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Title: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Big Gulp on September 15, 2007, 06:01:52 AM And got Peggle Extreme! 10 new levels of peggling, and they've all been Half-Lifed up. Poor Bjorn the Unicorn has a headcrab stuck on him in the welcome screen. :-D
Oh yeah, and if you preorder you get to start playing TF2 on Monday. Go, go, go! Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Azazel on September 15, 2007, 06:24:22 AM I'm not re-buying shit I already own. I'll wait for the inevitable "you already have HL2? buy these!" deal...
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Trippy on September 15, 2007, 06:37:07 AM They had one of those (the Black Box package) and canceled it for some inexplicable reason so don't expect a replacement anytime soon.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: bhodi on September 15, 2007, 07:04:51 AM Yeah, I gotta order the orange box; I only have HL2, I never played ep1 so all the goodies are there for me.
How long can I wait and still get 10% off and get in the TF2 beta? I've still got to finish s.t.a.l.k.e.r. and bioshock after that. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: TripleDES on September 15, 2007, 07:17:22 AM TF2 is already preloaded here.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: bhodi on September 15, 2007, 07:50:46 AM I'm not re-buying shit I already own. I'll wait for the inevitable "you already have HL2? buy these!" deal... I was looking into it, when I ran across this: Quote Already own Half-Life 2 or Half-Life 2: Episode One? Give your extra game as a gift to a friend when you purchase The Orange Box. Learn more here (http://support.steampowered.com/cgi-bin/steampowered.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=750). Quote What are Orange Box gifts? Pretty slick. Time to find a friend who doesn't own HL2.Orange Box gifts are allocated to users who own either 'Half-Life 2' and 'Half-Life 2: Episode One' and then go on to purchase The Orange Box, which includes these two games. An Orange Box gift allows users to give either or both 'Half-Life 2' and 'Half-Life 2: Episode One' to a friend who does not already own the game. An Orange Box gift is an easy way to let your friends enjoy 'Half-Life 2' and 'Half-Life 2: Episode One' for free. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Azazel on September 15, 2007, 08:02:38 AM They had one of those (the Black Box package) and canceled it for some inexplicable reason so don't expect a replacement anytime soon. I'd expect to see it on Steam at least, as opposed to retail. They'll probably hold it off for a couple of months to milk "Orange Box" purchases. Realistically, I'd expect it either around or just after Christmas, I suppose. I was looking into it, when I ran across this: Quote Already own Half-Life 2 or Half-Life 2: Episode One? Pretty slick. Time to find a friend who doesn't own HL2.Give your extra game as a gift to a friend when you purchase The Orange Box. Learn more here (http://support.steampowered.com/cgi-bin/steampowered.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=750). Yeah, I saw that. But I don't have any friends who it'd be of any use to. And fuck, they should have HL2 by now if they were ever going to play it. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Big Gulp on September 15, 2007, 08:24:06 AM You cheap bastard. :-D
Team Fortress 2 is worth $45 alone. As gravy you're also getting Episode 2 and Portal. Just bask in the goodness, already. Of course, I'm happy because all I own is Half-Life 2, so I also get to play Episode 1 for the first time. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Fabricated on September 15, 2007, 09:39:52 AM Portal and TF2 would be worth $45 alone IMO, Episode 2 is a bonus.
I have no idea who I'm giving HL2 and Episode One to however. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: schild on September 15, 2007, 04:59:05 PM WAIT, DOES THIS MEAN WE GET TO PLAY A GAME WITH BIG GULP?
Pretty stoked. Edit: We can just start a thread on f13 to give away our keys to established users. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: schild on September 15, 2007, 05:02:14 PM Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened (vs. Cthulhu) is now on Steam.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Miasma on September 15, 2007, 07:57:29 PM Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened (vs. Cthulhu) is now on Steam. Are you able to play the demo? I keep getting a "this game is unavailable" error.Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: schild on September 15, 2007, 08:01:40 PM I have the full game. Has sound issues with my onboard sound.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Trippy on September 15, 2007, 08:09:10 PM I'm not re-buying shit I already own. I'll wait for the inevitable "you already have HL2? buy these!" deal... I was looking into it, when I ran across this:Quote Already own Half-Life 2 or Half-Life 2: Episode One? Give your extra game as a gift to a friend when you purchase The Orange Box. Learn more here (http://support.steampowered.com/cgi-bin/steampowered.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=750). Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: schild on September 15, 2007, 09:36:11 PM I'm sorry, I just can't get riled up about this. It's added-value for people that don't own anything and it's a great way to join the Steam thing. But for people that already own HL2, they know damn well that Team Fortress 2 and Portal are worth the cost of admission and anything else is just cake. Removing it shouldn't lower the price (that is HL2 and Ep 1).
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Trippy on September 15, 2007, 09:54:03 PM I wasn't complaining about the price.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Murgos on September 16, 2007, 09:10:22 AM Uh, if you own the boxed game how can you not resell that because of this?
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: bhodi on September 16, 2007, 09:12:18 AM how can you not sell a 'gifted' hl2 just like you would sell a normal one?
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Samwise on September 16, 2007, 10:11:44 AM How kind of them to let us "give away" software we own and should be able to resell (aka "the right of first sale"). That is my single biggest gripe with Steam at the moment, sadly. :| It's not that I want to resell my Steam stuff, but I would like to be able to give games that I'm done with to other people. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Strazos on September 16, 2007, 10:32:23 AM Lend them your Steam ID, then they can play ALL of your steam games.
Of course, it's all well and good until they try to cheat on a CS:S server or something. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: NiX on September 16, 2007, 09:17:33 PM So, when does the discount end?
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: schild on September 16, 2007, 09:23:29 PM An hour before you buy it.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: NiX on September 16, 2007, 10:28:03 PM You're the biggest piece of scrotum grease. Ever.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Azazel on September 16, 2007, 11:11:28 PM I'm sorry, I just can't get riled up about this. It's added-value for people that don't own anything and it's a great way to join the Steam thing. But for people that already own HL2, they know damn well that Team Fortress 2 and Portal are worth the cost of admission and anything else is just cake. Removing it shouldn't lower the price (that is HL2 and Ep 1). I'm not riled. I'm just not coughing up for it at this time. :) Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Big Gulp on September 16, 2007, 11:36:14 PM I'm not riled. I'm just not coughing up for it at this time. :) (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v490/spaeschke/OnNotice.jpg) Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: schild on September 16, 2007, 11:41:45 PM Hehehehehe. I love that thing.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Azazel on September 17, 2007, 12:38:03 AM Too late. I hypocritcalisted myself and bought the Orange Box.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Big Gulp on September 17, 2007, 12:40:22 AM Too late. I hypocritcalisted myself and bought the Orange Box. I accept your apology. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Azazel on September 17, 2007, 01:23:20 AM And I remain flattered that Stephen and yourself went to so much trouble for me. :inluv:
edit "Steven" Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: NiX on September 17, 2007, 03:40:17 AM Soooo, no one has any idea when the promo ends? I know I couldn't find a date, but some of you are masters of information finding.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: schild on September 17, 2007, 03:43:32 AM My guess? This week, as the beta starts in about 12 hours or so. Not joking this time. It may even end tomorrow.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: MrHat on September 17, 2007, 05:04:34 AM So, anyone play TF2 yet? I'm at work and won't get home till like 8pm.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Big Gulp on September 17, 2007, 05:11:08 AM So, anyone play TF2 yet? I'm at work and won't get home till like 8pm. It hasn't been unlocked yet. Consequently I'm sitting here watching VH1 Classic and the finest videos the 1980's could produce. They seemed to like headbands and wind machines a lot. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Azazel on September 17, 2007, 06:11:52 AM Whoaaaaa.. we're half-way there-ere
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: LK on September 17, 2007, 10:24:16 AM Pre-loading now. I had to laugh at how they priced out the individual components. Getting flashbacks of Infomericals. "You're getting $130 of software! But we'll give it to you for $45. And we'll throw in a potato peeler for free!"
