questioning if you should buy it or not, then maybe you already answered your own question.
As for me, I'm enjoying my time with it and am excited to see where the story goes after this.
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Question: i thought Alyx died in the last installement, what happened ?
[/ QUOTE ]
The devs were better gamers than you .
[/ QUOTE ]
My apologies, i played Halflife 1 for 6 years loved the multiplayer interaction, but as i remember i played Halflife 2 for 2 weeks and deleted it. It was that awful,the game art was good however.
There's just the fun factor that Halflife 1 has and not Halflife 2.
I had it lock up on me while loading for the 1st time, and the performance is a bit rough.
HL2 played like a dream, so Im guessing this is the HDR & improved character face on Alyx thats killing my framerate.
I only got about 5-10 minutes into it, before I had to stop, so perhaps I'll have a stronger impression of it after this weekend.
The guys from Valve have been saying that the bonus to doing episodic content is that they can address complaints in the next episode, so hopefully we'll have some more play-time with the next one.
//spoiler-ish//
Is it just me or does Judith's transmission look like it's coming from Black Mesa? When the camera is knocked over it looks like you catch a glimpse of some desert scenery.
d/loaded it last night, played for 15 mins but got bored. Also yeah, what Scooby said. Performance suddenly sucks. I just can't be assed with it I don't think. Summers here and I'd rather not be slumped in front of a pc I guess.
And boy, Valve really need to understand UV mapping fundamentals. I'm so sick of seeing stretched broken UV's all over the place. Fuck even the first person weapons aren't UV'd properly. I'd forgotten how sloppy the Art is.
[ QUOTE ]
And boy, Valve really need to understand UV mapping fundamentals. I'm so sick of seeing stretched broken UV's all over the place. Fuck even the first person weapons aren't UV'd properly. I'd forgotten how sloppy the Art is.
[/ QUOTE ]
Yeah, actually. Alot of the people go on how great the art is, hell, their rigging isn't the best either. Hell, the characters don't even cast shadows. They still use the little round shoadow decal on the floor. (actually, I didn't bother to check Ep1, but they did that on HL2)
What gets me is all the low res textures on items you interact with. At least, this time around, they decided to put a couple more polys on the hand cranks.
In all honesty, the HDR isn't that great. There was alot of areas where the bloom was out of control.
[ QUOTE ]
They still use the little round shoadow decal on the floor. (actually, I didn't bother to check Ep1, but they did that on HL2)
[/ QUOTE ]
This is a video setting I believe, I've had raytraced shadows since HL2 original, albeit they aren't cast in real-time.
The source engine itself isn't 'next-gen'. Besides low res textures** everything still has to be calculated and compiled. The pipeline is slow as hell and it's tedious to work with - I *hate* not being able to see my work in the engine instantly. It's quirky in the way it handles spec & normal maps and heaven forbid you try and use the two together!
This engine, IMO, is great for 2 reasons. 1.) It's fun as hell to run around in and knock things over and 2.) It makes for some sweet screenshots.
I've been developing for it since August pretty much and I can go on and on with stories of headaches and keyboard bashings, but this isn't the thread nor the place
**: Low-res comparitevely to the new stuff that is coming out. 512x512 is still alright for world textures in my book. I do, however, agree that some items could have used a high-resolution texture.
just finished it not long ago. I'd say in the neighborhood of 4-6 hours for me, actually, but I'm a little slow. Definitely worth the money.
as far as talking about the art... there are assets here and there that are dodgy, sure, but what Valve gets right that so many others just don't is keeping their attention focused on the quality of the scenes taken as a whole, overall image fidelity. that's why they've got such a reputation for good visuals. Forest for the trees kind of stuff... sure there's some wonky UV mapping here or sloppy rigging there if you isolate certain pieces, but the art direction and overall experience succeed undoubtedly.
here's what i sent to valve, actually, since they solicit feedback for their game (possible spoilers):
<u>The Good:</u>
- ALYX! You all worked carefully to make sure she's empathetic and not nagging, and boy did it pay off. At nearly every scripted sequence/event, I found myself looking to see Alyx's reaction as much as watching the fireworks, even during the end. As a character she occupies the mental space of other favorite characters from film and TV, which is a testament to the hard work that's been put into her.
