Hey, they finally added high quality mp3s to Half-Life and the original music for Blue-Shift and Op4 to Steam in the beta's. Yay. Can't wait to see that rolled out into the official release.
In other news, they finally fixed the MP3 bug where previously.
-In Half-Life, the music would restart from scratch after every level transition, even if it had already finished. 'twas quite annoying
-In Op4, Blue Shift or any mod, music would just stop once a level transition started.
Now in Half-Life, music will play during a level transition, and stop when it's the sound is done and no sooner. And not repeat, aside from the opening tram ride where it's supposed to repeat. SUPER AWESOME!
It's still bugged in mods though. It'll play DURING a level transition, but stop after the level is done loading, which is WEIIIIRRRDD. I suspect it'll get fixed next week.
Honestly, this whole thing has been wonderful and Valve has nearly gotten Half-Life back to a good enough position to once again be the definitive version (Previously, I'd have a hard time picking between it and Half-Life: Source) Just off the top of my head, the bugs and features that I'm most happy Valve has fixed or added.:
Half-Life
-Fixed the "clockwindow" bug that caused players to get frozen 1/2 second after a level transition
-Fixed the screen turning black on a level transition
-Updated MP3's from 48Kbps to 128Kbps
-Fixed mp3 playback
-Included cloud saving
-Games are now updated to Steampipe
-HD models can be turned on and off from the menu
-Modifications like new gun models or sounds can be added to an _addon folder and turned on and off in-game
-Added a v-synch option
-IIRC, the game will turn on AA by default now (instead of requiring videocard shenanigans)
-Fixed the "endless door noise" bug
Opposing Force
-Fixed the weird green text box that shows up during level transitions
-Now includes the original soundtrack
-Game saves now have chapter names instead of map file names
Blue Shift
-HUD is now Blue
-Now includes original soundtrack
-Menu screen is no longer 8 bit.
-Game now runs as a Half-Life mod instead of being some weird stand-alone thing for no reason.
-Game saves now have chapter names instead of map file names
Honestly, Valve just needs to fix the flickeing NPC issue (Which they may or may not), the mp3 issue in mods (which they undoubtedly will), clean up the Blue Shift install of redundant files (maybe, but not necessary) and fix a Linux bug for Op4 that prevents the final map load from triggering (Valve is having major trouble diagnosing this one) and I'll have run out of things on my wish list:D
Well, aside from potentially getting a pc Half-Life: Decay port, and a Gunman Chronicles port. But those are some pretty pie-in-the-sky wishes.
Blue Shift -HUD is now Blue
-Now includes original soundtrack
-Menu screen is no longer 8 bit.
-Game now runs as a Half-Life mod instead of being some weird stand-alone thing for no reason.
-Game saves now have chapter names instead of map file names
Honestly, Valve just needs to fix the flickering NPC issue (Which they may or may not), the mp3 issue in mods (which they undoubtedly will), clean up the Blue Shift install of redundant files (maybe, but not necessary) and fix a Linux bug for Op4 that prevents the final map load from triggering (Valve is having major trouble diagnosing this one) and I'll have run out of things on my wish list:D
I've never seen the flickering npc bug. That's weird.
Yay for blue HUD! ... Can you actually play all the way through Blue Shift now? The last several times I tried, the elevator ride (where you're "fixing" it) would result in the scientists dying and the player getting blamed for it. Had to skip forward with the map command.
What is Steampipe?
0
augustwhere you come from is goneRegistered Userregular
It'd be awesome if they fixed the broken stuff in HL: Source as well.
The latest betas for Half-Life and its various offshoots (Opposing Force, Blue Shift, Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike: Condition Zero, Day of Defeat, Deathmatch Classic, Ricochet, Team Fortress Classic) have swapped things over to Valve’s newer Steampipe file system. (Condition Zero Deleted Scenes will not be ported)
Previously, these games were stored in GCF (Global Cache File, IIRC) files, and when you played a game, it extracted the files from the cache and stored them in the “steam/steamapps/<username>/<gamename>/” folder. This was in-efficient for a couple of reasons.