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: TripleDES on September 17, 2007, 10:28:09 AM Unf! Unf! What are you people still posting here?
(http://content.imagesocket.com/thumbs/tf2unlock445.jpg) (http://"http://imagesocket.com/view/tf2unlock445.jpg") Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Miasma on September 17, 2007, 10:36:12 AM SA forum post, therefore probably fake.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: bhodi on September 17, 2007, 11:42:43 AM (http://www.filedump.net/dumped/fake1190054604.jpg)
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: schild on September 17, 2007, 11:44:45 AM Phew. Thought I was missing something.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: MrHat on September 17, 2007, 11:50:49 AM This shit better be ready by 8pm EST.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: schild on September 17, 2007, 11:54:17 AM You're goddamn right Hat. Goddamn right.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Nonentity on September 17, 2007, 12:09:09 PM I pre-ordered it, but I have other... pressing matters to attend to when I get home.
It will be played this week, however. AND NO I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT WOW SCHILD GOD Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Yegolev on September 17, 2007, 12:48:37 PM Legends of Norrath?
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Nonentity on September 17, 2007, 01:06:57 PM Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Miasma on September 17, 2007, 03:52:24 PM I didn't know you could do this pre-loading stuff, I'm a newb.
I think I'm going to buy the full version of that peggle game, it's kinda fun. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: schild on September 17, 2007, 04:00:41 PM WHAT THE FUCK VALVE, COMEON. STILL WAITING. I CANCELED MY VACATION FOR U.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Big Gulp on September 17, 2007, 04:17:22 PM I think I'm going to buy the full version of that peggle game, it's kinda fun. Join Peggle nation! Bjorn and I are waiting for you! Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: schild on September 17, 2007, 06:38:16 PM (http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/8676/valveeditwo2.jpg)
So true. Yea, I screencapped the entire thing. HISTORICAL SHIT, GUYS. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: schild on September 17, 2007, 07:30:11 PM Decided to just go to sleep until 2-3 AM. Peace. See you in Team Fortress.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Samwise on September 17, 2007, 09:02:18 PM FAIL.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: caladein on September 17, 2007, 11:49:18 PM Restart your Steam and try launching, it'll start decrypting the files and download a bit.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Samwise on September 17, 2007, 11:50:28 PM I got the files downloaded and decrypted, and when I try to run it it just exits right away. It's like they shipped a stub executable so they could claim they met their deadline.
I repeat: FAIL. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Trippy on September 17, 2007, 11:51:45 PM Once you guys can actually play: somebody who played the QW version of TF (not that crappy HL TF Classic version) tell me how the gameplay compares.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Samwise on September 17, 2007, 11:54:55 PM I've been playing TF since the Quake days. If I write any sort of review of this it will definitely be from that perspective.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Azazel on September 18, 2007, 12:12:28 AM HAY GUYZ
Just got home. It's Tuesday here. After work. 5:10pm in fact. That makes it Monday between oh.. it's Tuesday 3:10am on the East Coast, Tuesday 12:10am on the West Coast and even Monday 9:10pm in Hawaii. I had really kind of expected to have jumped onto TF2 around now. Pre-Load complete, unreleased. WTF? Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Yoru on September 18, 2007, 12:30:57 AM Chatlog. (http://www.theqclan.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=14056)
So apparently only Valve employees can play the public TF2 beta right now... :nda: :nda: :nda: Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: schild on September 18, 2007, 12:41:24 AM I'm in teamspeak.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: caladein on September 18, 2007, 03:17:05 AM Been playing for about an hour now.
Medic is awesome, I've never had that much fun as an honest-to-God support class. It's so user-friendly as a Medic, and I love how it automatically does a "thanks!" sound after you heal. The game as a whole just oozes style, and while people are flying everywhere and getting turned into Jackson Pollacks, it doesn't have that "omg spam" kinda feel that TFC or Fortress Forever have. Now, I almost always play medics (or just generally support) in class-based FPSs, and honestly, I would feel completely impotent after playing TF2's Medic. Being able to safe someone right in the nick of time as you're jumping around trying not to die yourself from a Pyro is so much more fun then "Jesus Christ stand still so I can heal you." And the Ubercharge is hard enough to get off that it's not horrendously overpowered. I'm sure it's very annoying right as a flag is about to cap or in sudden death though. :heart: Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Azazel on September 18, 2007, 03:50:27 AM I just had a play around with it for an hour. It's fun but not OMGWTFBBQ level fun. It's pretty spammy but the main thing annoying me is figuring out what all the fucking class abilities are. And why my sentry gun is a joke compared to those double-barrelled-missile-launching things that other people are making. And just what the fucking hell is going on with the medics.. and so on.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Trippy on September 18, 2007, 04:01:58 AM I don't know how you do it in TF2 but in the older TFs you can upgrade your sentry gun by dropping a dispenser, resupplying yourself, and then going back to your turret to upgrade it.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Big Gulp on September 18, 2007, 05:13:34 AM I friggin' love the scout! We really need a dedicated f13 server, asap.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: pants on September 18, 2007, 05:31:54 AM So does it play any different to the various TFs that have been out over the years? The 'Meet the...' videos are cool and all, but I can't see anything that I wasn't doing in Quake 1 TF back in 1996 or so.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Trippy on September 18, 2007, 05:51:57 AM I friggin' love the scout! We really need a dedicated f13 server, asap. Linux server isn't ready yet.Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: schild on September 18, 2007, 06:19:27 AM I just played for about 6 hours.
Pretty much awesome in every way imaginable. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Simond on September 18, 2007, 06:51:22 AM "hl2.exe has encountered an error and must close"
Awesome. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Miasma on September 18, 2007, 08:12:54 AM I guess this was making the rounds yesterday as people were getting more and more pissed off at the delay, I had no idea about most of it, I just played half life and heard about the HL2 theft. I thought it was interesting.
