Half-Life 2 go bye bye / Valve = RIAA?

[Jon P. Inghram]

http://steampowered.com/index.php?area=faq&id=1050915505,27362300,1050915714,91503900

http://www.rage3d.com/board/showthread.php?threadid=33709296&perpage=20&pagenumber=1

Just imagine if Windows REQUIRED an internet connection to boot... welcome to the DRM century I guess.

[Wombat]

Wow. What a shame.

HalfLife2 just went from my "I'll have to buy that the day it comes out" category to "I'll have to find a cracked warez copy of that when it comes out." There's no reason they should expect to be allowed to phone home all the time. It's none of their business what/when I'm playing, and I'd hate to be on metered internet access. Do you get to send Valve the bill?

[GNEP]

http://forums.murc.ws/showthread.php?s=&threadid=44166

[Jon P. Inghram]

Whoops, never go to to the Matrox Gaming section any more so I didn't see that one GNEP.

[GNEP]

NP

[GT98]

Thats about ****ing stupid...

I know I read over on shacknews theres going to be a couple different verisons of game (single player only, Pay as you go Steam subscription, and Full subscription for a year,etc) so hopefully Valve can pull their foot out of their ass before it comes to bite them in sales.

[Jammrock]

I don't see how this is necessarily any different than now. The only difference is you need a SteamID to play HL2 online instead of a WonID like you need in HL1 to play.

There will be three packages and 2 different ways to get it. Package 1 is single player only for low-cost sellers like Target and Walmart. A Single and multiplayer package for EB and Best Buy type places. And a third with extra crap like a soundtrack or poster or something with the full game.

You can either buy the game at a store or buy it directly off Steam. If you buy it off Steam then you pay Steam/Valve. Otherwise you don't.

Valve has already announced that they will NOT charge people to play HL2 online on Steam. You only need a SteamID with your legally purchased game.

LAN games I assume would not require an authentication to Steam, but I don't know.

Jammrock

[Jon P. Inghram]

The problem isn't that they're charging to play, which they're not, (probably ) it's that it appears to require an internet connection to play single player if you've done anything that requires Steam, such as using the built-in patcher or played MP online. They need to come out with a clear and unambivelent Yes or No answer about this issue, although from what I've read it IS a "Yes."

[Byock]

Crazy. Hmm, everyone at this lan party Authenticate over a 56k line okay?

Please...

[Jon P. Inghram]

If you really want to see something, go to the offical forums for it... http://steampowered.com/forums/

Rage3D on a bad day looks like a Mensa meeting compared to the Steam forums.

[The Rock]

This better NOT apply to LAN gaming. That would be very !@#$%^&* stupid of Valve. That would cost them 8 guaranteed sales from me and my LAN buddies alone, and I'm sure we wouldn't be the only ones who would warez HL2 if that happens. I've been waiting for this game for a while now, cash in hand, but if Vavle pulls Microsoft-ish crap like that they won't see a dime from me.

[Marshmallowman]

Add this to the fact that they will not confirm a linux client, this really does rule this game out for me.
Ahh well doom3 should filled the void...

[Kruzin]

I heard there is definatly no plan for a linux client, just a linux server.
Probably because the game will rely too heavily on DX9 features not yet available in linux.

[SitFlyer]

Originally posted by The Rock
This better NOT apply to LAN gaming. That would be very !@#$%^&* stupid of Valve. That would cost them 8 guaranteed sales from me and my LAN buddies alone, and I'm sure we wouldn't be the only ones who would warez HL2 if that happens. I've been waiting for this game for a while now, cash in hand, but if Vavle pulls Microsoft-ish crap like that they won't see a dime from me.

This should be the answer you don't want to hear:

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
QUESTIONS, ANSWERS, TROUBLESHOOTING...

TECHNICAL SUPPORT
How can I have a LAN party or similar event using Steam?

Any Steam game, when played on a LAN or otherwise, requires that each individual client be able to authenticate via the Internet.

At a LAN party, this means that Internet access must be available to every machine on which Steam games are being played.

If desireable, the network administrator of such an event can limit internet access to only the TCP/IP ports which Steam needs. These are:
UDP 1200
UDP 27000 to 27015 inclusive
TCP 27030 to 27039 inclusive

At large events, it will be necessary for each attendee to let their games fully update before attending to avoid taxing the shared internet connection with too much content delivery.

[Belwarrior]

i am suprised that Valve has not seen certain things coming.. not many people are going to buy. I certainly not going to buy.. heck i can always play other games..