Half-Life 1

[Elune]

I'm now 5 hours into my first play through of Half-Life 1, and I figured I'd drop by and say it's an AMAZING game. Looking forward to finishing it so I can play the second Half-Life (And the Episodes) as well. I've owned the entire series since 2009 and haven't played through them yet.

The biggest issue I suppose is the outdated graphics, seeing as it's from 1998. I've also encountered some minor bugs, like getting stuck on nothing and having to reload (luckily I spam quick save). Or once a scientist dived through a window, then when he landed on the floor he disappeared, then reappeared back inside the window he just dived out of and stood there. I had to kill him to get to the shotgun behind him.

Also is it just me or does ammo seem to get used up REALLY fast, and the crowbar seems to struggle with registering hits?

Still an awesome game, nifty puzzles and neat enemies to blast. Greatly enjoying my (first!) playthrough of it.

Also Freemans Mind is awesome:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7J80KD4B ... SL&index=1

Anyone else played it? Thoughts?

[The Tourist]

Tom's still crying in a corner somewhere (or plotting my doom? I'm not sure which... ), after I eulogised Half-Life 2 at him. He had the chutzpah to call it "alright".

But y'know what? I've still not played 1. Are you playing Half-Life Source, or just the vanilla version? I refuse to use Steam, but I don't think there's any other way to get a copy of that version. If anyone knows any better, please give me a heads up.

[Luvitus]

As i always say, "Half life is the best game series EVER"

[Elune]

Tom's still crying in a corner somewhere (or plotting my doom? I'm not sure which... ), after I eulogised Half-Life 2 at him. He had the chutzpah to call it "alright".

But y'know what? I've still not played 1. Are you playing Half-Life Source, or just the vanilla version? I refuse to use Steam, but I don't think there's any other way to get a copy of that version. If anyone knows any better, please give me a heads up.

The vanilla verision. Also, Steam is awesome! And yes, I have it on steam.
http://steamcommunity.com/id/PinkFlamingos

[The Tom]

Tom's still crying in a corner somewhere (or plotting my doom? I'm not sure which... ), after I eulogised Half-Life 2 at him. He had the chutzpah to call it "alright".

Just crying, don't worry.

Half Life 1. I think I made a mistake with the Half Life series by playing HL2 first. It's a good game, yeah, but now I feel like I'm missing out on something. It's exactly like how I played Oblivion before Morrowind. I've had some serious catching up to do in terms of just who the hell Gordon Freeman is. But now after reading pretty much the whole Half Life wiki, I feel that I'm justified in saying that my equivalent of playing HL1 is to watch the whole series of Freeman's Mind. Maybe someday I'll get myself a copy.

[Luvitus]

Tom's still crying in a corner somewhere (or plotting my doom? I'm not sure which... ), after I eulogised Half-Life 2 at him. He had the chutzpah to call it "alright".

Just crying, don't worry.

Half Life 1. I think I made a mistake with the Half Life series by playing HL2 first. It's a good game, yeah, but now I feel like I'm missing out on something. It's exactly like how I played Oblivion before Morrowind. I've had some serious catching up to do in terms of just who the hell Gordon Freeman is. But now after reading pretty much the whole Half Life wiki, I feel that I'm justified in saying that my equivalent of playing HL1 is to watch the whole series of Freeman's Mind. Maybe someday I'll get myself a copy.

You wont gain any knowledge as to who gordon is by playing HL1

[The Tom]

Well before I read about him I didn't have a clue he was a scientist. He wears a bulletproof orange suit and hits stuff with a crowbar. That is not what a scientist is meant to do!

[KalleFlaxx]

I have kind of the equivalent of the Orange Box, but for Half-Life 1. Which means I have the original Half-Life, Opposing Force (where you play as one of the soldiers who arrive at Black Mesa a while into Half-Life 1), Blue Shift (where you play as one of the guards at Black Mesa) and the original Counter Strike.
I actually think the first Half-Life is funnier than the second one. I haven't finished either one of them, though, (or I might have finished the first game with cheats, back when I was younger and cheated on every game I played) but I believe I got farther on Half-Life 1 than on Half-Life 2.

