Half Life 2 Now Avaialbe [Archive] - vBulletin Community Forum

Vile

Sun 14th Nov '04, 3:08am

You read right..It's now available before the the official release date.

I picked up my copy at BB today.

Have a read... (http://www.megagames.com/news/html/pc/halflife2availableatbestbuynow!.shtml)

(Note...The game still needs to be "unlocked" and will be unplayable until the 16th)

Andrew111888

Sun 14th Nov '04, 10:54am

That's been on GameSpot since Thursday.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/11/11/news_6113002.html

It's like finding gold in a foreign country then returning home to find that while you were gone, gold became worthless :p.

Mike Sullivan

Sun 14th Nov '04, 12:30pm

My roommate works at BB. He came home to tell me the same thing. It came down from corporate, but yesterday evening an email went out again telling them to remove HL2 from the shelves or risk being sued (ie, whatever's in Vivendi's power).

MGM

Sun 14th Nov '04, 12:40pm

I read it at GameSpot too. But at least they dont have to worry about anyone ruining the game since they still need to activate it ;)

MGM out

Zachery

Sun 14th Nov '04, 1:28pm

Good timing considering i just oredered new parts :D

Ogden2k

Sun 14th Nov '04, 2:03pm

tgillespie

Sun 14th Nov '04, 4:43pm

I hope the collectors edition comes with a nice CD/DVD jewel case...It does IIRC. Don't you love spending $50-60 on a game and then not even getting a jewel case to protech your cds? No manual, no cds, no cool add-ons.

el cheapo

Also, it would be in Best Buy's greatest interest to take the game off the shelves right now. I could technically go buy the game, install it, plug my CD Key into Steam, and then take the game back to Best Buy and claim that it does not work, because technically it does not. Does anyone know if the Best Buy has a sign on their displays saying the game will not work until the 16th?

MGM

Sun 14th Nov '04, 7:40pm

It does IIRC. Don't you love spending $50-60 on a game and then not even getting a jewel case to protech your cds? No manual, no cds, no cool add-ons.

el cheapo

Also, it would be in Best Buy's greatest interest to take the game off the shelves right now. I could technically go buy the game, install it, plug my CD Key into Steam, and then take the game back to Best Buy and claim that it does not work, because technically it does not. Does anyone know if the Best Buy has a sign on their displays saying the game will not work until the 16th?
ooooooh that's a good idea.... a damn good idea indeed :D

MGM out

Vile

Sun 14th Nov '04, 8:11pm

It does IIRC. Don't you love spending $50-60 on a game and then not even getting a jewel case to protech your cds? No manual, no cds, no cool add-ons.

el cheapo

Also, it would be in Best Buy's greatest interest to take the game off the shelves right now. I could technically go buy the game, install it, plug my CD Key into Steam, and then take the game back to Best Buy and claim that it does not work, because technically it does not. Does anyone know if the Best Buy has a sign on their displays saying the game will not work until the 16th?

Nope, you can't do that actually.

I work at Best Buy Geek Squad and the only time opened software can be returned is if it's defective.

You not being able to activate the game does not make it defective. In this case, you would be told to wait until the 16th, and that's that.

tgillespie

Sun 14th Nov '04, 9:01pm

Nope, you can't do that actually.

I work at Best Buy Geek Squad and the only time opened software can be returned is if it's defective.

You not being able to activate the game does not make it defective. In this case, you would be told to wait until the 16th, and that's that.If little Johnny purcahsed HL2 from Best Buy, went home and installed it on his computer, it would not work. If there is no sign saying that the product will not work until the 16th, he has full right to get his money back. You pay for a working product, unless stated otherwise. It probably depends on which Best Buy clerk you deal with though, but legally you are entitled to a refund. Best Buy could prohibit this if they put a disclaimer on the display though.

Vile

Sun 14th Nov '04, 9:16pm

If little Johnny purcahsed HL2 from Best Buy, went home and installed it on his computer, it would not work. If there is no sign saying that the product will not work until the 16th, he has full right to get his money back. You pay for a working product, unless stated otherwise. It probably depends on which Best Buy clerk you deal with though, but legally you are entitled to a refund. Best Buy could prohibit this if they put a disclaimer on the display though.

And legally software cannot be returned once it is open, unless it is defective, so no, BB would not have to give him a refund, they would be on the side of the law, since it is actually illegal to take back opened software. Companies are always typing up signs for price mistakes, and errors to fix mistakes, so this would be nothing new if it did happen.

