I have to agree with the conspiracy theorists. This is all because of Steam or HL2 not being ready.

Consider: The source code is out there & Valve releases HL2. Cheaters make it so that they can shoot all the enemies by simply pulling their trigger & shooting at anything at all. Valve puts out a fix in 2 days over steam. See, with other companies they would have to wait 2 months & fix all kinds of shit because they don't want to piss us off by releasing too many patches. Steam can patch every single night & we won't give a shit because for the most part, we won't even notice!

"The code has to be checked for trojans." Like that would take a long time! As someone else said, just compare it with another build. Everyone at Valve has access to the build. It gets archived all the time. How can you work on your computer doing animations with the source & not have a build on your computer? Then at the end of the day or week, they compile a new build. Comon people thinK!

Does anyone else get the impression that Valve and Vivendi don't have a clue whats actually going on? You would have though muti-million pound companies would have some organization skills.

Why did valve say only a third of the source code was taken, why would the hacker only take a third? Why was the code even on a computer with internet access never mind one that was used for mail (especially as they've known hackers have been after them for months). Why's the coder in such a bad state for a game that was meant to be released over a week ago, and is supposedly being play test now?

I don't believe valve released it on purpose, nor that it's a build from early sept (for a number of reasons).

From what i've seen and read Valve has been lieing and lax, and they're getting there asses spanked because of it.

Since we don't even agree if the leak was good or bad, negligence or very peculiar marketing, who's to say?
It's Blues' call.
Anyway I haven't come across SmellFinger before, so I suppose someone had half a brain at least and just created an ID to post with (if that idea occurred to me, it would surely occur to the devious and naughty!)

Haha, prepare to see #147 get nuked. Christ...

Doesn't something like that warrant a ban?

This comment was edited on Oct 8, 05:08.

I hope they catch these hacker scumbags!
This comment was edited on Oct 8, 11:21.

Talking about bugs, anyone else remember the original half-life deleting everything in the directory containing the half-life folder when uninstalling?

Yikes, I put my games in the root

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Publishers push developers to release games according to their schedule, and the games ship with bugs. People buy the games anyway, so the publishers keep doing it.

The point is that it's impossible to make bug-free software when you're dealing with large programs. Patches are part of software development, so live with it. There are a few games that should have been held back longer, but most game patches are inevitable.

Talking about bugs, anyone else remember the original half-life deleting everything in the directory containing the half-life folder when uninstalling? If you installed to c:\program files\halflife, say goodbye to all your programs when you uninstalled. Thankfully it installed to c:\sierra\half-life by default (which is why the bug was missed also). My friend lost his entire c:\games folder twice because of this bug.. He only figured out the cause on the second time...

Dignan: Valve has not lied. All indications seem to point to the fact that the leaked beta has nothing to do with the people who stole the source code. Therefore it makes sense that just the source was in fact stolen.

And plenty of people have seen the compiled beta already...

FuriousBroccoli: Who said there's no torrent? I didn't hear anyone say that. No, it's not not going to get linked here, as it's illegal.

~Steve

This comment was edited on Oct 8, 02:18.

I like cheesecake at1davey@hotmail.com for linkage please.

Still no torrent?

i just finished watching the new HL2 video the hackers made. Valve has lied! These guys got the whole damn game people, not just the source. the video is awesome!

we'll see a compiled beta very soon!

And yes, I am not a game developer. I write business software for a living, but that doesn't have any bearing here. It's not like you need to write games for a living to see that they are trying to blame their delay on these hackers.

I just think you're reading too much into the situation to suit your view of the events. I don't see any reason to believe that Valve is being dishonest or underhanded in this matter. They got screwed pretty bad. If I had worked on HL2 I sure wouldn't want that beta out there because it's not representative of the final product. No one wants their unfinished work to be seen by the "general public," i.e. people who may not understand the circumstances, how far along the game is, what to expect, etc. I might look at the beta and realize how cool it is and that it means the final game will be even cooler, but some might see it and say "What the hell is this, I'm not buying it now..." It's just a bad situation for Valve.

~Steve

oh believe me Id love to just to see how things went.

If I do get to, Id like to think Gabe for being a complete flake. Youd figure someone who once worked for microsoft would know how insecure MS software is but then hey, maybe they really dont have a clue afterall.

> Seriously, Im sick of people bitching about patches. Get
> a clue about game software development and shit might
> jsut be a bit more clear.

Publishers push developers to release games according to their schedule, and the games ship with bugs. People buy the games anyway, so the publishers keep doing it.

That's about the whole process. Games don't HAVE TO ship with the mess of bugs they do, but it's as much the fault of the customer as it is the publisher or the developer. Similar to the whole blame game with media/parents/kids.

If you're sick of buggy games that require patches, and HL2 releases in that state, don't buy it. That's the only signal you can send that means ANYTHING. But of course nobody will do that. They'll buy it, and the process will repeat until people finally get fed up.

> Again, you don't know that. Where has Valve said that as
> a result of the theft they need 5 months to rewrite the
> game? Vivendi has said things to that effect, but not
> Valve. Besides, the game is clearly finished or very
> close.

Well, if Vivendi says it's delayed, and they're the publisher, it's delayed. Valve can't very well ship without their publisher, especially considering the sorry state of Steam at the moment.

I suppose you could assume that Vivendi made up this five month delay, and Valve wants to ship now, but what publisher in their right mind would delay shipment on one of the most eagerly anticipated games in years? Especially when the delay takes the game past the Christmas season!? Now THAT is throwing money away, and Vivendi certainly can't afford to do that these days.

And yes, I am not a game developer. I write business software for a living, but that doesn't have any bearing here. It's not like you need to write games for a living to see that they are trying to blame their delay on these hackers.

Ralphus, what do you mean by that?

~Steve

Just downlaod the beta and be happy!

Full pre-release version will be out next week!!!

Seriously though, I am truly heartily sick and tired of endless patches to the engine being the norm in the gaming industry


Seriously, Im sick of people bitching about patches. Get a clue about game software development and shit might jsut be a bit more clear.

True, but having the blueprints really speeds things up for the hackers.