Copy/Paste Quote 1998 November * Half-Life is released. 1999 March * The nascent Half-Life mod "Counter-Strike" moves to Planet Half-Life and fails to die in obscurity. April * In a show of largesse, Valve releases Team Fortress Classic for free, beginning a long proud tradition of co-opting other people's mods and making them their own. June * Counter-Strike beta 1 is released. One reviewer calls the mod "not terribly unlike Team Fortress 2." Game developers working on multiplayer titles hear faint death rattles. July * Valve releases Half-Life: Game of the Year Edition, which is a repackaged Half-Life with Team Fortress Classic included. October * PC Gamer declares Half-Life the "best game ever". Well, presumably the best PC game ever, which kind of narrows it down a bit. * The Mac port of Half-Life is officially cancelled, angering four. November * Valve releases Opposing Force, the first Half-Life expansion pack. The number of possible permutations for retail packages begins to grow... December * Counter-Strike becomes so popular that Valve decides they want a piece of the pie. They begin funding its development, hiring Barking Dog to help create the mod's next beta version. * Incite Magazine publishes a short Q&A with Motley Crue's Nikki Six in which he claims that his band "1958" has been hired to do music for Half-Life 2. Valve responds by saying they are as surprised as everyone else by this development. * Valve releases the Half-Life Adrenaline Pack, which is a repackaged Game of the Year Edition with Opposing Force included. 2000 January * Valve announces the formation of the Powerplay initiative, a joint project with Cisco that will revolutionize the way games are played on the internet. According to official literature, a dialup connection on Powerplay will have no qualitative difference from broadband. One quote states that under Powerplay, games will still be playable with a ping of 1000. February * Half-Life for the Dreamcast is officially announced. March * Half-Life: Hostile Takeover is mentioned as an official expansion pack. It is never developed. * Valve announces that they will forego showing Team Fortress 2 at the upcoming E3 because they are busy working on the Dreamcast port of Half-Life. * The retail package Half-Life: Initial Encounter is released. It includes the freely available demo "Half-Life: Uplink" along with a crippled version of Team Fortress Classic. Valve didn't actually want to release something so blatantly exploitative, but the teeming masses were clamoring for it, so hey. * The "Half-Life: Generation" Sierra shovelware package is released. April * The Counter-Strike team announces that the mod has been subsumed by Valve, and that it will be included in the next Half-Life update. * Gabe Newell mentions in an interview that Counter-Strike will not be included in the next Half-Life update. June * The new Half-Life update is released. It includes Counter-Strike. * A retail version of Team Fortress Classic is released in stores. July * Rewolf Software announces that their Half-Life total conversion project, Gunman Chronicles, will be published by Valve as a commercial product. It is unknown as to what percentage of the profits Valve agrees to take for their part in publishing a game they didn't make. August * Valve announces Half-Life: Platinum, which is a repackaged Adrenaline Pack with Counter-Strike included. September * Rewolf announces that Gunman Chronicles will be a standalone game and not a Half-Life expansion, leaving some to wonder what role exactly Valve is playing in the project. November * Valve unveils their Ricochet mod, which will combine the nuanced gameplay of bouncing discs off walls with the garish colors of a Tron ripoff. * Not content with just one unfinished console port, Valve announces that work has begun on a Playstation 2 port of Half-Life. * Gunman Chronicles is released, and is the biggest total-conversion gone commercial success story since HACX. * Counter-Strike is released in stores, capitalizing on gamers who don't realize that instead of purchasing a $30 mod, they could rummage through the clearance rack and buy a $20 game with which they could download the exact same mod. 2001 January * NYU professor Ken Perlin mentions that he has been working with Valve to develop realistic character animation systems for Half-Life 2. Perlin's previous work in the field included developing software that helps people with learning disorders. Coincidence? March * A new Half-Life patch removes a "fakelag" command which allowed players to purposely increase the amount of lag they experienced. Players had discovered that due to Half-Life's bizarre netcode, the ability to have even more lag than normal could be used as a tactical advantage. * Blue Shift, the new episode originally developed for the still-unreleased Dreamcast port of Half-Life, is announced as an upcoming expansion pack for the PC. News regarding the Dreamcast port itself is eerily absent. * A second edition of the "Half-Life: Generation" Sierra shovelware package is released. May * Counter-Strike: Condition Zero is announced as an all-new single-player game in the Counter-Strike universe. It is revealed that the project had originally been fielded to Rogue Software before brought back in-house to Valve. Developer count: 2 * Blue Shift for the PC and Half-Life for the PS2 are shown at E3. The Dreamcast port of Half-Life is nowhere to be found. * An irate Rogue Software employee publically accuses Valve of lying about Rogue's part in the development of Condition Zero to make themselves look better. June * Half-Life for the Dreamcast is cancelled entirely. No reason is given. * In a bizarre bout of celerity, Valve releases their Deathmatch Classic mod within a few short weeks of its announcement. That the mod is merely a new facade pasted onto Quake 1 deathmatch does not take away from the laudably short turnaround time from announcement to release. * Cheating in Half-Life games, primarily Counter-Strike, grows after a major website makes some of the more advanced hacks available for public download. Several Counter-Strike leagues suspend tournament play. * The long-quiet Powerplay initiative reemerges as it is purchased by New Millennium Entertainment. The company announces it is integrating the technology into a new standalone ISP called "Game2K1", which an official webpage describes as being powered by "liquid bandwidth". * Half-Life: Blue Shift is released. Valve runs out of possible occasions where a player could stumble across Gordon Freeman. August * Counter-Strike: Condition Zero is farmed out to Gearbox Software. Developer count: 3 September * PC Gamer declares the nearly three year old Half-Life the "best game ever". Again. October * Anti-cheating software Punkbuster stops supporting Half-Life after its creators ask Valve to better integrate the technology into the Half-Life engine and are turned down. Valve announces that they are developing their own anti-cheating measures, which will be forthcoming. In the meantime, door's open, boys! November * Gearbox Software's Randy Pitchford states that Counter-Strike: Condition Zero will be released sometime in 2002. * Valve's Doug Lombardi mentions that Team Fortress 2 is still in full development and info will be coming soon. * Half-Life for the PS2 ships. It includes a new co-op mission entitled "Decay" which, incredibly, is not hacked out and turned into yet another PC expansion pack. December * Valve and Speakeasy launch Half-Life TV, which is new software designed to support 80,000 simultaneous viewers of Half-Life CPL events. One month later, a website estimates that 0.01% of Half-Life servers are using the free technology. 2002 January * The official website for Counter-Strike: Condition Zero is launched. * Valve's new content delivery system, Steam, is mentioned for the first time. February * A CPL press release announces that Counter-Strike: Condition Zero will be the featured game at their July tournament, leading most to assume it would be released by then. A Sierra press release then confirms that the game is due for a Q2 2002 release. March * A website entitled Counter-Strike Report is posted, in which a concerned citizen meticulously and anally documents all of the many, many bugs in the Half-Life multiplayer engine. * A third edition of the "Half-Life: Generation" shovelware package is released. April * The CPL Summer Championships drop Counter-Strike: Condition Zero from the schedule, probably due to it not being completed. * Valve releases Half-Life version 1.1.0.9, the major addition to which is all-new anti-cheat technology. Jubilation is short-lived as many players find that the patch completely breaks the game. It is also discovered that in addition to the patch's anti-cheat technology, a wallhack console command has been added, making all of the anti-cheat technology effectively useless. May * An XBox port of Counter-Strike is announced at E3, with a release date of 2003. June * Valve releases an "unplanned" patch to fix the myriad bugs introduced in 1.1.0.9. The new patch also includes the Ricochet mod, a scant 19 months after its initial announcement. * Hackers discover that Valve's anti-cheat technology automatically turns itself off after the server's second or third map change, and the only way to reactivate it is to restart the server. * A program is released to play WAV files directly over Half-Life's new voice chat, ruining it forever. July * Counter-Strike: Condition Zero is pushed back to a winter 2002 release. * Gearbox Software announces that they are developing the PC port of Halo. Some wonder, "aren't they supposed to be working on Counter-Strike: Condition Zero?" August * Valve fixes a bug in which minimizing Half-Life caused audio output to be lost permanently. The bug had been present since November 1998. * With their anti-cheat measures proving only partially effective, Valve begins banning the CD keys of those who are caught. * Valve releases Half-Life: Platinum Collection #2, which is a repackaged Platinum Collection #1 with Blue Shift included. December * Valve announces that development on Counter-Strike: Condition Zero has moved to Ritual Entertainment, and that the game's release date has been pushed back to spring 2003. Developer count: 4 * Valve announces that Counter-Strike 1.6b will be released in January 2003. 