- Setpieces: Core and Hospital are tuned tight as a drum; Core particularly was amazing visually, and the puzzles were expertly crafted for sense of accomplishment with minimal frustration. Hospital is expertly paced, and just a blast to play with Alyx shotgunning alongside you.
- Music: (What I assume is still) Kelly Bailey's musical cues really set the tone and got the blood pumping at just the right times. The cues in the Citadel, early in Lowlife, in the Hospital are all excellent. It's great to see music employed so much more effectively than in HL2.
- Storytelling and flow: Some gripe about the length of Episode One for the money, and while it could have used at least one more setpiece or puzzle, overall the length hits just about right. Bravura opening sequence, very strong finisher. Storytelling is clearly honed with each release, and the benefits of episodic content already seem clear.
- Graphic updates: Not much to say here other than the post-processing effects and extra shader goodness really enhance the overall experience considerably, along with the now signature Valve art direction. Most of the time I'm gawking at the burning Citadel, or at Alyx, or crouching to get both into the frame at the same time for a screenshot.
<u>The Not So Good:</u>
- Stalkers: Stalkers were a bit underutilized as well; the fight or confrontation I was expecting to have with these guys never materialized. The moral quandry presented by the stalkers (as suggested by Backman in Raising the Bar) is well expressed by Alyx in the train ride, but it would have been nice to have a corresponding moment fighting them as Gordon... something other than bouncing an energy ball at them from the other side of the Core chamber.
- Lowlife Flashlight: Lowlife refers to the battery life, right? It's okay to pull a pitch-black Doom 3 zombie-fighting sequence, and it's cute that Alyx makes a joke about your flashlight battery, but come on. Doom 3 had the infamous duct-tape debacle, but the HEV's anemic flashlight strains credibility nearly as much. "Lowlife" has a lot of great, tense moments in the darkness, but tension dissolved into annoyance with that damn flashlight.
- Enemy variation: Zombines are a nice new touch, but why not similar variation present for the Combine? Nova Prospekt got special jail guard style skins in HL2, why not say... Core-keeper type uniformed Combine in the Citadel? Just a little spice, eh?
- Weapon variation: I keep seeing this comment on the forums--there are strong reasons for why a new weapon might be difficult to introduce, but at the very least it would have been nice to get to use SLAMs at a point or two in the game, as it's already done and we see the Combine use them in the game.
I don' know if anyone else is experiencing this but it crashes frequently for me . Usually happens when saving too.. Ep 1 has crashed more times today than hl2 ever did, including the several runs through I made of the game.
HL2 never ran that good on my computer until I went through a massive tweaking and updating spree to get Oblivion to run better. It involved me defragging the hard drive with Disk Keeper, updating the sound drivers and installing the latest Radeon Omega drivers. My guess it was the omega drivers, I have a laptop and I would only download official HP drivers because I was worried about compatibility issues but I finally cracked and everything's been fine with the new driver. It ran smoother than my original HL2 experience (no stutters)
I just bought ep1 last night and finally started to play a bit of it. It's pretty fun, so far. I'm just wondering if I'd enjoy it more & have a better idea what I'm supposed to do if I actually finished hl2. :X I'm definitly a fan of the added shader effects on the characters.
I just kind of felt like I'd been there and done all that when I played through HL2. I think I would have liked it more if they had gone more the Opposing Forces route and allowed you to play from a different perspective ... maybe playing as a Combine Soldier who is taking the opportunity to desert the combine and make his way out of the citadel. The preview for Episode 2 looks promising, but I think I will wait for the reviews for that one before I buy.
If you loved HL2 and want more of the same you will probably enjoy episode 1. Overall I think I enjoyed the first episode of Sin more.
[ QUOTE ]
I just bought ep1 last night and finally started to play a bit of it. It's pretty fun, so far. I'm just wondering if I'd enjoy it more & have a better idea what I'm supposed to do if I actually finished hl2. :X I'm definitly a fan of the added shader effects on the characters.
towards the end of the game I started saving ontop of old saves, and the game crashed less.. somehow the problem seemed to be related to creating new save slots. who knows..
