Half Life 2 remastered on Steam

meh...HL2 wasn't even that good a of game. Graphic changes aren't going to change that.
 
I'll say this is awesome. More games need this kind of treatment... In fact, ALL games should get this kind of treatment. I hope this starts a trend.

All old games should get graphic improvements as the technology improves.

This makes PC Master Race very happy ;)
 
Warrior said:
I'll say this is awesome. More games need this kind of treatment... In fact, ALL games should get this kind of treatment. I hope this starts a trend.

All old games should get graphic improvements as the technology improves.

This makes PC Master Race very happy ;)
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I think hoping that ALL old games are remastered is reaching a bit, but all of the good ones definitely should. I'd like to see the makers of the Cinematic mod do System Shock 2, for example. I know that it received some love via Rebirth, SHTUP, and especially NewDark, but even as much as NewDark did to improve the game, I feel it deserves more.

That's just one example. I totally agree with you - I'd love to see it happen but it's so time and resource intensive to do, it's only gonna happen for some games.
 
imyourzero said:
I think hoping that ALL old games are remastered is reaching a bit, but all of the good ones definitely should. I'd like to see the makers of the Cinematic mod do System Shock 2, for example. I know that it received some love via Rebirth, SHTUP, and especially NewDark, but even as much as NewDark did to improve the game, I feel it deserves more.

That's just one example. I totally agree with you - I'd love to see it happen but it's so time and resource intensive to do, it's only gonna happen for some games.
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I still think there is a big market of people that would love to play older games that have been "remastered". I for one would love so see a remastered MOHAA, I know the Quake 3 engine got a bunch more updates since it came out.
 
Warrior said:
I still think there is a big market of people that would love to play older games that have been "remastered". I for one would love so see a remastered MOHAA, I know the Quake 3 engine got a bunch more updates since it came out.
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Speaking of Quake 3. I'd love to see Quake 3 ported to Tech 5 or Tech 6 with all gameplay elements identical to the original, but with a complete graphical overhaul.
 
Warrior said:
I still think there is a big market of people that would love to play older games that have been "remastered". I for one would love so see a remastered MOHAA, I know the Quake 3 engine got a bunch more updates since it came out.
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Oh I'm right there with you, bro. Interstate `76, Deus Ex...there are a bunch of games that I'd love to see remastered rather than having to deal with a dozen misc. mods that each do something a little different. It's awesome that they are out there, but they can be a pain to keep up with. Every time I reinstall an old game I have to research which mods to install.

The good news is that it IS happening with a lot of games (Turok, Resident Evil, Half-Life, etc.). I do wish it would happen with all of my old faves, but it's hard to imagine someone (either a private team or a studio) committing so much time and resources to improving old games when that time and money could be spent making a new game that would bring in more cash.
 
Half-Life 2 Anniversary Edition which includes Episode 1 & 2 is free till 11-18-24.


View: https://store.steampowered.com/app/220/HalfLife_2/

Half-Life 2 20th Anniversary Update
Celebrating 20 years with an upgraded gaming experience, new features, archival footage, and a documentary
Half-Life 2 is officially 20 years old,
and we're using this milestone as an opportunity to celebrate the community of players who have been enjoying it (or discovering it, or even re-discovering it) since November 16, 2004.

The complete Half-Life 2
We created a new webpage to showcase all the updates in detail, but here's a quick rundown of what's new:
  • Episodes One and Two are in the box.
    Half-Life 2 now includes the complete Episode One and Episode Two expansions along with the base game. They’re accessible from the main menu, and you will automatically advance to the next expansion after completing each one.
  • Developers Commentary for Half-Life 2.
    While the Episodes have always had commentary tracks, the base game never did... until now. We got the team back to record three and a half hours of new behind-the-scenes commentary for Half-Life 2.
  • Integrated Steam Workshop support.
    Browse, install, and play user-created content for Half-Life 2 without ever leaving the game. Look for it in the Extras menu!
  • Bug fixes and new graphics options.
    Visual pops, missing sprites, and mismatched lighting introduced in updates over the years have been scrubbed away. And we've added some settings to push the visual fidelity of Half-Life 2 farther than was allowed in the original release.
 
CAD4466HK said:
Half-Life 2 Anniversary Edition which includes Episode 1 & 2 is free till 11-18-24.