[Luvitus]

Well before I read about him I didn't have a clue he was a scientist. He wears a bulletproof orange suit and hits stuff with a crowbar. That is not what a scientist is meant to do!

Actually, its the mark IV HEV suit, redesigned for comfort and utility

[The Tom]

Does it still speak in HL2? I haven't died yet, so I don't know. Emergency! User death imminent!

[The Tourist]

I dunno, I have a sudden urge to re-quote KOTOR's Carth Onasi;

"I've heard some grim stories about Dark Jedi Steam's pricing and restrictions... They say the Force Steam can do terrible things to a mind. It can wipe away your memories and destroy your very identity!

From my POV, it looks like a more invasive, authoritarian version of Xbox Live - more versatile but far less user friendly. But if H-L Source isn't available anywhere else, then I guess one day I'll have to jack in to Valves network, and lose a little bit of my soul. If I'm entirely wrong through ignorance, fair nuff. But Steam has a very bad rep, and it seems most people don't want to see it shape the distribution model for years to come.

But Jillian, how could you own the whole series since '09 but not play 'em?! Don't tell me you were playing Oblivion instead... Before playing H-L2 I'd only heard insanely positive things, so the moment it arrived on Xbox I snapped it up. Never have I had such high expectations for a game I knew hardly anything about - but all my pie in the sky hopes were equalled, and then beaten.

I kinda have the feeling I wouldn't have been quite so blown away had I actually played H-L first, simply because 2 was so very different to everything else I'd played. With 2, I'm guessing they'd nailed certain gameplay elements they didn't quite get right in 1, and had a better idea of what worked and what didn't.

Tom: for the first hour or so, I was a little disappointed by certain aspects of 2 (though I loved the gameplay and its world). Coming to it 'cold', it doesn't go out of its way to help orient newbies, or give them a 'previously on Half-Life!' recap. From a narrative POV, instantly forcing you/Freeman out into the sticks, as it were, doesn't really help. Then I wiki'd the story a little, and everything fell into awe-inspiring place..

[Luvitus]

Does it still speak in HL2? I haven't died yet, so I don't know. Emergency! User death imminent!

Minor fracture detected!!! i'd say thats a yes

[The Tom]

Oh yeah. I wondered who it was that kept telling me my ammunition was depleted.

Tom: for the first hour or so, I was a little disappointed by certain aspects of 2 (though I loved the gameplay and its world). Coming to it 'cold', it doesn't go out of its way to help orient newbies, or give them a 'previously on Half-Life!' recap. From a narrative POV, instantly forcing you/Freeman out into the sticks, as it were, doesn't really help.

It could do with a recap. But to be honest, it made it more fun because I had to go and look up the story of my own volition, rather than being spoon-fed it all. I think it made the discovery of 'my' past more fun and involving, like waking up from a coma with amnesia and then reading all about yourself.

[Elune]

Does it still speak in HL2? I haven't died yet, so I don't know. Emergency! User death imminent!

Heh. It doesn't actually speak when you die in Half-Life 1.That was sound editing in Freeman's Mind. (Trust me, I've died so MANY GODDAMNED TIMES, RAAAAGE).

The death mechanic is really interesting though, you lay where your ragdoll landed and can spin around your view, look at your remains and whatever killed you. Stays like that until you try to move then auto-loads your last save.

Also there are basically NO cutscenes in it, there's one that's kind of a cutscene:

Spoiler:

Gordan gets jumped, and knocked out. Black screen, then you wake up to see yourself wheeling along, can look around for a second, hear they plan to kill you, then you wake up in their trap.

So, not REALLY a cutscene. I've played for 6 and a half hours, and it's all full interactivity.

Also I'm officially about half an hour or an hour farther into the game than Freeman's Mind is. Also for the record, I like Freeman's Mind, but Ross Scott the creator does cheat a little, he takes shortcuts with noclip for example. I don't really mind though, since it's you know for entertainment - not really a "Let's Play."

I dunno, I have a sudden urge to re-quote KOTOR's Carth Onasi;

"I've heard some grim stories about Dark Jedi Steam's pricing and restrictions... They say the Force Steam can do terrible things to a mind. It can wipe away your memories and destroy your very identity!