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I just bought ep1 last night and finally started to play a bit of it. It's pretty fun, so far. I'm just wondering if I'd enjoy it more & have a better idea what I'm supposed to do if I actually finished hl2. :X I'm definitly a fan of the added shader effects on the characters.
It's the first game I bought over steam, I already miss the box But it looks like it's going to take a while, it downloads with 2-330kb/s but mostly with only 90.
I hope Alyx is more interesting than in HL2, I found her character very unoriginal and usual. Aside from that I can't wait to play hl again, yay!
It was fun but it's the same formula over and over. Like others have said if you enjoyed HL2 then you will like episode one. The level of detail in the environment work is just great.
All I've mentioned is the crashing, but inbetween that I loved it. There were several very cool 'game moments' in there that I look forward to replaying
I've not gotten much further, as its a bit crashy for me, especially when I try to enter the menu to change any settings. Crashorama. Still have chuggy performance.
Everybody raves about Alyx, but I confess the real gem of HL2 & EP1 for me is Dog. I simply love that character. With no dialog he manages to convey emotion & intelligence that most game characters cannot seem to match. Now thats some good animation! The R2D2-esque bleeps & whines dont hurt either.
Replies
Can't wait! 2 more hours, damnit.....
HL2 Episode 2 TRAILER!
This is the real thing, so consider it a spoiler.
Question: i thought Alyx died in the last installement, what happened ?
[/ QUOTE ]
The devs were better gamers than you
I heard its a really awesome game, but that instead of the promised 6 hours, its much closer to 3.5 for most people.
[/ QUOTE ]
Dang, you're right
It was a fun ride though, time to start over with commentary turned on.
Though, it's hard-crashed on me 3 times so far. Not sure what it is, this is the same setup I played HL2 on.
I recently played through HL1 to see if I was missing anything, and I had no idea how much of a simple 'same shit, different graphics' game HL2 was. Down to the bug spores, which was hailed as some new miracle of FPS's.
I'll stfu now.
Even at such a price the idea of being able to beat it in one or two sittings kinda makes it look not worth it, I still haven't played Blue Shift for that very reason heh.
Sure, there is cheaper entertainment out there, and if that's for you, then go do it. Not much sense complaining about it. The way I see it it's, 20 bucks for a DVD, or 20 bucks for a game. The latter is dynamic and each time through can be a bit different.
There's also all the commentary stuff. Going to have to see how that works a bit later.
I can officially say that I don't like escort missions now.
Combine forces don't work with you.
You can get Blue Shift now for like 3 bucks at an EB near you. That's how much I paid for mine.
As far as comparing it to HL1 and saying it's the 'same shit, different graphics', that's your opinion. Sure, when you boil it down, it's a shooter where you have to figure ways around things in order to advance the story. That's so vauge that it fits alot of FPSes. Though, show me in HL1 where you drive cars, boats, control bugs, had a physics gun. I really don't know where you can say it's the same thing.
Either way, if you guys are already questioning if you should buy it or not, then maybe you already answered your own question.
As for me, I'm enjoying my time with it and am excited to see where the story goes after this.
[ QUOTE ]
Question: i thought Alyx died in the last installement, what happened ?
[/ QUOTE ]
The devs were better gamers than you
[/ QUOTE ]
My apologies, i played Halflife 1 for 6 years loved the multiplayer interaction, but as i remember i played Halflife 2 for 2 weeks and deleted it. It was that awful,the game art was good however.
There's just the fun factor that Halflife 1 has and not Halflife 2.
HL2 played like a dream, so Im guessing this is the HDR & improved character face on Alyx thats killing my framerate.
I only got about 5-10 minutes into it, before I had to stop, so perhaps I'll have a stronger impression of it after this weekend.
Best part: The core of the Citadel.
//spoiler-ish//
Is it just me or does Judith's transmission look like it's coming from Black Mesa? When the camera is knocked over it looks like you catch a glimpse of some desert scenery.