1. Every time a new file is accessed, it has to be extracted from the cache file first
2. Every user on the machine would have their own folder of extracted files
3. For a game like Half-Life, each one of those offshoots would have it’s own separate extraction of Half-Life files
Now, this wasn’t a huge hassle as hard drives are beefy these days and the time it takes to extract a file isn’t much. Still, with the porting of these games to Linux and Mac, it was a prudent time to move to the more efficient file system.
I haven't been able to reproduce the elevator issue, so I dunno if it's fixed or not.
Undead Scottsman on
0
MongerI got the ham stink.Dallas, TXRegistered Userregular
I remember booting up CZ Deleted Scenes once out of boredom.
It is bad.
The fact that anyone even bothered to acknowledge its existence there is pretty surprising to me.
Yep, I've played an beaten that several times. It's kinda buggy though; I wonder how well it could have been done with Valve and Gearbox's full backing.
So apparently a director's cut of Minerva Metastsis is coming to Steam tomorrow.
Tomorrow will see the highly acclaimed Half-life 2 Episode 1 mod, Minerva officially appear on Steam. Adam Foster the creator of Minerva was hired by Valve shortly after releasing the mod back in 2007.
With the help (and nagging) of his colleagues at Valve, Adam is re-releasing Minerva as a Director's Cut edition with "tweaked visuals, bug fixes, better puzzles and all kinds of subtle improvements. Nothing majorly new, just old stuff tidied and polished for this re-release."
Expect the usual single-player shooting and puzzles, a healthy dose of mystery and plenty of on-screen dialogue from the unseen Minerva, who guides (and insults) you on your journey through a vast Combine underground facility.
+6
anoffdayTo be changed whenever Anoffday gets around to it.Registered Userregular
Never even heard of it.
Steam: offday
0
chiasaur11Never doubt a raccoon.Do you think it's trademarked?Registered Userregular
Not to hype it unduly, but prepare for one of the best mission packs for HL2. There's almost no change to the gameplay - no new weapons or anything.
There is a very minor dose of System Shock-ness. That is, the player receives text messages during the game as he progresses. Which are appropriately vague and mysterious.
More vertical (as opposed to HL2's horizontal, spawling) levels, with an amazing amount of detail worked in. There's a very good reason he got hired and put in charge of HL2: Episode 3. So, while most people blame Valve in general or Gaben in particular; I blame Foster. Also want to say he was the brains behind some of the ARGs Valve has orchestrated in the past.
Not to hype it unduly, but prepare for one of the best mission packs for HL2. There's almost no change to the gameplay - no new weapons or anything.
There is a very minor dose of System Shock-ness. That is, the player receives text messages during the game as he progresses. Which are appropriately vague and mysterious.
More vertical (as opposed to HL2's horizontal, spawling) levels, with an amazing amount of detail worked in. There's a very good reason he got hired and put in charge of HL2: Episode 3. So, while most people blame Valve in general or Gaben in particular; I blame Foster. Also want to say he was the brains behind some of the ARGs Valve has orchestrated in the past.
Yup. Some, not all.
He also worked on Portal 2.
(Although I'd say the messages from Minerva read more Durandal than Shodan.)
Though I was thinking of the concept of getting messages, less the content of those messages. Rebecca Lansing sending you status updates and such.
Well, the whole series is free online, since Bungie made it open source a few years back. On the other hand, old school shooter, not everyone's cup of tea, and all the text is up on the story page if that's what you want.
I guess while we're on the subject of Half-Life mods, I've been playing Cry of Fear, and it's been okay for a Gold Source mod - hit detection is pretty sketchy, and the enemies are of the "absurdly quick moving" variety, but on the whole it's been interesting. The free price of entry doesn't hurt either.
Though I was thinking of the concept of getting messages, less the content of those messages. Rebecca Lansing sending you status updates and such.
Well, the whole series is free online, since Bungie made it open source a few years back. On the other hand, old school shooter, not everyone's cup of tea, and all the text is up on the story page if that's what you want.
Nice, I didn't know these were available for windows.
Does playing Someplace Else allow you to get more enjoyment out of Minerva: Metastasis? I've been meaning to play both of them for years, but I said "NOPE!" and closed the game when SE started me out in a crawlspace in Xen. Xen freaks me out.
0
The_SpaniardIt's never lupinesIrvine, CaliforniaRegistered Userregular
So apparently a director's cut of Minerva Metastsis is coming to Steam tomorrow.