From my POV, it looks like a more invasive, authoritarian version of Xbox Live - more versatile but far less user friendly. But if H-L Source isn't available anywhere else, then I guess one day I'll have to jack in to Valves network, and lose a little bit of my soul. If I'm entirely wrong through ignorance, fair nuff. But Steam has a very bad rep, and it seems most people don't want to see it shape the distribution model for years to come.

But Jillian, how could you own the whole series since '09 but not play 'em?! Don't tell me you were playing Oblivion instead... Before playing H-L2 I'd only heard insanely positive things, so the moment it arrived on Xbox I snapped it up. Never have I had such high expectations for a game I knew hardly anything about - but all my pie in the sky hopes were equalled, and then beaten.

I kinda have the feeling I wouldn't have been quite so blown away had I actually played H-L first, simply because 2 was so very different to everything else I'd played. With 2, I'm guessing they'd nailed certain gameplay elements they didn't quite get right in 1, and had a better idea of what worked and what didn't.

Tom: for the first hour or so, I was a little disappointed by certain aspects of 2 (though I loved the gameplay and its world). Coming to it 'cold', it doesn't go out of its way to help orient newbies, or give them a 'previously on Half-Life!' recap. From a narrative POV, instantly forcing you/Freeman out into the sticks, as it were, doesn't really help. Then I wiki'd the story a little, and everything fell into awe-inspiring place..

Trust me, Steams VERY user friendly, I've been using it since 09 (Second account, forgot password to first and it had no games anyways). Maybe the older steam was bad (I heard and believed the same as you before), but the new one is awesome and I love it. I can redownload and install all my (Steam-based) games anytime on any computer with it! Steam's distribution model is pretty darn good, the haters on it are mostly companies selling hard copies of the game, since Steam is digital distribution. Plus it has a nifty MSN-like chat for you and your Steam friends if you're into that sort of thing.

Part of the fun, IMO is piecing together the story as you go along. At least in Half-Life 1, I want to keep playing because the game is awesome and I want to see what's going to happen next.

I'm trying my best to not let myself see ANY spoilers or do any independent research from it, so I don't run anything for me. (some of it, like the ending sadly is SLIGHTLY spoiled from semi-unrelated things before I decided to start playing the game.)

I'm really pumped to keep playing, and to start on Half-Life 2 and the episodes. I'm gunna play the spin offs too, Opposing Force and Blue Shift.

Also it wasn't just Oblivion I was playing instead! During 2009 to present day I've been playing the following:
Oblivion, Morrowind, Warcraft 3: TFT, Team Fortress 2, L4D, L4D2, Heroes of Newerth, Dragon Age, Just Cause 2, Red Dead Redemption, Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas, Dungeon Siege 2, Dead Rising 2, CoD MW1 + 2 + WaW + Black Ops (don't like them), Halo Reach (Each Halo game gets worse and worse, didn't even finish Halo Reach), Plants vs Zombies and Neverwinter Nights 2. Edit: Forgot Amnesia: The Dark Descent

[The Tourist]

Whaaaa---at?! You didn't finish Halo Reach?! That means you missed out on one of the---- most pointless narratives ever shoved into a videogame... with a terrible, inane finale. (so you made the right call on that one, Jillian!)

I know this is off-topic, but hey, you're the one who mentioned it, so: you didn't like COD4? I've not played MW2, but Modern Warfare 1's a mighty fine slice of on-the-rails FPS'ing.

Half-Life 2 Episodes: for various reasons I've already stated on the 'what are playing' thread, I'm not that big a huge of the episodic content. I know Valve kinda tested the water with those two (and it's a given that they're of a higher quality than most developers could ever dream about), but I think the community at large definitely returned the verdict of 'just give us another proper Half-Life, damnit!'.

Re Steam/digital distribution? I think consumers are dreading the time when content is only delivered 'soft' (which is the theoretical aim of certain bodies in the industry), because it has the very real danger of denying competitive - or even remotely fair - pricing. It's whittling down the choices of the end user, and if soft distribution becomes prevalent, the second-hand market will die a death - which makes it unpopular with highstreet stores and gamers (two groups who have rarely seen eye to eye.. ).