2003 January * Valve reiterates that Counter-Strike 1.6b will be released as promised. * Valve releases Counter-Strike 1.6b via their still-beta Steam content delivery system. The Steam network crashes and burns under the massive load, and the release is postponed indefinitely. * A Counter-Strike: Condition Zero preview mentions a March 2003 release date. March * Valve says that a Q2 2003 release for Counter-Strike: Condition Zero is "set in stone." April * Half-Life 2 is officially announced, with a release date of September, 30, 2003. * Valve officially announces that Half-Life mod Day of Defeat will be released as a standalone retail game. Out of the five standalone PC titles released by Valve to this point, three are community mods. May * Troika announces Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, which will license the Half-Life 2 Source engine. Troika ends up finishing the game before Half-Life 2 is done, and must sit on it for several months. * A Counter-Strike: Condition Zero preview mentions a release date of June 2, 2003. * Valve's Half-Life 2 demo at E3 wows audiences. Valve asserts that everything in the demo is indicative of real gameplay and nothing has been scripted. * The Counter-Strike: Condition Zero official website is redesigned, and gives a release date of summer 2003. * Valve confirms that Half-Life 2 will be ported to the XBox. June * Microsoft says that as far as they are aware, Half-Life 2 will not be on the XBox. Valve quickly reiterates that Half-Life 2 will, in fact, be on the XBox. * Counter-Strike 1.6b is finally released, five months after the initial release date. * Valve sends out a press release advertising that the new Counter-Strike knife is a "Badlands Bowie" creation by knife designer Mick Strider, founder of Strider Knives, which can be found at http://www.striderknives.com/ (http://www.striderknives.com/) * Valve states that neither Half-Life 2 nor Counter-Strike: Condition Zero have been delayed. July * The Steam 2.0 beta client shows up on various file sites. It allows one to download and play Half-Life without actually buying anything. * Gabe Newell reiterates that Counter-Strike: Condition Zero is not slipping and will hit its release date. * Ritual Entertainment launches their own Counter-Strike: Condition Zero website, which among other things reveals the existence of Japanese school-girl hostages. * Several websites report that HL2 has slipped to holidays 2003. Gabe Newell responds by reaffirming that HL2 will be out on September 30, 2003. August * Valve once again reiterates that Half-Life 2 will be released September 30, 2003. September * Gabe Newell reveals Valve's plans to sell Half-Life 2 on a $10/month ongoing subscription plan, which will include all future released content. He claims this will be a better overall deal. * 21 months after its initial announcement, the first non-beta Steam client is released. * Valve yet again reiterates that Half-Life 2 will be released September 30, 2003. * Valve announces that Half-Life 2 has been pushed back to a "holiday" release. * At the September 30, 2003 "release party" on Alcatraz Island, the game is not even demoed for the gathered crowd. ATI, who paid for the party, is not amused. October * Rumors circulate that Half-Life 2 has been stolen and leaked onto the internet. It is later revealed that the intruder did not break into the Valve network directly, but rather through the network of Tangis, a wearable computing firm located next door to Valve. Though now largely defunct, Tangis was headed by Dan Newell, Gabe's brother. * Gabe Newell says that only a small portion of HL2's source code was stolen. * The entire Half-Life 2 source code, as well as all game data, is leaked to the internet. * Examination of the stolen game data makes it clear that Valve's E3 presentation was heavily scripted, contrary to their claims. * Turtle Rock takes over production on Counter-Strike: Condition Zero. Developer count: 5 * Counter-Strike: Condition Zero goes gold, and Gabe Newell announces it will be available November 18, 2003. November * Counter-Strike: Condition Zero misses its release date. * Valve announces that Counter-Strike: Condition Zero has not been delayed. * Counter-Strike Xbox hits stores. Console gamers yawn and continue playing Halo, the PC port of which was created by Gearbox, who worked on Counter-Strike: Condition Zero before it was handed off to Ritual, who made Counter-Strike Xbox! It's all connected! December * EBGames pushes the Counter-Strike: Condition Zero scheduled release date back to April 2004. Valve does not comment. * Valve holds a "launch party" for Counter-Strike: Condition Zero, despite the fact that the game has not been released, and does not have an official release date. 2004 January * "Half-Life 2" is spotted on sale in Ukraine. The game is a patched-up version of the data stolen from Valve the previous September. * Half-Life 2 wins Wired's coveted "Vaporware Award". 3D Realms is reportedly furious. February * Reviewers receive "official" copies of Counter-Strike: Condition Zero, but the game still has no announced release date. * Valve announces they are shooting for a summer 2004 release of Half-Life 2. March * Users of Steam are confused to learn that the program has automatically downloaded an encrypted version of Counter-Strike: Condition Zero to their hard drive without their consent, even if they had no intention of actually buying the game. * Counter-Strike: Condition Zero is finally released, 34 months and 5 developers after its initial announcement. The last game under the Valve aegis before Half-Life 2, it receives an average review score of 67%. April * Valve mentions Team Fortress 2 for the first time in years, saying it will be given primary focus at Valve after Half-Life 2 is released. That a World War II-era class-based team deathmatch game is not as original as it was five years ago seems not to concern them. * Longtime Planet Half-Life site director Fragmaster posts a long and dee-licious rant detailing the reasons for his departure from the site. It is later obliquely referred to by the always grandiloquent Geoff Keighley as being a "bitter missive" against Valve. June * Gabe Newell says that Half-Life 2 will be done in August. August * Half-Life 2's entire storyline is revealed when it is discovered that the Counter-Strike: Source beta contains all the Half-Life 2 dialogue in one of the files. * A post by Gabe Newell on a fansite forum states that Half-Life 2 has gone gold, but it is later revealed to be a fake. The impostor admits that he co-opted Gabe's forum account, which used the password "gaben". September * Valve states that they plan to submit a release candidate to Vivendi by September 15. * Valve submits a release candidate to Vivendi on September 15. * Vivendi rejects it. * A Gamespot article reveals that Valve is suing Vivendi over cyber-cafe distribution rights, and Vivendi delayed Counter-Strike: Condition Zero in retaliation. Also, despite concurrently delaying their own game out of spite and thus cutting into their own profits, Vivendi counter-sues Valve, claiming they are not showing due diligence in developing Half-Life 2. * Gabe Newell reveals the Half-Life 2 purchase options. The previously announced monthly subscription plan is nowhere to be seen. October * It is discovered that any Counter-Strike: Source server can be immediately crashed simply by a player changing their name to "%n". * In a repeat of events, it is discovered that Valve has left a wallhack console command in Counter-Strike: Source, leaving many to wonder what they have learned since 2002. * A count of all Valve-related products to date gives a final total of 18 separate retail packages. As their contribution to these 18 packages, Valve Software has created exactly one single-player game and three multiplayer addons of varying quality. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: schild on September 18, 2007, 08:17:40 AM They aren't the same company they used to be. Since Half-Life 2, they have exhibited near Blizzard quality level of polish and TF2 is probably the most impressive beta I've ever seen. In fact, I'd say it's done short of some very very small balance issues (HI, TURRETS ARE TOO EASY TO UPGRADE AND ARE WAY TO POWERFUL, K?)