And boy, Valve really need to understand UV mapping fundamentals. I'm so sick of seeing stretched broken UV's all over the place. Fuck even the first person weapons aren't UV'd properly. I'd forgotten how sloppy the Art is.
And boy, Valve really need to understand UV mapping fundamentals. I'm so sick of seeing stretched broken UV's all over the place. Fuck even the first person weapons aren't UV'd properly. I'd forgotten how sloppy the Art is.
[/ QUOTE ]
Yeah, actually. Alot of the people go on how great the art is, hell, their rigging isn't the best either. Hell, the characters don't even cast shadows. They still use the little round shoadow decal on the floor. (actually, I didn't bother to check Ep1, but they did that on HL2)
What gets me is all the low res textures on items you interact with. At least, this time around, they decided to put a couple more polys on the hand cranks.
In all honesty, the HDR isn't that great. There was alot of areas where the bloom was out of control.
On a side note, HL2 EPISODE 2 trailer here
http://www.gametrailers.com/player.php?id=11174&type=mov
They still use the little round shoadow decal on the floor. (actually, I didn't bother to check Ep1, but they did that on HL2)
[/ QUOTE ]
This is a video setting I believe, I've had raytraced shadows since HL2 original, albeit they aren't cast in real-time.
The source engine itself isn't 'next-gen'. Besides low res textures** everything still has to be calculated and compiled. The pipeline is slow as hell and it's tedious to work with - I *hate* not being able to see my work in the engine instantly. It's quirky in the way it handles spec & normal maps and heaven forbid you try and use the two together!
This engine, IMO, is great for 2 reasons. 1.) It's fun as hell to run around in and knock things over and 2.) It makes for some sweet screenshots.
I've been developing for it since August pretty much and I can go on and on with stories of headaches and keyboard bashings, but this isn't the thread nor the place
**: Low-res comparitevely to the new stuff that is coming out. 512x512 is still alright for world textures in my book. I do, however, agree that some items could have used a high-resolution texture.
as far as talking about the art... there are assets here and there that are dodgy, sure, but what Valve gets right that so many others just don't is keeping their attention focused on the quality of the scenes taken as a whole, overall image fidelity. that's why they've got such a reputation for good visuals. Forest for the trees kind of stuff... sure there's some wonky UV mapping here or sloppy rigging there if you isolate certain pieces, but the art direction and overall experience succeed undoubtedly.
here's what i sent to valve, actually, since they solicit feedback for their game (possible spoilers):
<u>The Good:</u>
- ALYX! You all worked carefully to make sure she's empathetic and not nagging, and boy did it pay off. At nearly every scripted sequence/event, I found myself looking to see Alyx's reaction as much as watching the fireworks, even during the end. As a character she occupies the mental space of other favorite characters from film and TV, which is a testament to the hard work that's been put into her.
- Setpieces: Core and Hospital are tuned tight as a drum; Core particularly was amazing visually, and the puzzles were expertly crafted for sense of accomplishment with minimal frustration. Hospital is expertly paced, and just a blast to play with Alyx shotgunning alongside you.
- Music: (What I assume is still) Kelly Bailey's musical cues really set the tone and got the blood pumping at just the right times. The cues in the Citadel, early in Lowlife, in the Hospital are all excellent. It's great to see music employed so much more effectively than in HL2.
- Storytelling and flow: Some gripe about the length of Episode One for the money, and while it could have used at least one more setpiece or puzzle, overall the length hits just about right. Bravura opening sequence, very strong finisher. Storytelling is clearly honed with each release, and the benefits of episodic content already seem clear.
- Graphic updates: Not much to say here other than the post-processing effects and extra shader goodness really enhance the overall experience considerably, along with the now signature Valve art direction. Most of the time I'm gawking at the burning Citadel, or at Alyx, or crouching to get both into the frame at the same time for a screenshot.
<u>The Not So Good:</u>
- Stalkers: Stalkers were a bit underutilized as well; the fight or confrontation I was expecting to have with these guys never materialized. The moral quandry presented by the stalkers (as suggested by Backman in Raising the Bar) is well expressed by Alyx in the train ride, but it would have been nice to have a corresponding moment fighting them as Gordon... something other than bouncing an energy ball at them from the other side of the Core chamber.