View: https://store.steampowered.com/app/220/HalfLife_2/

Half-Life 2 20th Anniversary Update
Celebrating 20 years with an upgraded gaming experience, new features, archival footage, and a documentary
Half-Life 2 is officially 20 years old,
and we're using this milestone as an opportunity to celebrate the community of players who have been enjoying it (or discovering it, or even re-discovering it) since November 16, 2004.

The complete Half-Life 2
We created a new webpage to showcase all the updates in detail, but here's a quick rundown of what's new:
  • Episodes One and Two are in the box.
    Half-Life 2 now includes the complete Episode One and Episode Two expansions along with the base game. They’re accessible from the main menu, and you will automatically advance to the next expansion after completing each one.
  • Developers Commentary for Half-Life 2.
    While the Episodes have always had commentary tracks, the base game never did... until now. We got the team back to record three and a half hours of new behind-the-scenes commentary for Half-Life 2.
  • Integrated Steam Workshop support.
    Browse, install, and play user-created content for Half-Life 2 without ever leaving the game. Look for it in the Extras menu!
  • Bug fixes and new graphics options.
    Visual pops, missing sprites, and mismatched lighting introduced in updates over the years have been scrubbed away. And we've added some settings to push the visual fidelity of Half-Life 2 farther than was allowed in the original release.
Click to expand...

Should create a new thread for it since this thread is for an old community mod and there isn't really a master thread for the game. I created a new one for the 25th anniversary of the first Half-Life.
 
CAD4466HK said:
Half-Life 2 Anniversary Edition which includes Episode 1 & 2 is free till 11-18-24.


View: https://store.steampowered.com/app/220/HalfLife_2/

Half-Life 2 20th Anniversary Update
Celebrating 20 years with an upgraded gaming experience, new features, archival footage, and a documentary
Half-Life 2 is officially 20 years old,
and we're using this milestone as an opportunity to celebrate the community of players who have been enjoying it (or discovering it, or even re-discovering it) since November 16, 2004.

The complete Half-Life 2
We created a new webpage to showcase all the updates in detail, but here's a quick rundown of what's new:
  • Episodes One and Two are in the box.
    Half-Life 2 now includes the complete Episode One and Episode Two expansions along with the base game. They’re accessible from the main menu, and you will automatically advance to the next expansion after completing each one.
  • Developers Commentary for Half-Life 2.
    While the Episodes have always had commentary tracks, the base game never did... until now. We got the team back to record three and a half hours of new behind-the-scenes commentary for Half-Life 2.
  • Integrated Steam Workshop support.
    Browse, install, and play user-created content for Half-Life 2 without ever leaving the game. Look for it in the Extras menu!
  • Bug fixes and new graphics options.
    Visual pops, missing sprites, and mismatched lighting introduced in updates over the years have been scrubbed away. And we've added some settings to push the visual fidelity of Half-Life 2 farther than was allowed in the original release.
Click to expand...

On the website try clicking the gravity gun at the bottom of the page and try playing with it.
 
Looks like it is already added to my account. I assume it is a free update if you own HL2.
 
HL2 is the game where pc gaming started on the road towards forced installation of a shop on one's system to be able to run your purchase.

Yes, I am still peeved enough by that to keep HL2 off my system, despite valve "giving" it away and having grudgingly allowed that piece of peddleware known as the steam client on my system a long time ago.
 
Well, that's odd. Tried to add to cart and it's stating "Error, no licenses". Uh oh, can they actually run out?
 
excellent Documentary...really good stuff...watch the very end where they discuss original plans for Episode 3 and what's next as far as Half Life games...hint: they want to create something innovative and not just repeat what other games have already done...so technology and innovation are the keys before we ever see Half Life 3...


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCjNT9qGjh4
 
polonyc2 said:
excellent Documentary...really good stuff...watch the very end where they discuss original plans for Episode 3 and what's next as far as Half Life games...hint: they want to create something innovative and not just repeat what other games have already done...so technology and innovation are the keys before we ever see Half Life 3...


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCjNT9qGjh4
Click to expand...


17 years of question dodging as to the status of episode 3 or half-life 3 and their half baked reason answer is 'it wasn't pushing anything forward'. What did eps 1 or 2 push forward? Zero from what I can recall. Would it not make more sense to finish that portion of the story then try to do a Half Life 3 that pushed things forward?
 