Not to mention "little johnny" better be over 17.

andrewpfeifer

Sun 14th Nov '04, 11:08pm

And legally software cannot be returned once it is open, unless it is defective, so no, BB would not have to give him a refund, they would be on the side of the law, since it is actually illegal to take back opened software. Companies are always typing up signs for price mistakes, and errors to fix mistakes, so this would be nothing new if it did happen.

Not to mention "little johnny" better be over 17.

I'm glad I got out of that hole before they started the Geek Squad thing...

In regards to returning a computer game, even if it is defective, you are only allowed to return it for a new copy of the same game (unless this has changed since I left, which I doubt). Once you buy software, you're SOL in regards to returning it and getting your money back. Usually I would blame this on Best Buy's "We don't give a rat's ass about you as long as we're in the top tri-tile of the company so our manager isn't being threatened to get booted" attitude, but, they're in the right this time.

Vile

Sun 14th Nov '04, 11:21pm

I'm glad I got out of that hole before they started the Geek Squad thing...

In regards to returning a computer game, even if it is defective, you are only allowed to return it for a new copy of the same game (unless this has changed since I left, which I doubt). Once you buy software, you're SOL in regards to returning it and getting your money back. Usually I would blame this on Best Buy's "We don't give a rat's ass about you as long as we're in the top tri-tile of the company so our manager isn't being threatened to get booted" attitude, but, they're in the right this time.

Actually, I find GS fun...Most of my co-workers do have their certs. so it does make it a better environment, since they actually know what they are talking about (unlike other stores in my area)

Anyway, you are right on about the software policy, it can only be exchanged for the same exact title. Seems faily obvious since it is software that we are dealing with.

merk

Mon 15th Nov '04, 12:05am

I dont agree to the licence agreement.

Give me my money back, as stated on the "agree or return for a refund" sticker before installing the product.

Breaking the licence agreement seal on the cd isnt an acceptable "I agree to" (unless the licence agreement was supplied in paper form, not on the cd that you cant get to until its broken).

andrewpfeifer

Mon 15th Nov '04, 12:21am

Actually, I find GS fun...Most of my co-workers do have their certs. so it does make it a better environment, since they actually know what they are talking about (unlike other stores in my area)

Anyway, you are right on about the software policy, it can only be exchanged for the same exact title. Seems faily obvious since it is software that we are dealing with.

If the store is managed well it can be an enjoyable experience to work there. Unfortunately, ours wasn't/isn't. When I think of GS I think of all of the people that worked at the tech bench when I worked there. Not insulting your store, but the people at mine were idiots. I left before GS started, but from friends that still work there, I found out that not one tech bench employee passed the test (I believe they were tests, I very easily could be wrong though) in order to certify them to do the GS stuff.

Vile

Mon 15th Nov '04, 12:27am

If the store is managed well it can be an enjoyable experience to work there. Unfortunately, ours wasn't/isn't. When I think of GS I think of all of the people that worked at the tech bench when I worked there. Not insulting your store, but the people at mine were idiots. I left before GS started, but from friends that still work there, I found out that not one tech bench employee passed the test (I believe they were tests, I very easily could be wrong though) in order to certify them to do the GS stuff.

I completely believe you. Fortunately most people in our GS do have the knowledge and experience to be there. We had about 3-4 new people who didn't last because they were not qualified and didn't have the slightest idea of even basic things. And you're right, mangement will make or break a store.

Mike Anime

Mon 15th Nov '04, 12:38am

my question is this why sell a game that cant be used unless you bring it back to unlock it in the first place unless the store chain is full of greedy ********

Vile

Mon 15th Nov '04, 1:12am

my question is this why sell a game that cant be used unless you bring it back to unlock it in the first place unless the store chain is full of greedy ********

It has nothing to do with being greedy. It was simply a disagreement with Valve and Vivendi. Valve wanted to release it early, and Vivendi did not.

tgillespie

Mon 15th Nov '04, 3:50am

It has nothing to do with being greedy. It was simply a disagreement with Valve and Vivendi. Valve wanted to release it early, and Vivendi did not.So Valve contacted Best Buy and told them to sell the game? If not, I think its cheap that Best Buy went ahead and decided themselves to sell the game early. Think of how many people got the game from Best Buy instead of your local PC Game shop just because Best Buy had it out earlier.

Corrent me if I am wrong though.

Andrew111888

Mon 15th Nov '04, 7:21am

Best Buy wasn't the only store that was selling it, I believe.

And GameSpot said they were unable to confirm the rumor or not. In any case, at least only a few copies will be played before tomorrow.