- Lowlife Flashlight: Lowlife refers to the battery life, right? It's okay to pull a pitch-black Doom 3 zombie-fighting sequence, and it's cute that Alyx makes a joke about your flashlight battery, but come on. Doom 3 had the infamous duct-tape debacle, but the HEV's anemic flashlight strains credibility nearly as much. "Lowlife" has a lot of great, tense moments in the darkness, but tension dissolved into annoyance with that damn flashlight.
- Enemy variation: Zombines are a nice new touch, but why not similar variation present for the Combine? Nova Prospekt got special jail guard style skins in HL2, why not say... Core-keeper type uniformed Combine in the Citadel? Just a little spice, eh?
- Weapon variation: I keep seeing this comment on the forums--there are strong reasons for why a new weapon might be difficult to introduce, but at the very least it would have been nice to get to use SLAMs at a point or two in the game, as it's already done and we see the Combine use them in the game.
GET OMEGA DRIVERS!
Otherwise you're only embarrasing yourself. HL2 has always ran perfectly for me.
I'll build a new system after Vista launches..
It feel off a little bit at the end, but I loved the part when Alyx got the shotgun!
Heres some shots I found of the same effects in place in CS:S
http://kman.cottages.polycount.com/hl2/dedust01050zb.jpg
http://kman.cottages.polycount.com/hl2/dedust01060lk.jpg
I just kind of felt like I'd been there and done all that when I played through HL2. I think I would have liked it more if they had gone more the Opposing Forces route and allowed you to play from a different perspective ... maybe playing as a Combine Soldier who is taking the opportunity to desert the combine and make his way out of the citadel. The preview for Episode 2 looks promising, but I think I will wait for the reviews for that one before I buy.
If you loved HL2 and want more of the same you will probably enjoy episode 1. Overall I think I enjoyed the first episode of Sin more.
I just bought ep1 last night and finally started to play a bit of it. It's pretty fun, so far. I'm just wondering if I'd enjoy it more & have a better idea what I'm supposed to do if I actually finished hl2. :X I'm definitly a fan of the added shader effects on the characters.
Heres some shots I found of the same effects in place in CS:S
http://kman.cottages.polycount.com/hl2/dedust01050zb.jpg
http://kman.cottages.polycount.com/hl2/dedust01060lk.jpg
[/ QUOTE ]
Looks like bloom-a-rama to me...is that what is causing so many issues I keep hearing about?
[ QUOTE ]
I just bought ep1 last night and finally started to play a bit of it. It's pretty fun, so far. I'm just wondering if I'd enjoy it more & have a better idea what I'm supposed to do if I actually finished hl2. :X I'm definitly a fan of the added shader effects on the characters.
Heres some shots I found of the same effects in place in CS:S
http://kman.cottages.polycount.com/hl2/dedust01050zb.jpg
http://kman.cottages.polycount.com/hl2/dedust01060lk.jpg
[/ QUOTE ]
Looks like bloom-a-rama to me...is that what is causing so many issues I keep hearing about?
[/ QUOTE ]
I think he's talking about the whole back-lit-lighting-thingy on the characters, wich looks pretty sweet indeed
maybe playing as a Combine Soldier
[/ QUOTE ]
There are mods for that. Atleast two I know of.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half-Life_2_mods
Perhaps they're not the best, but what you expect. The life of a combine is rather dull...and short.
Of the HL2 mods released, Substance is my favorite.
I hope Alyx is more interesting than in HL2, I found her character very unoriginal and usual. Aside from that I can't wait to play hl again, yay!
Everybody raves about Alyx, but I confess the real gem of HL2 & EP1 for me is Dog. I simply love that character. With no dialog he manages to convey emotion & intelligence that most game characters cannot seem to match. Now thats some good animation! The R2D2-esque bleeps & whines dont hurt either.
Its 7.99 at circuit city. Or just grab the ad out of your paper and do the pricematch at best buy. I just did that. Got my solid copy for 8 bucks.
gogogogogo