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Trippy on September 18, 2007, 08:21:54 AM People used to say that about the Quake/World TF turrets too.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: schild on September 18, 2007, 08:26:27 AM People used to say that about the Quake/World TF turrets too. I absolutely dominated a few matches with them. And got dominated a few matches by them as well. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Rasix on September 18, 2007, 08:49:05 AM Anyone running this on a somewhat lackluster computer and live to tell the tale?
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: schild on September 18, 2007, 08:54:05 AM Heh.
I was over 100FPS almost all the time and my FRAPS recordings are all a steady 60FPS it seems. But then... :P Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: bhodi on September 18, 2007, 09:14:22 AM God - this is just as good, if not better than the orig. I just wish they added you know, something new. All changes are minor, though the heavy+medic combo is pretty brutal... as are fully upgraded turrets. The spy seems worse than his orig counterpart, and I can't tell if scouts can still see spies...
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Modern Angel on September 18, 2007, 10:02:25 AM I was iffy on this and I shouldn't have spent the money but ho crap I'm glad I did. It's pretty much perfect in every way. It feels like you're running through a demented Tex Avery cartoon.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Yoru on September 18, 2007, 01:58:32 PM So, I got to "play" for about 20 minutes after it released last night. It crashed out on me twice after I did manage to log in, despite the excessive loading times (3-5 minutes). First time happened within the first few seconds after spawning in, D3D error telling me my video card was too girly to handle the load I was throwing at it. Settings reduced, it ran for a good 2-3 minutes.
Then I had the gall to hit Tab, which I expected to open up the score/ping screen, and that caused it to crash too. The server I was on was laggy as shit (perceptible seconds between hitting Mouse1 and my demoman shooting a 'nade), but running around shooting nades after waiting for this game for 10 years is enough for me.. for now. I'll kick it a few more times tonight and see if I can actually play on my old rig. (AMD64 3500+, 1GB RAM, 6800GT, for those in similar boats. Ran nicely at 1680x1050, windowed, with almost everything set to low/off, and still looked pretty.) Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Samwise on September 18, 2007, 02:04:35 PM That would explain all the cursing. I got it running very nicely after the initial snafu, with not a single crash (load times still suck, though). Also, frontpaged (http://f13.net/index.php?itemid=601).
If all goes well I'll be playing this for several hours tonight. I only got about half an hour in last night thanks to all the delays, and squeezed in an hour this morning before work. Tonight nothing will impede me. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Yoru on September 18, 2007, 02:12:45 PM Yeah, after 10 years, I was hoping for something more epic, or at least to frag a dude in the 10 minutes I had left before bed.
Still, the removal of so many things I enjoyed (detpacks, incendiary rockets, detpacks, the many forms of grenades, DETPACKS, hallucinogens, DETPACKS, medic diseases, ... detpacks?) saddens me. I'll still play it, if it runs. And who knows, maybe the streamlining will be good for the game. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Samwise on September 18, 2007, 02:34:58 PM I'm bummed about some of the omissions, but they did get rid of a lot of stuff I hated too. I played a fair bit of TFC over the past week to reacquaint myself with the "old" game, and I noticed that I really hate grenade spam. People running into your base and throwing 8 grenades all over the place before dying, spies lobbing grenades at your sentry guns, people just throwing grenade after grenade at choke points so that they're constantly spammed with deadly explosions... BOO. This is obviously not an issue with TF2 and its almost complete lack of grenade.
Also, medic poison was kinda lame and I'm not entirely sorry to see it go. The fact that the "healer" had a far better DOT than the pyro was always dumb. Even if it was fun when I did it to other people. And I never liked conc jumping. At all. I do hope they bring back hallucinogens in some form, though. Maybe the medic can get that instead of poison. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: caladein on September 18, 2007, 02:42:26 PM Anyone running this on a somewhat lackluster computer and live to tell the tale? My laptop can't run Bioshock (P4 2.8Ghz, Radeon x600 Mobility w/ 256MB RAM, 2GB RAM) and it runs really smooth at 1440x900 on mid-High settings. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Fabricated on September 18, 2007, 02:51:34 PM I'm enjoying it but I prefer the CTF gametype far more than the goddamn push gametype that every stupid multiplayer title has. It makes stuff a clusterfuck.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: schild on September 18, 2007, 02:52:42 PM This is the first game where I've enjoyed CAPTURE THE CONTROL POINT. Ever. Seriously. Still hate Onslaught in UT2k4.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Yoru on September 18, 2007, 02:53:58 PM I'm bummed about some of the omissions, but they did get rid of a lot of stuff I hated too. I played a fair bit of TFC over the past week to reacquaint myself with the "old" game, and I noticed that I really hate grenade spam. People running into your base and throwing 8 grenades all over the place before dying, spies lobbing grenades at your sentry guns, people just throwing grenade after grenade at choke points so that they're constantly spammed with deadly explosions... BOO. This is obviously not an issue with TF2 and its almost complete lack of grenade. Also, medic poison was kinda lame and I'm not entirely sorry to see it go. The fact that the "healer" had a far better DOT than the pyro was always dumb. Even if it was fun when I did it to other people. And I never liked conc jumping. At all. I do hope they bring back hallucinogens in some form, though. Maybe the medic can get that instead of poison. Yeah, but the medic had to hit you with a melee weapon to do it, which was no mean feat back in the days of the Modem Majority. I suppose it's a bit easier now that everyone's a LPB, and the mechanics had to change to accomodate the differing play environment. Still, I don't recall massive 'nade spam in the QWTF versions that I played - I think you got two or three of them? The EMP grenade, nail grenade and hallucinogen grenades were the most useful ones that I remember. A well-placed EMP would take out a sentry gun or sniper, but required good accuracy. The nail grenade was an excellent suppression weapon. Hallucinogens were excellent anti-sniper and fuck-with-the-enemy weapons. And also just plain fun. I never "got" conc- or rocket-jumping, myself. See: modem. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: LK on September 18, 2007, 05:27:43 PM Is there an online manual or some form of documentation? Official forums? I'm trying to find information out but it looks like it's hidden within the ass crack of Shangri'la.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Trippy on September 18, 2007, 05:35:22 PM Yeah, but the medic had to hit you with a melee weapon to do it, which was no mean feat back in the days of the Modem Majority. I suppose it's a bit easier now that everyone's a LPB, and the mechanics had to change to accomodate the differing play environment. The Medic axe attack was a good way to check for spies back in the day. I used to just stand on the top of the ramp leading to the upper level of 2fort4 (i.e. the sniper deck), blocking the path, and whack all my "teammates" that would try to pass me and I would chase down anybody that tried to avoid being hit or who had come up the other ramp, or shoot at them a couple of times if they were Scouts (kind of hard to catch those guys even as a Medic).Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Samwise on September 18, 2007, 06:39:22 PM Still, I don't recall massive 'nade spam in the QWTF versions that I played - I think you got two or three of them? The EMP grenade, nail grenade and hallucinogen grenades were the most useful ones that I remember. A well-placed EMP would take out a sentry gun or sniper, but required good accuracy. The nail grenade was an excellent suppression weapon. Hallucinogens were excellent anti-sniper and fuck-with-the-enemy weapons. And also just plain fun. I forget now how many nades you got in QWTF, but in TFC you could have 4 of each type, for 8 total. My most common technique as an engy was to set up my turrets at home and then head to the enemy base to chuck grenades. Once you got the timing and physics of those things down, it was very easy to make a grenade explode anywhere in range (I used to take out sentry guns and snipers in hard-to-reach locations by chucking an EMP straight up and timing it to go off right as it reached its apex), and each grenade is an almost guaranteed kill. Pull the pin, wait a second, walk around a corner, toss the grenade so it explodes in someone's face, repeat. They will run out of dudes before you run out of grenades. EMPs were especially great because they did damage proportional to the ammo carried (usually an instakill), and would go through walls. The standard frag grenades tended to do a little less damage, but a direct hit was still death for anything less sturdy than a soldier. While I will miss the "mindless offensive engy" playstyle, I think it's probably better for the game as a whole that stuff like that isn't as much of an option now. (Note that it's still possible to go offense as an engy; you just can't out-damage the soldier any more without building a sentry gun.) Re: the Medic axe, you can actually still use the Medic's healing gun thing to check for spies, because it won't work on a non-teammate. If you point it at someone and it doesn't go "whrrrn" and start healing him with a beam of light, he's not your friend. A far better tool for spy-checking is the flamethrower, though... just don't try it on a FF server. :-D Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: caladein on September 18, 2007, 08:32:01 PM Re: the Medic axe, you can actually still use the Medic's healing gun thing to check for spies, because it won't work on a non-teammate. If you point it at someone and it doesn't go "whrrrn" and start healing him with a beam of light, he's not your friend. Then what's that achievement about getting healed by an enemy medic while you're disguised? Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Fabricated on September 18, 2007, 09:07:06 PM The best spycheck is a pyro. I like how brutally effective spies are this time around. In TFC they were pretty good but kinda blew their load after they shanked a sniper or other defense class. The backstabs are so great now and the cloak/disguises are so quick you can get chains of stabs going. I got 3 people in about 6 seconds as a spy once.
None of the classes really seem useless which is nice. The only class I think needs a buff is the Pyro since while fire damage is brutally effective now, the flamethrower has no range and they get NOTHING else interesting. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Yoru on September 18, 2007, 09:35:31 PM Okay, I actually got a good solid 10 minutes of playtime this last go-round. Reaction: Much :heart:. Must nostalgia playing 2fort (although arguably a shittier version than good old 2fort4), shooting nades clear across the field and blowing up people with pipebombs on the bridge. I'll have to upgrade my computer so I can run this in native res and not have it core out constantly.
Oh yeah, back in the saddle again. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Samwise on September 19, 2007, 12:26:14 AM Re: the Medic axe, you can actually still use the Medic's healing gun thing to check for spies, because it won't work on a non-teammate. If you point it at someone and it doesn't go "whrrrn" and start healing him with a beam of light, he's not your friend. Then what's that achievement about getting healed by an enemy medic while you're disguised? I think you're correct. My bad. I just assumed that the medic would keep that function. Also, enemies can use your dispensers for free now, instead of triggering a warning so you can blow them up? Damn. (edit) The scout is LUV. I'd missed the first time around that he has a "double-jump" ability, which lets him do stuff like run across the top of the bridge on 2fort. As long as there aren't any sentry guns in his way he's a one-man flag-capping machine. Also, it doesn't seem like anyone on any of the servers I've been playing on knows how to rocket jump, because I'm the only one doing it. They must be wondering how the hell that damn soldier keeps on getting up to their battlements so quickly. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Big Gulp on September 19, 2007, 12:48:42 AM I love how the game just seems to be blowing a big, sloppy kiss towards No One Lives Forever, from the music to the animation style. That's a series that really should have done better commercially.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Samwise on September 19, 2007, 12:52:33 AM Yeah, lotta NOLF in there. I suspect Evil Genius and The Incredibles also had some influence.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: NiX on September 19, 2007, 01:29:01 AM I planned on being in bed by 1:30 AM. It's now 4:30 AM. Damn TF2. DAMN YOU! I love the demoman this time around. Before it seemed like nade spamming. Now it does take some skill to land nades on top of people. The most fun I'm having is lobbing the remote nades at the other battlement in 2fort and blowing up snipers. They hate me so much :heart:
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: schild on September 19, 2007, 01:49:57 AM I'm always on teamspeak when playing btw.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Trippy on September 19, 2007, 01:54:50 AM Yeah, after 10 years, I was hoping for something more epic, or at least to frag a dude in the 10 minutes I had left before bed. Does no detpacks mean there aren't any objective-based maps where you blow things up like rock2 or is that handled in other ways now?Still, the removal of so many things I enjoyed (detpacks, incendiary rockets, detpacks, the many forms of grenades, DETPACKS, hallucinogens, DETPACKS, medic diseases, ... detpacks?) saddens me. I'll still play it, if it runs. And who knows, maybe the streamlining will be good for the game. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Trippy on September 19, 2007, 02:12:46 AM I was looking for the retail release date for the Orange Box when I noticed that GameSpot still has an interview up (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/teamfortress2boa/news.html?sid=2652476&om_act=convert&om_clk=newsfeatures&tag=newsfeatures%3Btitle%3B1&page=1) from when TF2 was going to be siimilar to what BF2 is today. Ah, what might have been...
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: eldaec on September 19, 2007, 02:24:20 AM This really is teh splendid.
Get it while the 'community' isn't full of people who know every inch of every map and are just way better at it than you imo. I'm shit at FPSs so I have maybe 3 weeks before everyone gets too good and this stops being so much fun. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Simond on September 19, 2007, 03:11:35 AM Anyone havine real problems getting this to run, there seems to be two things that work a fair bit of the time - forcing windowed mode and forcing directx 8.1 from the start-up.
