Yeah. Hell yes.

The game IS really fun. However, if they don't start the show with two months' content ready, i'm out. That's what happened to SWG - they were more concerned with getting it out the door, but there was no content.

This title actually has a solid writing team writing content (or so they say). If there isn't content streamining in after launch, i'm gone.

It's not a bad MMORPG. They've done some interesting stuff with the combat, which makes it much more fun than other MMO's i've played.

I'm all for honesty in press releases, but how does this game's developers
lay the emphasis on original ideas in visualization and gameplay design

while at the same time featuring

traditional, by-the-book gameplay

Well, even windowed with no AA i still get shitty performance. I'm using the 67.02 beta nVidia drivers, so it might just be that, but damn, that's harsh.

OK, so it ran like shit on my 6800 (granted it's only 128MB). However, how the hell do you set the preferences? I was getting like .5 FPS or less - but i have no idea what it was playing at.

Looks nice though...

Is the demo an engine cinematic that uses your card to render it? I guess i've just never seen this...I'm downloading it now, so i guess i'll find out sooner or later.

Now to turn that snowball fight flash game into a full-on Source engine game...

Just right-click on HL2 in your games list and select Create Desktop shortcut.

There seem to be a lot of people with stuttering issues. It's all over many boards. Someone in halflife2.net posted this from someone at Valve:

Set snd_async_fullyasync 1
Reset snd_async_fullyasync 0 to turn it back off.

This may cause issues with voice synchronization, but should also reduce the stuttering.

We're looking into the problem, but it would help to know if this
solves it for you.

Thanks,
Rick (Rick Ellis, Valve Software, Senior Engineering Lead)
Valve

also

If you're still getting sound stuttering, or popping, or static after the above (which should help with HD pauses, but not the sound
pauses), then change the following setting in config.cfg - eliminated
sound stuttering completely for me.

snd_mixahead is originally set to "0.1"

Change it to a higher number - the number will vary by PC, but for me it was:

snd_mixahead "0.4"

That'll fix it - if it doesn't, set the number higher. If you set it lower than the default setting, the popping/stuttering gets much worse.

I'm at work and only saw these suggestions this morning, so i can't confirm that it works, but good luck.

Do you suppose that Valve and VU both had contractual stipulations to the tune of "we won't release ours if you won't release yours"?

I mean if Valve can't release it until the retail date, and a retailer sells it before the 16th, do you suppose that's a breach of contract with Valve on behalf of VU as the distributor? Is VU responsible for the actions of the actual retail locations?

After all, Valve would know if a retail copy tried to authenticate to the Steam network to activate the game. I think this is where the whole "if it's released in retail first, we'll release it on Steam" came from.

There was a post on one of the HL2 forums that contained a supposed email from an actual Valve employee wondering where he had purchased the retail version of HL2 he tried to activate.

Might they be confirming and building a case to release the game this weekend if they can indeed confirm that it was sold early?

Maybe this whole Steam authentication is just a better way to keep tabs on distribution contract breaches on behalf of the distributor. I think everyone is looking at this story as VU sueing Valve, but what about the other way around?

You post makes me want to knee-jerk, emotional pseudo-thought a chair through your skull with a manipulator.

Must be all those video games the RIGHT has provided me, eh?

Product Cost
-----------------------------------------------
Half-Life 2 Gold $ 40.00
Tax (MA) $ 0.00
Shipping and Handling $ 9.95
-----------------------------------------------
Total $ 49.95

$9.95 Shipping and Handling??? For a Steam-delivered application?

WTF?

Wolffe

What kind of GF4 card do you have, and what kind of settings are you running?

I'm wondering about my GF4ti4200...

I know what you mean. I remember the first time i played Doom, in the dark, with sound piped through a kick ass stereo. The first time i heard that moan, i almost wet myself.

Check that, i just wet myself thinking about it.

So Best Buy won't let me reserve a copy "over the phone", which to me makes no sense. Can i reserve a copy in person, and if so, why would i want to reserve it if i was there?

Anywhoo - I noticed that WalMart has it for $49.95, which is $5 less than anywhere else i've seen it. Given Walmart's penchant for censorship, does anyone know if they have a different version than other retailers? Their rating is RP - content may change during online play...but everywhere else it's listed as M.

Anyone know?

Geeze, are you always such an angry, youung man?

...and that was the funniest thing i've seen in a long time.

I quick Googling turned up the fact that Raffi originally wrote that bananaphone song. Whoever put it to the badger song just ramped up the speed.

Damn him, damn him straight to hell!!!

No problem.

BTW - Mario would kick my ass!

Err...actually I'm Gabe Newell.