We're still a long way off such fundamental changes, however, and cloud gaming could make the entire industry and consumers think differently. For now, I'm generally against soft distribution. But I'll look into Steam a little closer, specifically at how European users are being treated (price wise).

[Elune]

Whaaaa---at?! You didn't finish Halo Reach?! That means you missed out on one of the---- most pointless narratives ever shoved into a videogame... with a terrible, inane finale. (so you made the right call on that one, Jillian!)

I know this is off-topic, but hey, you're the one who mentioned it, so: you didn't like COD4? I've not played MW2, but Modern Warfare 1's a mighty fine slice of on-the-rails FPS'ing.

Half-Life 2 Episodes: for various reasons I've already stated on the 'what are playing' thread, I'm not that big a huge of the episodic content. I know Valve kinda tested the water with those two (and it's a given that they're of a higher quality than most developers could ever dream about), but I think the community at large definitely returned the verdict of 'just give us another proper Half-Life, damnit!'.

Re Steam/digital distribution? I think consumers are dreading the time when content is only delivered 'soft' (which is the theoretical aim of certain bodies in the industry), because it has the very real danger of denying competitive - or even remotely fair - pricing. It's whittling down the choices of the end user, and if soft distribution becomes prevalent, the second-hand market will die a death - which makes it unpopular with highstreet stores and gamers (two groups who have rarely seen eye to eye.. ).

We're still a long way off such fundamental changes, however, and cloud gaming could make the entire industry and consumers think differently. For now, I'm generally against soft distribution. But I'll look into Steam a little closer, specifically at how European users are being treated (price wise).

MW1 is what I'd call the best of the series, I just have petty gripes and want to live in a magical land where every shooter is like Serious Sam, Doom (What 3rd game? don't be silly, there is none), and Duke Nukem.

Well to quote a certain video game critic "It seems valve has missed the point of episodic game somewhat, they got the Smaller games that cost less part, but they didn't get the released more frequently part," heh.

The second hand market dying is a good thing. No, really. Why? Because when you buy second hand the Game distribution company gets pure profit, and the games Developers and Publishers get none. This is why they do stuff like one use DLC codes, or pay X£ to unlock this DLC. Buying second-hand also doesn't tell the developers what kind of games you want to play more of, since they aren't always seeing money returns. Gamemaking is getting to be really expensive, and the Game stores habit of abusing the trade in/used game selling system gives them pure profit, game companies are less likely to see returns on their projects.

Also I live in Europe, the UK specifically, and the prices are pretty darn fair to me. I got the complete Valve Pack in 09, it was on sale for like less than 50£ (every valve game ever, usually 100£+), and you why I got it? Cuz I waned Left 4 Dead 2, and the complete Valve Pack was selling for a cheaper price than L4d2 alone was selling in shops (the pack came with L4d1 + L4D2).

Steam does a lot of sales, and it's prices are pretty good in general anyways! /Rave about how awesome Valve is.

[Vivec's Tears]

HL1 is definitely brilliant, though I'll never be able to play it without laughing because of FM Ross Scott is amazing.

I like Half-Life 2 better though, mainly because of the amazing music and graphics, and just plain scary zombies. In HL1, they were a bit scary, but in HL2 they creep me out whenever I'm going into a basement or something. Especially the fast ones.

[The Tourist]

MW1 is what I'd call the best of the series, I just have petty gripes and want to live in a magical land where every shooter is like Serious Sam, Doom (What 3rd game? don't be silly, there is none), and Duke Nukem.

Sooo... I'm guessing you're not a fan of the recent Medal Of Honour? I'm all for COD's Bond-wannabe gameplay, but uber nerdy military-sims - or arcadey games with authentic jargon and no characters (MoH; its lack of contrived characters is a good thing) - have their place in the gaming pantheon, too.

Re the preowned market, and the industries lopsided model: (i'll whack it behind the Spoiler door, 'cause it's off-topic, and I can't really add any contrived eulogies to Half-Life at the mo!)