There's...something funny going on with full-screen and high resolutions, and dx8 kills some of the shaders, which makes the game run better on older machines/gfx cards. Oh, and spies are :heart: - pyro/demoman costume, cloak past engineers, appear behind them (as a 'friendly'), stab one, cloak, disguise as engineer, decloak. Watch the other two engineers look confused as to why there's still three engineers in base, plus a new corpse. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Zetor on September 19, 2007, 03:23:18 AM I just run it in windowed mode. I still get occasional freezes (about 10-20% of the time during a map-switch), and once it even crashed out on a map-switch claiming "not enough video memory available". Load times are also pretty crazy, and my PC isn't that bad -- I run a dual core 2.8ghz athlon x2 setup with a geforce 7600gt and 1 gig of ram.
My most embarrassing moment involves a spy too... I was healing the entire team at a heated battle over a control point, and saw a medic running for cover, low on health. So I heal him to full, then turn around and get back to the rest of the team. As I turn my back, I think "wait a sec, that name looked familiar..." then get backstabbed and die. He actually disguised himself as ME, and I didn't notice it. Whoops. :hello_kitty: -- Z. horribly bad at shooters Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: eldaec on September 19, 2007, 03:51:56 AM Load times are also pretty crazy, More crazy than other steam or source stuff? I find load times are always crazy when Valve are involved. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Zetor on September 19, 2007, 04:00:10 AM Yeah, you're probably right. Still, Bioshock (I have the steam version) starts up a heck of a lot quicker, and level changing is super fast; HL2 starts up slooow, but level load times are manageable. TF2... I just hit "launch" on steam and it takes at least 2-3 minutes to get to the menu. Same with actually loading a map (when it doesn't crash), ugh. The Steam Community overlay thingamajig also takes a few seconds to load up, so I typically only chat there while I'm dead.
OTOH, the game is crazy fun (the first online shooter I had fun with in a long time, and I'm pretty terrible at FPS to begin with), else I wouldn't be playing it so much. -- Z. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: MrHat on September 19, 2007, 05:09:43 AM Couldn't play Monday. Couldn't play last night either.
Grrrrr. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Moaner on September 19, 2007, 06:44:34 AM It was almost worth the wait. TF and TWCTF were perhaps the best times I had gaming so I was really looking forward to this. So far, I'm not disappointed. I've been playing mostly a medic or heavy and god damn they make a nice combo. After I learn the maps I'm plan on playing an engineer mostly.
I'm playing on a X2 4200+ 1gb ram and a 7800gt. With everything set to low or medium my framerate never drops below 45 in 1400x900. Still, now I really want to upgrade :-D Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: schild on September 19, 2007, 07:04:35 AM E6600/8600GTS/2GB 1066 yields over 120FPS at (nearly) all times. I can record in FRAPS with my cap at 60FPS perfectly. Thus far, I have not had a single CTD. Or any sort of crash for that matter.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Moaner on September 19, 2007, 07:40:37 AM E6600/8600GTS/2GB 1066 yields over 120FPS at (nearly) all times. I can record in FRAPS with my cap at 60FPS perfectly. Thus far, I have not had a single CTD. Or any sort of crash for that matter. Very good to hear. I think come November I'm going to build a rig with very similiar specs to those. I'll get by just fine until then but damnit I want the eye candy! Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: bhodi on September 19, 2007, 08:19:01 AM This game is definitely sweet, but there are a few things people should remember. On the assault maps, if you are an engineer, make sure to run to the front capture point and defend that. I constantly see people turreting up the rear point and the enemy just runs uncontested through the forward part pf the map.
I guess i should write up a few tips and tricks for each of the classes when i have time - a lot of the old stuff still works (including turret placement on 2fort!) Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: schild on September 19, 2007, 08:22:43 AM Turret placement only works if there aren't spies that know how to rape face. Spies are built for 99% annoyance and 110% turret removal. Sapper, 3 shots from the revolver, takes about 3 seconds. A second turret can't even kill before you can get those 3 shots off.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: LK on September 19, 2007, 09:33:40 AM Is there a way to force it so that it doesn't try to load a level on startup? That seems to double the amount of loading time necessary to get in the game.
I'll take the 2D Backdrop, k thx. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Morfiend on September 19, 2007, 10:16:13 AM So, I got TF2 last night. Honestly, not that impressed. Yeah, the style and presentation are awesome. But it seems like TFC with stuff missing running on a new engine. How the hell did it take them this long to basically make the same game they already had with new graphics?
I mean, yeah, its fun and all. But I was hoping for, I dont know, a bit *more*, after such a long development time. Im going to play some more tonight and see if maybe I was just tired or some thing last night. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Modern Angel on September 19, 2007, 10:46:21 AM So, I got TF2 last night. Honestly, not that impressed. Yeah, the style and presentation are awesome. But it seems like TFC with stuff missing running on a new engine. How the hell did it take them this long to basically make the same game they already had with new graphics? I mean, yeah, its fun and all. But I was hoping for, I dont know, a bit *more*, after such a long development time. Im going to play some more tonight and see if maybe I was just tired or some thing last night. The answer is that it wasn't in development for ten years. I don't think anyone truly believes that they had a dev team working on this for that long. A year, two absolute tops. It's a pretty, polished, funny, tight, balanced TFC and that's just fine for me. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: lesion on September 19, 2007, 11:25:41 AM Is there a way to force it so that it doesn't try to load a level on startup? That seems to double the amount of loading time necessary to get in the game. I don't have TF2 and my info is probably out of date, so this could be magically mystical:1) find the game's home directory, then the 'cfg' folder and look for 'valve.rc' 2) open it with notepad and find 'startupmenu', then add two forward slashes so you get '//startupmenu' if there is no 'valve.rc' make one and fill it with Quote // load the base configuration //exec default.cfg // Setup custom controller exec joystick.cfg // run a user script file if present exec autoexec.cfg // // stuff command line statements // stuffcmds Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Yegolev on September 19, 2007, 11:33:43 AM Also, it doesn't seem like anyone on any of the servers I've been playing on knows how to rocket jump, because I'm the only one doing it. They must be wondering how the hell that damn soldier keeps on getting up to their battlements so quickly. I, for one, have never been able to rocket-jump, and I mean from the Quake days. I am definitely going to have to practice that, then work on the grenade-jump. I played this waaaay too much last night. No crashes, but I'm running it at 1024x768. I could go higher but I don't feel the need. As for people knowing the maps, I played against one or two people who really, really knew what they were doing. As in, those two were carrying the team alone at times. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: schild on September 19, 2007, 11:41:51 AM The rocket jump is really easy in this game. You don't need practice really.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Yegolev on September 19, 2007, 11:58:20 AM OK, touche, since I did not even try.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: bhodi on September 19, 2007, 12:09:53 PM Turret placement only works if there aren't spies that know how to rape face. Spies are built for 99% annoyance and 110% turret removal. Sapper, 3 shots from the revolver, takes about 3 seconds. A second turret can't even kill before you can get those 3 shots off. A good engineer has barricaded himself in behind his turret with a dispenser, against a wall so he can immediately give his sentry two whacks with the wrench to stop the sap and another two to fully heal it. The spy has three options against this type of engineer, none of them really good. "drive-by" zapping does nothing to this engineer, it takes a specific effort to stand there and do battle. I'll list the counters for each of the three options:1. Stay in costume and keep attempting to sap dispenser and turret until they fall This is a losing battle for the engineer, but takes a lot longer than you would think, as the engineer can actually stop and heal each one almost as fast as you can sap it. Note that this is ALL the engineer can do, the wrench must be swinging continuously and he must be getting metal infusions from the dispenser, and the spy must be sitting next to it continually reapplying the zapper. Generally, you have a buddy who notices this odd behavior and guns down the spy before he can finally drop it. With a good engineer this takes 10-15 seconds of struggle with furious wrench work, with the dispenser being lost halfway in. Sometimes, spies will opt for #2 or #3 once the dispenser goes down.. generally #3 happens as it only takes 3 wrench hits to kill a spy and the turret's already tracking. 2. Spy whip outs the pistol on the turret You can't do enough damage to the turret if the engineer is next to it. All he has to do is whacks it 2 times. Spy = turret bullets to the face after the first two wrench whacks bring it back online and another two to heal the damage. 3. Go for you directly with pistol or knife Spy has to jump over the turrets or dispensers, and because the engineer's back is to the wall, he can't be backstabbed. Same thing as #2, he'll eat the knife damage, repair his turret, and then turn the wrench on the spy (plus turret bullets to the face). You know, I'm going to write up a "So you want to be a X" primer for you guys, maybe I can get it published here or something. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: schild on September 19, 2007, 12:17:57 PM The only option for a spy dealing with someone like that is: Crouch jump on turret, Crouch jump on Engineer, Shoot him in the head twice.