MGM

Mon 15th Nov '04, 10:40am

Best Buy wasn't the only store that was selling it, I believe.

And GameSpot said they were unable to confirm the rumor or not. In any case, at least only a few copies will be played before tomorrow.
How will they be played if they can't confirm the game? the authentication server for hl2 isn't up yet, and won't be up, until midnight tonight

MGM out

Vile

Mon 15th Nov '04, 11:30am

So Valve contacted Best Buy and told them to sell the game? If not, I think its cheap that Best Buy went ahead and decided themselves to sell the game early. Think of how many people got the game from Best Buy instead of your local PC Game shop just because Best Buy had it out earlier.

Corrent me if I am wrong though.

From what I was told, it came from corporate, that they had the green light to sell it early. BB definitely didn't decide on their own to release it early. That's a big lawsuit waiting to happen. This is why it was later pulled from the shelf.

Andrew111888

Mon 15th Nov '04, 3:18pm

How will they be played if they can't confirm the game? the authentication server for hl2 isn't up yet, and won't be up, until midnight tonight

MGM out

They can't confirm that copies were indeed sold early. They were speaking as if the rumors were true, as in what the user would be faced with when they tried to play.

MrNase

Mon 15th Nov '04, 3:21pm

I have just seen some ingame videos which a tv channel showed after the breaking news.. It looks really cool :)

Mike Anime

Mon 15th Nov '04, 8:35pm

there are severial GS stores near me and i went to 3 of them all told me differend things about HL2

one said they couldn't sell the game till the 16th.

one said they could but wouldn't sell the game till the 16th

the last one tried to sell me a copy and even said it would work this was yesterday.

Andrew111888

Mon 15th Nov '04, 9:17pm

My friend bought the game this afternoon, it can be played 3AM EST tomorrow morning.

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/halflife2/index.html - video review

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/halflife2/review.html?q=1&tag=gs_hp_flashtop_story - text review

chrispadfield

Mon 15th Nov '04, 11:01pm

I wonder if its going to beat Halo ....

tgillespie

Mon 15th Nov '04, 11:02pm

I wonder if its going to beat Halo ....In terms of what? Sales?

chrispadfield

Mon 15th Nov '04, 11:06pm

Yup.

merk

Tue 16th Nov '04, 3:54am

6 minutes and we will know, wont we ;)

Thai3g_Eclipse

Tue 16th Nov '04, 5:33am

Yay.

merk

Tue 16th Nov '04, 6:05am

Been playing for an hour and a half now.

Wow. :)

Andrew111888

Tue 16th Nov '04, 7:13am

I'm going over my friend's sometime this week to watch him play it.

I don't even care about the other crap, I just want to see the state-of-the-art graphics and physics engines.

MGM

Tue 16th Nov '04, 12:29pm

Andrew111888

Tue 16th Nov '04, 2:55pm

Isn't Metal Gear Solid 3 coming out tomorrow?

Or is it already out for PC, and coming out tomorrow for PS2?

MGM

Tue 16th Nov '04, 7:52pm

Isn't Metal Gear Solid 3 coming out tomorrow?

Or is it already out for PC, and coming out tomorrow for PS2?
Yes, it is coming out tomorrow for PS2, and as far as I know, there is no PC release date yet :p

I was just mentioning all the Q4-release games thats all :p

MGM out

Mike Sullivan

Tue 16th Nov '04, 8:02pm

I'm gonna wait until Christmas. I have way too many games to play and beat right now. Such as Halo 2, San Andreas, Metal Gear Solid 3, Gran Turismo 4, Knights of the Old Republic 2, and Far Cry. I'll save the best for last ;)

MGM out
Woah! Talk about me not paying attention! MGS3 out tomorrow and... *checks IGN* GT4 out in less than a month? Talk about an amazing quarter for gamers!

I think I'm going to have to pick up that Logitech wheel in a little while for GT4 (you know, the one that does 900 degrees lock-to-lock).

As for HL2, I played it for maybe 30 minutes this morning and I'm absolutely amazed by the level of interactivity. I haven't even shot anything yet and I've had a bunch of "woah, that's cool!" moments. I've been wanted to play since then, but I have work to do!

merk

Tue 16th Nov '04, 9:01pm

Woah! Talk about me not paying attention! MGS3 out tomorrow and... *checks IGN* GT4 out in less than a month? Talk about an amazing quarter for gamers!

I think I'm going to have to pick up that Logitech wheel in a little while for GT4 (you know, the one that does 900 degrees lock-to-lock).