Chris_B said:
17 years of question dodging as to the status of episode 3 or half-life 3 and their half baked reason answer is 'it wasn't pushing anything forward'. What did eps 1 or 2 push forward? Zero from what I can recall. Would it not make more sense to finish that portion of the story then try to do a Half Life 3 that pushed things forward?
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HL2's big thing was physics finally good enough to make gameplay puzzles with them and the gravity gun was a pretty big part of that.
In episode 2 they added some new gravity gun features and more vehicle stuff to expand on that. Nothing too big though.

There really isn't much for huge innovative gameplay changes you can do in a flat screen games like there were 20 years ago. CPU and GPU technology aren't really holding anything back.

Which lead us to VR and HL Alyx. I could definitely see them doing a full on HL3 in VR once VR becomes more popular.

The only thing I could see them doing for a flat screen is something innovative with generative AI. There is a lot of potential there in the near future.
 
HL2 still makes me feel nauseous to this day. I played for less than 15 minutes last night and felt sick for the next several hours until I went to sleep. None of the suggestions mentioned over the last 20 years have ever worked.
 
sharknice said:
HL2's big thing was physics finally good enough to make gameplay puzzles with them and the gravity gun was a pretty big part of that.
In episode 2 they added some new gravity gun features and more vehicle stuff to expand on that. Nothing too big though.

There really isn't much for huge innovative gameplay changes you can do in a flat screen games like there were 20 years ago. CPU and GPU technology aren't really holding anything back.

Which lead us to VR and HL Alyx. I could definitely see them doing a full on HL3 in VR once VR becomes more popular.

The only thing I could see them doing for a flat screen is something innovative with generative AI. There is a lot of potential there in the near future.
Click to expand...

They could have finished off ep 3 then went to do something different down the line, their reasoning for not doing it comes off as incredibly flimsy. The story alone and fleshing out who\what the G-man is all about is reason enough for a continuation.

If that was the reason then why not say so instead of dodging questions and causing annoyance in the gaming community for close to 2 decades with their refusal to talk about it? To many people, Valve got lazy after steam really took off and game development took a distant backseat to diving into piles of cash Scrooge Mc Duck style.
 
sharknice said:
Which lead us to VR and HL Alyx. I could definitely see them doing a full on HL3 in VR once VR becomes more popular.

The only thing I could see them doing for a flat screen is something innovative with generative AI. There is a lot of potential there in the near future.
Click to expand...

That is going to be a long time. VR would need to be as inconvenient as putting on glasses. There is a lot they can do with having smart or dynamic AI, or even physics based destruction. Physics have taken a back seat overall in recent games. A lot of games have kind of gone backwards in that area.

Chris_B said:
To many people, Valve got lazy after steam really took off and game development took a distant backseat to diving into piles of cash Scrooge Mc Duck style.
Click to expand...

More or less. Valve games are also a bit dated. Half Life 2 was great for its time, but I cannot stand games without aiming anymore. A floating crosshair is extremely dated. And that seems to be the only type of shooter Valve knows how to make. That an TF2 hat style games. I'll never forgive Valve for pushing the paid cosmetics and making them mainstream. When they do peddle some game ideas they look quite bad and dated.

I don't mind them focusing on Steam to be honest. If they can modernize and bring something interesting out that would be another thing. I wish they would. But so far, the only thing they've seemingly green lit are Counter Strike remakes and cartoon MOBA copy/pastes.
 
I don't know why you're complaining about half life 3, it's logical that there isn't one, for a sequel you have to have top people, you have to have steven spielberg, someone who will make a worthy sequel to half life 2 and not some garbage, for half life 3 you need some top idea and offer something new, which is not so easy.
 
HL2 to me was a HUGE disappointment even back when it came out. It never captured me like HL1 did. too much reliance on physics stuff also. it was just so boring. Every so often I attempt to play through it again and get maybe 30 mins in and just give up. HL1 I can sit down and just play endlessly. It took everything that made HL1 great and just removed it.
 