Well, there's also #2, but you fire from somewhere the engineer can't see you. And then there's #3, respawn as a scout and beat the shit out of him with a bat. YMMV on this one. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Yegolev on September 19, 2007, 12:19:32 PM I'm one of those people that need help. I saw a lot of scouts swinging bats but I assumed it was to ridicule my team. Bat > scattergun?
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: bhodi on September 19, 2007, 12:23:31 PM Yeah, if you can get the headshots, engineer is done... of course it's still tricky, people tend to move and the head sways like crazy when that wrench is swinging. I'll have to try that, but I'm not really good at headshots except with the sniper (and medic.. my god, the medic
I haven't had that tactic used against me with any success. The bats do a lot of damage, more damage than the scattergun. All the melee weapons are very strong, generally they kill in no more than 3 hits except against a heavy. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: schild on September 19, 2007, 12:31:37 PM The bat will kill a heavy in 4 hits, a pyro in 3 and anyone else in 2. The bat will drop a spy in one hit.
Headshots/Critical hits are fairly easy to get, and I didn't notice it until my last game today, but I think the critical area for the scout rifle is the legs. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Samwise on September 19, 2007, 12:37:53 PM The rocket jump is really easy in this game. You don't need practice really. The hardest part is not hitting your head. The first few times I tried the rocket jump up to the 2fort battlements I kept starting the jump too close to the edge and hitting the inside of the door. Once I figured out that I could start my jump a ways back and still make it up there with a bit of room to spare, it got a lot easier. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Strazos on September 19, 2007, 07:16:57 PM Simple Question:
If CS: Source and HL2 run pretty well on my system, TF2 should do alright as well, yes? Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: MrHat on September 20, 2007, 08:23:57 AM Simple Question: If CS: Source and HL2 run pretty well on my system, TF2 should do alright as well, yes? Yes. I've got a shitty machine (3400+ 2GB X800) and it runs fine w/ shaders/shadows/water reflections turned down @ 1400x900. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: eldaec on September 20, 2007, 11:29:30 AM As far as I can tell TF2 runs quicker than CS or HL2. Feels quicker, and I don't even bother to turn off my second monitor. So yes.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Yegolev on September 20, 2007, 12:53:42 PM I don't know about CS, but the environment in TF2 doesn't have anything other than scenery, like exploding barrels or wiggly wires or whatnot.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Strazos on September 20, 2007, 04:04:41 PM I can run HL2 and CS: S at fairly high settings, even with my decrepit rig.
(AMD XP Athlon 2700+, 1GB RAM, 256MB 7800 GS) I look forward to doing some aggressive offensive sniping. People get real mad when you snipe into their base from their own doorstep. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Slayerik on September 21, 2007, 05:44:32 AM I can run HL2 and CS: S at fairly high settings, even with my decrepit rig. (AMD XP Athlon 2700+, 1GB RAM, 256MB 7800 GS) I look forward to doing some aggressive offensive sniping. People get real mad when you snipe into their base from their own doorstep. You know I got your back with a shotty for those baseball wielding noobs like MrHat over there (damn you MrHat and your Louisville)! ;) Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Yegolev on October 03, 2007, 02:35:38 PM I'm preloading Episode 2 as I type this.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: bhodi on October 24, 2007, 10:22:22 PM Oh, this is a nice addendum:
Valve "Deactivating" Customers Who Bought "Orange Box" Internationally (http://consumerist.com/consumer/drm/valve-deactivating-customers-who-bought-orange-box-internationally-314690.php) Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Trippy on October 24, 2007, 10:34:28 PM And people wonder why I have a problem with a DRM service that can cut off access to "your" games for any reason whatsoever.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Azazel on October 25, 2007, 02:05:48 AM I agree with you. It's why I refuse to add any of my many other, legitimately-purchased games to Steam. "activate a product on steam" yeah, fat fucking chance. They get my Valve games, my bought-through Steam games, and that's it. Well, exceot for DMoMM, which attatched itself to Steam as I installed it.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Morfiend on October 25, 2007, 10:05:57 AM My friend just bought the $79 Orange Box + package. He had never played HL1, so he is going to play through the entire series. I am excited for him.
Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Morat20 on October 26, 2007, 01:37:41 AM My friend just bought the $79 Orange Box + package. He had never played HL1, so he is going to play through the entire series. I am excited for him. Is Half Life part of Orange Box? (What's it called now, with the new engine? Half Life: Source? or something like that). I admit I've never played Half Life, but plan on picking up Orange Box next week. Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Trippy on October 26, 2007, 01:55:40 AM My friend just bought the $79 Orange Box + package. He had never played HL1, so he is going to play through the entire series. I am excited for him. Is Half Life part of Orange Box? (What's it called now, with the new engine? Half Life: Source? or something like that). I admit I've never played Half Life, but plan on picking up Orange Box next week. Edit: Actually I take that back. I forgot I had enabled some of those through my original copy of HL2. Morfiend is talking about this package: Source Premier Pack (http://www.steampowered.com/v/index.php?area=package&SubId=479&cc=US) Title: Re: Just preordered Orange Box on Steam... Post by: Morat20 on October 26, 2007, 09:55:56 PM My friend just bought the $79 Orange Box + package. He had never played HL1, so he is going to play through the entire series. I am excited for him. Is Half Life part of Orange Box? (What's it called now, with the new engine? Half Life: Source? or something like that). I admit I've never played Half Life, but plan on picking up Orange Box next week. Edit: Actually I take that back. I forgot I had enabled some of those through my original copy of HL2. Morfiend is talking about this package: Source Premier Pack (http://www.steampowered.com/v/index.php?area=package&SubId=479&cc=US) |