It may be interesting to get this game just to learn how the “competition” is doing their games. There is a version in DVD that will come with (besides the game) the old HL rebuilt in the new engine, a version of XSI EXP, and the editor plus full documentation.
Who cares about that game? Me not. I would like to have the unreal engine 3 ^^
Even if you don’t care about the game itself – which is probably my own feelings (unless the story is very good and the game is 40+ hours of good gameplay) – hl2 has many new features interesting to look at. One thing im curious to see is the famous integration of the phisics with the ai and their claims that the entities (npcs) are aware of phisics and know when they can crush an obstacle or have to jump over. In particualr they know they can shoot through soft surfaces. We will see if this is true or not.
[quote]It may be interesting to get this game just to learn how the “competition” is doing their games.
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“Competition” - now that’s funny, really. 
Not that I’d care HL2 (or 1) … but I think the competition for us here is the good old Arcade machines 10-30 years ago… read: MAME today… 
A little ambition doesn’t hurt. ;D
I know that Java rules on the mobile game market and that applies well for the type of game you are refering.
In a couple of years, if everything goes well and Sun makes the right decisions, i think we can see games using java tech competing with the best PC games developed with c++.
What i saw on most PC Games magazines, the average playtime is about 20 hours.
And i played the leaked beta version… ok, it was just a beta, but they said the game would be about 80% finished and it was such a waste.
The next game, not engine, i am looking for is “Stalker”. It looks great and seems to have a fantastic atmosphere.
Maybe i will take a closer look at HL2, but even if, iam more interested in the games that will be done with the souce engine, as in HL2.
But compared to the Doom3 and FarCry Engine (germany rulez ^^) the core HL2 engine is worse. The Havoc Physik Engine is cool, but it takes much CPU Power, one of the reasons why the physic interactions were reduced in Deus Ex 2.
Comparing Doom3 engine to HL2 engine isnt fair for several reasons. One is that HL2 takes place in open and large spaces while Doom3 uses small closed environments. Another reason is that Doom3 AI is scripted and thus very fast. Every bit of cpu power is given to shadow claculations and great graphics. HL2 on the other side mixes physics with AI. The bots “know” tricks that involve taking advantage of phisical laws. Instead of programing bots with scripts like in Doom3 we are suposed to give them tricks they can choose to do or not do if its not convinient. With this stuff in play its normal that graphics have to be sacrficed.
If the bots really interact with less AI scripts, then they might spend much time with them. Because in the leaked beta they act like bots we know from other games. They hide and duck, but overall they are to dump.
To be honest it isn’t really worth commenting on it until you’ve played the final thing- something i expect to do around christmas 2007 when it finally finishes installing.
hmm - didn’t take long to install for me - far longer to download the 3-4 GB data to install 
FWIW, totally f*cking awesome game. The AI is fine - nothing impressive (IMO). But the maps, graphics, physics is really awesome. Best FPS ever - Period.
[quote]hmm - didn’t take long to install for me - far longer to download the 3-4 GB data to install
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5 gb
[quote]FWIW, totally f*cking awesome game. The AI is fine - nothing impressive (IMO). But the maps, graphics, physics is really awesome. Best FPS ever - Period.
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I agree, it’s an awesome game. The AI is not so excellent (very scripted, but scripts are well used so that you don’t have the impression that they are here… except at the end of the game), but the graphics (exteriors) are wonderful and the physics amazing !
Only one very bad thing : the game is not so long, and the end is very frustrating :-/
And multiplayer mode (only deathmatch… but mods are coming !) is as nice as the one in HL1
Chman
long? i heard about that an average player will be able to get through the game in 20-25 hours. That ins’t long compared to HL1
[quote]long? i heard about that an average player will be able to get through the game in 20-25 hours. That ins’t long compared to HL1
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Which Chman also said…
[quote]Only one very bad thing : the game is not so long, and the end is very frustrating :-/
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[quote] Which Chman also said…
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most of all german pc magazines and got it also from some of my friends.
I liked it. Technically speaking the game looks and feels amazing. Portions of the game feel like you’re in an interactive Final Fantasy movie (no kidding). Also, the other comments about Doom vs. Source are right on: Doom is very confined and dark, and IMO, Doom would look worse than HL2 if Doom wasn’t so dark all the time. In bright environments, HL2 looks great.
Unfortunately, I felt the story was a bit weak, you are left wondering what the Gman is up to or who he even represents. Most of the game was just fumbling through area after area without really understanding what your ‘purpose’ is in the game (except to get to the next area). Even after you finish the game, you’re left with a sort of ‘What did I do?’ sorta mentality. They defintely just close the curtains on the show very quickly when you get to the end. Didn’t walk away with much of a ‘Oooh what a story’ sort of feeling.
And lastly, the game makers admit that HL1 was way too long, so although HL2 is short, it’s not that short (I explored around a bit and messed around and got a solid 30 hours of gameplay in). Compared to HL1, however, it’s very short, but don’t make that comparison. It’s about the same length as Doom3.
-Chris
Personally I’m not impressed. A 2 1/4 hour install from CD after downloading and decrypting half the internet. Then it takes an age to load, then each save takes an age to load, then there are long load times between (smallish) sections. Talk about a PITA.
Then there’s steam. FFS, this is a game It’s not like I’m asking for the keys to Fort Knox - I don’t like being treated like a criminal for wanting to just play the game I forked out cash for.
The game itself is very pretty and Havoc is very cool, but given the lack of difference you seem to make to the game world, it plays more like an extended tech. demo for Havoc than a game in it’s own right. I didn’t play HL1, but I know it was renowned for it’s story telling virtues. I expected to find something like that in HL2, but it’s a pretty looking shooter on rails with nice physics. It’s not much fun as a game IMO. A pity, since the opening sequence and setting is great.
I’m really enjoying it- I agree about the Havok, though- there is one fight which is pretty much “Tony Hawks Extreme Airboat”, for example, but the game still has that classic half-lifeyness.
Interestingly the best storyline games I have played recently have been RTS types- both Warcraft 3 and Age of Mythology had a story line that kept me coming back to find out what happened next.
Well, I just finished HL2 and the ending sucked. Makes absolutely no sense to me - I presume that I’m expected to have played HL1 first so that it does?
[quote]Well, I just finished HL2 and the ending sucked. Makes absolutely no sense to me - I presume that I’m expected to have played HL1 first so that it does?
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No you’re expected to wait for HL3 and buy it… In the story, HL2 is a bridge bewteen the first and third one… You just need to wait something like… hum… 15 years ? to play HL3 and have the end of the full trilogy.
Chman
I finished it last night. Brilliant stuff- not overly long (now I am no longer a student I prefer shorter, more tautly written, games to longer flabbier ones) and the ending was a little bit of a “wait for Half Life 3” but the gameplay, animation, pacing and level design were all outstanding. I was particularly impressed that although you suffered from the old FPS problem of only really being able to go one way, the levels were designed so that the way I wanted to go was always the way that was open to me. That was very clever.
Also ran beautifully through my old GeForce 3 graphics card…