As for HL2, I played it for maybe 30 minutes this morning and I'm absolutely amazed by the level of interactivity. I haven't even shot anything yet and I've had a bunch of "woah, that's cool!" moments. I've been wanted to play since then, but I have work to do!

Wait till you get the airboat :)

Andrew111888

Tue 16th Nov '04, 9:03pm

My friend gave me some screens...

http://www.literaturereviews.net/comic/screenshots/hl2_1.jpg

http://www.literaturereviews.net/comic/screenshots/hl2_2.jpg

http://www.literaturereviews.net/comic/screenshots/hl2_3.jpg

http://www.literaturereviews.net/comic/screenshots/hl2_4.jpg

http://www.literaturereviews.net/comic/screenshots/hl2_5.jpg

He's getting me more once his source and crap finishes updating.

Wayne Luke

Tue 16th Nov '04, 9:17pm

I'm gonna wait until Christmas. I have way too many games to play and beat right now. Such as Halo 2, San Andreas, Metal Gear Solid 3, Gran Turismo 4, Knights of the Old Republic 2, and Far Cry. I'll save the best for last ;)

MGM out
I am waiting as well.. Usually I simply go out and get stuff this time of year and everyone complains that they have nothing to get me for my birthday or Christmas/Yule. So this year I am going to see if they will get what I ask for if I don't purchase it first. Doubt it though.

Radon3k

Tue 16th Nov '04, 10:02pm

tgillespie

Tue 16th Nov '04, 11:08pm

I just bought the game and played it for a little bit. It is fun and as Mike said, the level of interactivity is amazing. I don't like how long it takes to load in between seens (where the game pauses and says "Loading"), though. I have an ATI Radeon 9600 with 256MB RAM and the graphics are amazing. I wonder how much better they would be on a better card, such as the 9800 or even the x800?I have yet to fire it up on my 9800XT. I'm hoping to get some decent results. One of my roomates has a 6800GT and it looks awesome. Another one of my roomates has a 5900 and does not look nearly as cool. I guess the bench marks are showing that ATI cards perform better on the game. Even the x800Pro beats the 6800Ultra. Nvidia was for Doom as ATI was for HL2.

MGM

Tue 16th Nov '04, 11:48pm

merk

Wed 17th Nov '04, 1:37am

Im running it on a nvidia 5700, it works fine, and while it has no aa enabled by default, it still looks good.

tgillespie

Wed 17th Nov '04, 2:48am

Im running it on a nvidia 5700, it works fine, and while it has no aa enabled by default, it still looks good.Did you force directx 9 to run? I guess the same problem that people had with CS:S and Nvidia FX cards is in HL2. The fact that the game defaults to directX 8, PS1 and so on with FX cards is rather upsetting for those card owners.

It works fine, but it does not look sexy. Not everyone cares about graphics though.

Mike Sullivan

Wed 17th Nov '04, 3:41am

I have yet to fire it up on my 9800XT. I'm hoping to get some decent results. One of my roomates has a 6800GT and it looks awesome. Another one of my roomates has a 5900 and does not look nearly as cool. I guess the bench marks are showing that ATI cards perform better on the game. Even the x800Pro beats the 6800Ultra. Nvidia was for Doom as ATI was for HL2.
If anyone's curious, I'm running it on a 6800 (NU), Athlon 2100+, 512 MB (PC2100 :)), and just a plain old 7200rpm IDE HD. It defaulted to giving me mostly medium quality things with 4x AA and 8x AF. I dropped the AA and cranked the resolution to 1600x1200 as that's the native of my LCD.

I'm usually in the 30 - 40 fps range according to the netgraph. Only once did it dip to where it actually felt choppy; for me, I don't really even notice a dip to the mid-20s. Of course, staring at a wall, I get 100 fps! Woohoo! ;)

I've gotten a bit farther now -- I've actually killed things -- and I'm even more impressed. I love how the physics puzzles work; I wouldn't be surprised to see people putting out puzzle maps in the future. The amount of interactivity actually changes how you play; I wasted a ton of ammo taking out bunches of those annoying ceiling clinging aliens until I realized there's a smarter way to do it ("oh, THAT's why I've been seeing that near each clump. Should've thought of that earlier.")

merk

Wed 17th Nov '04, 3:44am

Did you force directx 9 to run? I guess the same problem that people had with CS:S and Nvidia FX cards is in HL2. The fact that the game defaults to directX 8, PS1 and so on with FX cards is rather upsetting for those card owners.

It works fine, but it does not look sexy. Not everyone cares about graphics though.

Default settings. It does have its moments of slowdowns, level loads take a while, but its all good.