Spoiler:

like I said, gamers and stores have a literal investment in retaining the bargains, and the profits, respectively - it's entirely understandable. As to the realite economique of why DLC exists? It doesn't exist because of the sell-on market, it's simply publishers (as opposed to devs) taking advantage of soft distribution, and screwing the punters. The potentiality of downloadable content is vast, but right now, it's just a fix. Publishers may pretend DLC is there prop up losses from preowned and pirated games, but that's not their primary function. If Gamestation and Game (not to mention the numpty supermarkets) suddenly stopped their opportunistic policies, I very much doubt the economic profit-Stasi Activision, or EA, would suddenly change their pricing. If a company can get away with screwing the consumer, they'll continue to do so.

...game companies are less likely to see returns on their projects.

Tis true, but what's to be done? No one trusts a soft-only form of distribution, because it's too easily restricted. Having a publisher control the point-of-sale would artificially inflate prices. Activision have voiced various ways and means to control further profit (including dedicated distribution networks, attempting to exclude their content being sold by other parties), and the only loser would be the gamer. I agree devs are being hit by the whole industries wacky business model, but what's a viable alternative?

Didn't notice your profile, Jillian, but yeah - UK's there for all to see.

What with all this Valve-y talk, I'm kinda in the mood to replay both Episodes. But I want to do a bit more Dragon Age-ing before DA2 launches...

[r]

What a game. I remember playing it for the first time and being amazed at how immersive it was, yet it had a playful side too. There was a proper plot, which is rare for a shooter, absolutely brilliant level design and some absolutely mad yet brilliant ideas - the Ghostbusters gun being the best. I know it's actually called the Gluon Gun, but come on... It made the whole screen shake and used up fuel faster than an old Jag but there was nothing more fun than using it. Well, perhaps the laser-guided rocket launcher...

I think HL2 just about has the edge, though, because it doesn't have that stupid jumpy bit in the Lambda complex and it does have the 'airboat', which should really be named the 'turbo propeller missile'.

[Elune]

What a game. I remember playing it for the first time and being amazed at how immersive it was, yet it had a playful side too. There was a proper plot, which is rare for a shooter, absolutely brilliant level design and some absolutely mad yet brilliant ideas - the Ghostbusters gun being the best. I know it's actually called the Gluon Gun, but come on... It made the whole screen shake and used up fuel faster than an old Jag but there was nothing more fun than using it. Well, perhaps the laser-guided rocket launcher...

I think HL2 just about has the edge, though, because it doesn't have that stupid jumpy bit in the Lambda complex and it does have the 'airboat', which should really be named the 'turbo propeller missile'.

I agree, it's truly amazing and immersive, the old graphics don't even bother me (never played it before 2010) at all. As soon as I finish it, boom straight into Half-Life 2 for me (Streaming that too, oh mys).

My biggest complaint is the controls in Half-Life 1, Gordan moves a little too fast (Often throwing you off a ledge by accident), and the controls don't always flow. It's extremely hard to interact with ladders (even more so when you're trying to go down) or get off them. The physics engine for moving blocks and stuff around can be a bit iffy too.

Beyond that, the guns are perfect, with an insteresting recoil mechanic, you point at things and shoot, and generally they'll die. The story is really good, and made even more interesting because of the way you have to put the bits and pieces together and figure it out. Overall totally awesome game, with some minor but possible to overcome issues in the controls.

And I like how you get the Lazer gun:
"Why aren't we using this against the aliens"
"DON'T LET IT OVERHEAT"
"Why?"
*Boom* /Gun for me.

And heh, I got my stream working with Half-Life 1 for those interested (played about 5 hrs today, decent quality no delay or lag). I'll be streaming again tomorrow afternoon (Starting around 2 PM GMT +0 Dublin) and probably for the rest of the day.

I had to start from the beginning, since Half-Life: Source (Half-Life 1, but on the source engine and luckily is compatiable with Livestream thanks to the engine update) wouldn't transfer my save files. I'm now 5 hours into the game, and almost as far as where I was on the other Half-Life 1 (But that one I was 10 hours in, now I've already figured most of the stuff out and halved my time)

Anyone interested check my Stream thread tomorrow, it's as I say working fine nao. ;3 Sadly no one from UESP was watching for the last 5 hours AFAIK, just some of my other friends (Seriously, I blame Dean for moving it to Multimedia where people rarely go, it totally should be in general.)