Tomorrow will see the highly acclaimed Half-life 2 Episode 1 mod, Minerva officially appear on Steam. Adam Foster the creator of Minerva was hired by Valve shortly after releasing the mod back in 2007.
With the help (and nagging) of his colleagues at Valve, Adam is re-releasing Minerva as a Director's Cut edition with "tweaked visuals, bug fixes, better puzzles and all kinds of subtle improvements. Nothing majorly new, just old stuff tidied and polished for this re-release."
Expect the usual single-player shooting and puzzles, a healthy dose of mystery and plenty of on-screen dialogue from the unseen Minerva, who guides (and insults) you on your journey through a vast Combine underground facility.
MongerI got the ham stink.Dallas, TXRegistered Userregular
Someplace Else doesn't have any bearing on Minerva at all. You aren't really missing out by not playing it. It's fun enough if you have some extra time, but it's not a must-play like Minerva is.
On HL1 mods: I played Brendon Chung's "The Puppy Years" recently. Set in the same canon as Gravity Bone and Thirty Flights of Loving, it has you controlling Citizen Abel as a toddler with mechanics that are a mashup of Thief and Max Payne. The slow motion finicky on modern computers, but it was neat when I finally got it working.
So apparently a director's cut of Minerva Metastsis is coming to Steam tomorrow.
Tomorrow will see the highly acclaimed Half-life 2 Episode 1 mod, Minerva officially appear on Steam. Adam Foster the creator of Minerva was hired by Valve shortly after releasing the mod back in 2007.
With the help (and nagging) of his colleagues at Valve, Adam is re-releasing Minerva as a Director's Cut edition with "tweaked visuals, bug fixes, better puzzles and all kinds of subtle improvements. Nothing majorly new, just old stuff tidied and polished for this re-release."
Expect the usual single-player shooting and puzzles, a healthy dose of mystery and plenty of on-screen dialogue from the unseen Minerva, who guides (and insults) you on your journey through a vast Combine underground facility.
Free or charging for it?
I don't see any word on this, but I can't imagine they'd charge for this when they put out Alien Swarm for free just for the hell of it.
Though I was thinking of the concept of getting messages, less the content of those messages. Rebecca Lansing sending you status updates and such.
Well, the whole series is free online, since Bungie made it open source a few years back. On the other hand, old school shooter, not everyone's cup of tea, and all the text is up on the story page if that's what you want.
I don't have a gaming computer at the moment, but I will keep it in mind for when I'm done transitioning. Thanks!
0
chiasaur11Never doubt a raccoon.Do you think it's trademarked?Registered Userregular
Though I was thinking of the concept of getting messages, less the content of those messages. Rebecca Lansing sending you status updates and such.
Well, the whole series is free online, since Bungie made it open source a few years back. On the other hand, old school shooter, not everyone's cup of tea, and all the text is up on the story page if that's what you want.
I don't have a gaming computer at the moment, but I will keep it in mind for when I'm done transitioning. Thanks!
It's not exactly a gaming computer needed game, although yeah, wouldn't work on a cell phone or similar. Got it to play on some pretty messed up rigs without issue.
Beautiful mapmaking, minimal loading, and the best showcase for combine AI known to man.
Turns out they're smart fuckers.
Minerva Metastasis got Adam Foster a job at Valve, and it is my personal belief that the reason HL Ep 3 is taking so long is that he is making it all himself.
Beautiful mapmaking, minimal loading, and the best showcase for combine AI known to man.
Turns out they're smart fuckers.
Minerva Metastasis got Adam Foster a job at Valve, and it is my personal belief that the reason HL Ep 3 is taking so long is that he is making it all himself.
"Wait, guys, I'm pretty sure I can fit the entire game into one loading screen."
More vertical (as opposed to HL2's horizontal, spawling) levels, with an amazing amount of detail worked in. There's a very good reason he got hired and put in charge of HL2: Episode 3.
"Put in charge"? Really?
Also I mean... I liked Metastasis - and it really did show off just how good combine AI actually is during long-form combat (+1 fuckers are smart). But I felt a lot of the interior level design was (paradoxically) a bit too open and corridor-happy. The exterior level design was pretty special though; fantastic building design for tight skirmish-style gameplay.