Textures are awsome. The models are amazing, Alyx, Eli, Barney. Almost lifelike :)

Andrew111888

Wed 17th Nov '04, 7:17am

Ehrm, I lightened one of the first screens. Now you can actually see the scene.

http://www.literaturereviews.net/comic/screenshots/hl2_1.jpg

merk

Wed 17th Nov '04, 8:21am

Ehrm, I lightened one of the first screens. Now you can actually see the scene.

That scene is meant to be dark :) (you're underground and the only light is from your flashlight)

Ksilebo

Wed 17th Nov '04, 7:32pm

Well. I beat it, after almost 2 days of solid playing.

Wasn't as long as I had hoped, but, damn, it was fun. I'll go through again sometime soon.

MGM

Wed 17th Nov '04, 7:52pm

Well. I beat it, after almost 2 days of solid playing.

Wasn't as long as I had hoped, but, damn, it was fun. I'll go through again sometime soon.
If you ruin it for me I will hunt you down and kill you with my shoe

MGM out :D

Ksilebo

Wed 17th Nov '04, 9:18pm

If you ruin it for me I will hunt you down and kill you with my shoe

MGM out :D

lol fear not, I wouldn't dare do that to anyone. I would have hated it done to me.

Andrew111888

Wed 17th Nov '04, 10:08pm

http://www.literaturereviews.net/comic/screenshots/hl2_7.jpg

http://www.literaturereviews.net/comic/screenshots/hl2_8.jpg

http://www.literaturereviews.net/comic/screenshots/hl2_9.jpg

http://www.literaturereviews.net/comic/screenshots/hl2_10.jpg

MGM

Thu 18th Nov '04, 12:00am

I'm still kind of interested as to how that species of alien in the picture (sorry, name lost me) is a good guy now lol

But don't tell me, I'm just interested thats all :D

MGM out

Wayne Luke

Thu 18th Nov '04, 1:22am

I'm still kind of interested as to how that species of alien in the picture (sorry, name lost me) is a good guy now lol

I don't know anything about the Half-Life story line. Have never played the first one even. However, usually a bigger enemey will cause people to become friends fast.

Verdictz

Thu 18th Nov '04, 4:27am

This game has just been released, and there are reports on gamers users' boards about people suffering from nausea and headaches from playing this game.

Apparently the game is very "real-looking".

Radon3k

Thu 18th Nov '04, 4:33am

This game has just been released, and there are reports on gamers users' boards about people suffering from nausea and headaches from playing this game.

Apparently the game is very "real-looking".
Indeed it is though I haven't experienced any nausea or headaches from playing it. The effects in the game are probably the best I've seen.

Andrew111888

Thu 18th Nov '04, 7:12am

I'm still kind of interested as to how that species of alien in the picture (sorry, name lost me) is a good guy now lol

But don't tell me, I'm just interested thats all :D

MGM out

My friend is sending me those, not me... I just wanted them because I wanted to see the state-of-the-art graphics/physics engines :D.

Brad.loo

Thu 18th Nov '04, 7:26am

MGM

Thu 18th Nov '04, 5:53pm

This game has just been released, and there are reports on gamers users' boards about people suffering from nausea and headaches from playing this game.

Apparently the game is very "real-looking".
Most FPS do this actually. FPS are made so that there is a LOT of motion and people can actually get sick from it. Those experiencing problems with HL2 would probably also experience problems with a game like Far Cry or Doom 3

MGM out

Mike Anime

Thu 18th Nov '04, 7:20pm

atleast i know my system can handle it now.

merk

Fri 19th Nov '04, 8:15am

I'm still kind of interested as to how that species of alien in the picture (sorry, name lost me) is a good guy now lol

But don't tell me, I'm just interested thats all :D

MGM out

It is a vortugant or something similar.

Im a bit rusty on the original storyline (which will be refreshed when i get more than half way through HL:S), there was more than one species of alien. I suspect that Xen creatures become your friends (and it could have happened at the end, maybe). Or as Wayne said, the combine forced Xen creatures to ally with us :)

The combine from HL2 are not from Xen.

merk

Fri 19th Nov '04, 8:11pm

It is a vortugant or something similar.

Im a bit rusty on the original storyline (which will be refreshed when i get more than half way through HL:S), there was more than one species of alien. I suspect that Xen creatures become your friends (and it could have happened at the end, maybe). Or as Wayne said, the combine forced Xen creatures to ally with us :)

The combine from HL2 are not from Xen.

Update, spelling is Vortigaunt :)