Bigbacon said:
HL2 to me was a HUGE disappointment even back when it came out. It never captured me like HL1 did. too much reliance on physics stuff also. it was just so boring. Every so often I attempt to play through it again and get maybe 30 mins in and just give up. HL1 I can sit down and just play endlessly. It took everything that made HL1 great and just removed it.
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I didn't play HL1, so I don't know, but yes, in HL2 there is the most physics, let's say I started HL2 Episode 1 and it's only physics, there is no shooting, you have a gravity gun and that's all.I have to admit that I'm a little bored
 
Bigbacon said:
HL2 to me was a HUGE disappointment even back when it came out. It never captured me like HL1 did. too much reliance on physics stuff also. it was just so boring. Every so often I attempt to play through it again and get maybe 30 mins in and just give up. HL1 I can sit down and just play endlessly. It took everything that made HL1 great and just removed it.
Click to expand...
I thought I was the only one. I never played HL1 (was too busy spending literally all my time playing Quake Team Fortress) but HL2 really failed to impress me. Like the faces were neat up close, but overall the graphics were good but on the same level as UT2004, I didn't find myself blown away. The gameplay just totally failed to grip me for two major reasons:

1) The physics stuff. It felt forced, and I didn't feel it was that good. Like objects had weight, but not density, and you had things where you could drown under a piece of carboard floating on water. The physics puzzles themselves like "stack bricks on board to make ramp" just annoyed me.

2) All the long, boring, driving scenes down same-y corridors. It just felt like padding and was uninteresting.

I quit playing it after a few hours. Tried it again years later, same thing. It wasn't awful or anything, but I really didn't get all the "best game of all time!" thing that most people felt. I'll probably try it again when the RTX version comes out just to see the shinies, but I imagine I won't play it that long this time either.
 
the success of Steam plays a much smaller role than a lot of people think as to the reasons why there was no Episode 3 or Half Life 3...I think Valve really does want to innovative and create something really special and revolutionary and not just another small evolution from Half Life 2...Gabe Newell is the James Cameron of video game developers
 
polonyc2 said:
the success of Steam plays a much smaller role than a lot of people think as to the reasons why there was no Episode 3 or Half Life 3...I think Valve really does want to innovative and create something really special and revolutionary and not just another small evolution from Half Life 2...Gabe Newell is the James Cameron of video game developers
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The role it plays is they no longer had to care, financially, about releasing another game. If they were just a games studio then there'd be more pressure to do a HL3, even if it couldn't be the transformative game they wanted since it would make money. Particularly if they wanted to stay as an independent studio and also keep all their people on and not going through hiring/firing waves. You need money coming in for that, and sequels are less risky than new IP almost always because of how consumers are.

Steam freed them from that, they started making so much money selling other people's games that can fund the company forever. So that means that they have the freedom to do or not do a project for purely creative reasons, and not worry about the finances.
 
I never played hl1, and only tried hl2 back in the day. I liked it, but I didn't understand the story at all really. It seemed like it was completely disjointed. I made it fairly far (past the prison level) too.

I stopped there as I was getting tired of what felt like a tech demo more than a deep, story rich game like it was marketed as at the time. The physics I could take or leave back then as the rest wasn't that impressive.
 
Bigbacon said:
HL2 to me was a HUGE disappointment even back when it came out. It never captured me like HL1 did. too much reliance on physics stuff also. it was just so boring. Every so often I attempt to play through it again and get maybe 30 mins in and just give up. HL1 I can sit down and just play endlessly. It took everything that made HL1 great and just removed it.
Click to expand...
Yep, never finished it, never care to. HL1, finished quick.
 
Seems it is a popular opinion now at least but I wasn’t a big fan of HL2. It was the time when Far Cry had come out and Doom 3 was also close by (I don’t remember exact games or timelines) and out of all games around that time frame, HL2 was the worst in terms of story or gameplay. The fact that you had a floating gun and a mute protag didn’t help either.

Overall it was a 5 or 6 / 10 from me and people at that time were ready to crucify and ban me for my opinion about the game lol.
 
SO do we have any definitive before/after comparisons between the new HL2 and old version?

Is this JUST a quick update or an overhaul?
 