More vertical (as opposed to HL2's horizontal, spawling) levels, with an amazing amount of detail worked in. There's a very good reason he got hired and put in charge of HL2: Episode 3.
"Put in charge"? Really?
That's the story I've always heard. Given the structure of the company, there aren't really "people in charge" of any given project in a traditional sense; but the impression I have is that each cabal has a de facto leader.
NocrenLt Futz, Back in ActionNorth CarolinaRegistered Userregular
I just wanna say that one of my funnest memories of HL1 was due to glitch.
There's a scripted even (wanna say near the beginning) where you summon an elevator and it breaks and shoots right past you, along with its occupants screaming in fear, straight into the ground.
Well, I somehow got through the door before the car came crashing down and didn't get crushed due to clipping. But I was close enough to a scientist to trigger his proxy alert.
So essentially it was "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh-Hello Dr. Freeman" *CRASH*
Yeah, that happens a lot. Basically if you break the glass instead of hitting the button, it triggers the same falling elevator sequence, but you can make it inside the shaft before it reaches where you are.
Okay, okay, Minerva is now downloading based on everybody's recommendations. What am I in for? A pre-Portal Portal?
Not in the slightest.
It's Half Life 2's shooting given a chance to shine. Some puzzles (even some good puzzles from time to time) but mostly, it's you, your guns, and an island full of combine who want you dead.
They are good at their jobs.
Trust me, if you aren't good at shooters, turn it down to easy. Every difficulty is about a notch, notch and a half higher than the same difficulty in Half Life 2.
Posts
they are integrated seamlessly
In other news, they finally fixed the MP3 bug where previously.
-In Half-Life, the music would restart from scratch after every level transition, even if it had already finished. 'twas quite annoying
-In Op4, Blue Shift or any mod, music would just stop once a level transition started.
Now in Half-Life, music will play during a level transition, and stop when it's the sound is done and no sooner. And not repeat, aside from the opening tram ride where it's supposed to repeat. SUPER AWESOME!
It's still bugged in mods though. It'll play DURING a level transition, but stop after the level is done loading, which is WEIIIIRRRDD. I suspect it'll get fixed next week.
Honestly, this whole thing has been wonderful and Valve has nearly gotten Half-Life back to a good enough position to once again be the definitive version (Previously, I'd have a hard time picking between it and Half-Life: Source) Just off the top of my head, the bugs and features that I'm most happy Valve has fixed or added.:
Half-Life
-Fixed the "clockwindow" bug that caused players to get frozen 1/2 second after a level transition
-Fixed the screen turning black on a level transition
-Updated MP3's from 48Kbps to 128Kbps
-Fixed mp3 playback
-Included cloud saving
-Games are now updated to Steampipe
-HD models can be turned on and off from the menu
-Modifications like new gun models or sounds can be added to an _addon folder and turned on and off in-game
-Added a v-synch option
-IIRC, the game will turn on AA by default now (instead of requiring videocard shenanigans)
-Fixed the "endless door noise" bug
Opposing Force
-Fixed the weird green text box that shows up during level transitions
-Now includes the original soundtrack
-Game saves now have chapter names instead of map file names
Blue Shift
-HUD is now Blue
-Now includes original soundtrack
-Menu screen is no longer 8 bit.
-Game now runs as a Half-Life mod instead of being some weird stand-alone thing for no reason.
-Game saves now have chapter names instead of map file names
Honestly, Valve just needs to fix the flickeing NPC issue (Which they may or may not), the mp3 issue in mods (which they undoubtedly will), clean up the Blue Shift install of redundant files (maybe, but not necessary) and fix a Linux bug for Op4 that prevents the final map load from triggering (Valve is having major trouble diagnosing this one) and I'll have run out of things on my wish list:D
Well, aside from potentially getting a pc Half-Life: Decay port, and a Gunman Chronicles port. But those are some pretty pie-in-the-sky wishes.
I've never seen the flickering npc bug. That's weird.
Yay for blue HUD! ... Can you actually play all the way through Blue Shift now? The last several times I tried, the elevator ride (where you're "fixing" it) would result in the scientists dying and the player getting blamed for it. Had to skip forward with the map command.
What is Steampipe?
I haven't been able to reproduce the elevator issue, so I dunno if it's fixed or not.
It is bad.
The fact that anyone even bothered to acknowledge its existence there is pretty surprising to me.
