Whomever gets HL2 post here..

Damn! How long does it take to install?! I installed off the DVD
and now it's 'updating' and only at 75%! Guess i'll just have to
shuffle off and cook me dinner while I wait :smile:

Oh good Lord. What connection are you on? I have never been able to use Steam due to a 56k pay-as-you-go modem, so if I need broadband to play
HL2 without bankrupting my family I am not going to be too chuffed...

As steam gives no indication as to the speed it's downloading at, it's
hard to know wether the download is large or the speed is slow.

Check the "monitor" screen and it'll tell you how fast it's downloading...

Just picked up the standard retail edition. Installing now. :smile:

Check the "monitor" screen and it'll tell you how fast it's downloading...

Oh awesome, thanks for that. :smile:

And good going fixing that database error so quickly. :wink:

Picked it up today ... Now all I need is a DVD drive, stupid authentication.

I think the UK have been slightly ripped off in some ways. We didn't have any 'collector' edition, meaning that the majority of people who purchase HL2 will not benefit from HL:Source and DoD:Source etc. Doesn't bother me particularly as i've always been a FLF player - but some may find it slightly annoying.

HL2 is bloody good though! I've not played it much yet but so far it's ace :biggrin:

I played the hazard course in HL:S - pretty much identical to be
honest. There were only two benefits I noticed, the first being the
water and the second being the weapon effects (eg. explosions look
better). Ah well, shouldn't have expected much I guess.

3 words on HL2: A-ma-zing!

I've been playing it since its release, and after the first chapter I'd definately say its f**king awesome and heaps better than the original Half-Life, Halo/2 or any other game that claims to be the best. We have a new champion.

The initial escape from city 17 is so realistic and genually scary, as masked combine troops come storming after you. The extended chase sequence on the air boat is incredible, and didn't seem like it would end. The gravity gun was everything I could have hoped for (particularly with saw blades).

Incredible level design, pace, visual effects, action, story and suspense easily make this the best game of the year, possibly ever. 10/10, five stars.

I think the UK have been slightly ripped off in some ways. We
didn't have any 'collector' edition, meaning that the majority of
people who purchase HL2 will not benefit from HL:Source and DoD:Source
etc. Doesn't bother me particularly as i've always been a FLF player -
but some may find it slightly annoying.

HL2 is bloody good though! I've not played it much yet but so far it's ace :biggrin:

There was no confirmation that the collector's edition came with DoD:S
nor the back catalogue...which is why I opted for Gold...it cost me
roughly the same amount but I got a lot more stuff with it. The retail
options are just glorified bronze packages. It's BS. You can thank
Vivendi for that (they publish it) and the reason DoD:S isn't offered
with retail is because Activision holds the publishing rights. And
Valve couldn't say if it will be available at a later date...so less
goodies + less confirmation on stuff that should be in a collector's
version + the same cost = no sense.

Not to mention the fact that Valve seriously wanted to screw Vivendi after the legal issue over steam and existing distribution contracts, so they released their HL2 packages at a cheaper price and with more stuff than Vivendi could offer, under cutting them and getting most of the purchases.

God bless you Valve for f**king Vivendi, those bastards still haven't sent me a copy of CS:CZ. Doesn't matter now though, but that purchase through steam sure felt good. :biggrin:

Go get f**ked Vivendi. :arse:

Just bought HL2 yesterday (tuesday) ($54.00). I was suprised that the EB games store I went to had so many copies on the shelf, and it was getting late in the day. I expected them to have been sold out. Good thing I didn't waste money preordering (like $5 to $10 I think).

Looks pretty awesome so far, I've been looking forward to playing it for over a year (like most others around here I imagine). Even more so though I have been looking forward to editing with the new capabilities in the source engine. To bad there is no HL2DM though, I supose they will release an add on for hl2dm, much like unreal has its two versions of the game.

...so they released their HL2 packages at a cheaper price and
with more stuff than Vivendi could offer, under cutting them and
getting most of the purchases...

I really doubt most of the purchases were made through steam. Not only
that, but Valve's steam offers weren't cheaper, at least not in the UK.
The Bronze offer would have been about ?33 or something over steam
(Silver was ?40), while you could get the retail equivelant by a score
of mail order companies for under ?30, and for that you get a box and
disks. I do think that the silver package was the best deal from both
steam or retail however - bronze just wasn't worth it.

Yeh, Bronze was way overpriced for just HL2 and CS:Source.

For gold, there was a bugger too: all the HL2 goodies (cap, T-shirt,
and all that) had to be shipped to your country. Well, it's you paying for it.

ReNo said:

...so they released their HL2 packages at a cheaper price and
with more stuff than Vivendi could offer, under cutting them and
getting most of the purchases...

I really doubt most of the purchases were made through steam. Not only
that, but Valve's steam offers weren't cheaper, at least not in the UK.
The Bronze offer would have been about ?33 or something over steam
(Silver was ?40), while you could get the retail equivelant by a score
of mail order companies for under ?30, and for that you get a box and
disks. I do think that the silver package was the best deal from both
steam or retail however - bronze just wasn't worth it.

Here the normal retail costs more then bronze. $5 more.