Gordon Freeman doesn't speak a word in the whole game, that's great, the game definitely has a character and a story.
From that era I played Far Cry 1, probably later, I don't know exactly, and it was great for me.
With HL2 I'm 20 years late.
I had the game on two DVDs when it came out, but that's all, I couldn't run it.
The best games I've tried, played, are mainly wolfenstein 3d, return to castle wolfenstein, far cry 1, rdr2, hitman blood money, max payne 2,3,mafia 1,2...there were more, but I guess these are the best SP for me
 
KickAssCop said:
Seems it is a popular opinion now at least but I wasn’t a big fan of HL2. It was the time when Far Cry had come out and Doom 3 was also close by (I don’t remember exact games or timelines) and out of all games around that time frame, HL2 was the worst in terms of story or gameplay. The fact that you had a floating gun and a mute protag didn’t help either.

Overall it was a 5 or 6 / 10 from me and people at that time were ready to crucify and ban me for my opinion about the game lol.
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i think farcry and doom3 were out year(s) before HL2.
 
Decko87 said:
doom 3 and hl 2 were the same year. I enjoyed both.

I want to play the RTX version with a VR headset, I just need SLI 5090s.
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maybe it was leaked build I was thinking of. I definitely rememeber playing Doom 3 while in college in 2003/2004 with the ATI 9700pro
 
They're making a circus out of the game, now I see on steam that some version of half life 2 RTX is coming out, it says that it's coming soon, why don't they leave the past in the past and that's it.

The fight for freedom begins anew. Experience the award-winning game that has captivated millions of players worldwide with its immersive story, thrilling combat, and mind-bending physics, fully overhauled with full ray tracing, new hand-crafted, physically based textures, enhanced high-poly models, and updated lighting, all in stunning 4k.

Half-Life 2 RTX is a free DLC for all Half-Life 2 owners developed by Orbifold Studios, a collective of passionate, community-assembled developers behind Half-Life 2: VR, Half-Life 2: Remade Assets, Project 17, and Raising the Bar: Redux.

Half-Life 2 RTX is using the latest version of RTX Remix leveraging NVIDIA technologies including full ray tracing, NVIDIA DLSS 3.5 with ray reconstruction, and Reflex to bring one of the greatest video games of all time to life in a whole new light
 
Strange bird said:
They're making a circus out of the game, now I see on steam that some version of half life 2 RTX is coming out, it says that it's coming soon, why don't they leave the past in the past and that's it.

The fight for freedom begins anew. Experience the award-winning game that has captivated millions of players worldwide with its immersive story, thrilling combat, and mind-bending physics, fully overhauled with full ray tracing, new hand-crafted, physically based textures, enhanced high-poly models, and updated lighting, all in stunning 4k.

Half-Life 2 RTX is a free DLC for all Half-Life 2 owners developed by Orbifold Studios, a collective of passionate, community-assembled developers behind Half-Life 2: VR, Half-Life 2: Remade Assets, Project 17, and Raising the Bar: Redux.

Half-Life 2 RTX is using the latest version of RTX Remix leveraging NVIDIA technologies including full ray tracing, NVIDIA DLSS 3.5 with ray reconstruction, and Reflex to bring one of the greatest video games of all time to life in a whole new light
Click to expand...

Because people like to see what kind of visual upgrades can be done on games that were impossible when the game was released. Nothing wrong with giving it a makeover if the core gameplay remains intact.
 
Chris_B said:
Because people like to see what kind of visual upgrades can be done on games that were impossible when the game was released. Nothing wrong with giving it a makeover if the core gameplay remains intact.
Click to expand...
Exactly. I found Quake II, Doom, and others to be a joy to replay with ray tracing. When done properly it can really add some much-needed polish and visual effects to older games, making them feel fresh and exciting again like they did 20-30 years ago. It's not that they need it in order to be fun, but for those of us who grew up on these titles it can be a really neat way to reexperience them while helping to justify obscenely expensive GPU purchases. Might as well let your card stretch its legs a little when replaying old favorites in between modern releases.

Also, are we now complaining about things that are both 1) free and 2) entirely optional?

I've only played all the way through HL2 once. It's been long enough that I've forgotten most of it outside of things like the train station intro, the early canals, Ravenholm, the beach sections, and a little bit of the Citadel. I was thinking that the 20th anniversary update might spark my interest to start a replay, but I'll definitely wait on the RTX mod now and play it all gussied up rather than vanilla. Should feel even fresher that way.
 
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