All right, people. It is not a gerbil. It is not a hamster. It is not a guinea pig. It is a death rabbit. Death. Rabbit. Say it with me, now.
While it didn't come straight from Valve or Gearbox, Decay was ported to PC as a HL1 mod a few years ago. It even has online play.
http://decay.half-lifecreations.com/
Yep, I've played an beaten that several times. It's kinda buggy though; I wonder how well it could have been done with Valve and Gearbox's full backing.
You are in for a treat.
Beautiful mapmaking, minimal loading, and the best showcase for combine AI known to man.
Turns out they're smart fuckers.
Why I fear the ocean.
Not to hype it unduly, but prepare for one of the best mission packs for HL2. There's almost no change to the gameplay - no new weapons or anything.
There is a very minor dose of System Shock-ness. That is, the player receives text messages during the game as he progresses. Which are appropriately vague and mysterious.
More vertical (as opposed to HL2's horizontal, spawling) levels, with an amazing amount of detail worked in. There's a very good reason he got hired and put in charge of HL2: Episode 3. So, while most people blame Valve in general or Gaben in particular; I blame Foster. Also want to say he was the brains behind some of the ARGs Valve has orchestrated in the past.
Yup. Some, not all.
He also worked on Portal 2.
(Although I'd say the messages from Minerva read more Durandal than Shodan.)
Why I fear the ocean.
Though I was thinking of the concept of getting messages, less the content of those messages. Rebecca Lansing sending you status updates and such.
Well, the whole series is free online, since Bungie made it open source a few years back. On the other hand, old school shooter, not everyone's cup of tea, and all the text is up on the story page if that's what you want.
Why I fear the ocean.
Nice, I didn't know these were available for windows.
Does playing Someplace Else allow you to get more enjoyment out of Minerva: Metastasis? I've been meaning to play both of them for years, but I said "NOPE!" and closed the game when SE started me out in a crawlspace in Xen. Xen freaks me out.
Free or charging for it?
All right, people. It is not a gerbil. It is not a hamster. It is not a guinea pig. It is a death rabbit. Death. Rabbit. Say it with me, now.
I don't see any word on this, but I can't imagine they'd charge for this when they put out Alien Swarm for free just for the hell of it.
I don't have a gaming computer at the moment, but I will keep it in mind for when I'm done transitioning. Thanks!
It's not exactly a gaming computer needed game, although yeah, wouldn't work on a cell phone or similar. Got it to play on some pretty messed up rigs without issue.
Why I fear the ocean.
Minerva Metastasis got Adam Foster a job at Valve, and it is my personal belief that the reason HL Ep 3 is taking so long is that he is making it all himself.
Gamertag: PrimusD | Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
"Wait, guys, I'm pretty sure I can fit the entire game into one loading screen."
Also I mean... I liked Metastasis - and it really did show off just how good combine AI actually is during long-form combat (+1 fuckers are smart). But I felt a lot of the interior level design was (paradoxically) a bit too open and corridor-happy. The exterior level design was pretty special though; fantastic building design for tight skirmish-style gameplay.
And yes, the plot was well-delivered.
That's the story I've always heard. Given the structure of the company, there aren't really "people in charge" of any given project in a traditional sense; but the impression I have is that each cabal has a de facto leader.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/235780
You might need to delete your old version to nab this one. I dunno, TF2 is too busy converting right now for me to do anything.
Nope.
Downloaded about an hour ago. Sitting right next to my copy of the original version.
Might try it out tonight.
Why I fear the ocean.
There's a scripted even (wanna say near the beginning) where you summon an elevator and it breaks and shoots right past you, along with its occupants screaming in fear, straight into the ground.
Well, I somehow got through the door before the car came crashing down and didn't get crushed due to clipping. But I was close enough to a scientist to trigger his proxy alert.
So essentially it was "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh-Hello Dr. Freeman" *CRASH*
Not in the slightest.
It's Half Life 2's shooting given a chance to shine. Some puzzles (even some good puzzles from time to time) but mostly, it's you, your guns, and an island full of combine who want you dead.
They are good at their jobs.
Trust me, if you aren't good at shooters, turn it down to easy. Every difficulty is about a notch, notch and a half higher than the same difficulty in Half Life 2.
Why I fear the ocean.