HL2 w/o steam

H

HighwayAssassins

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Mar 2, 2004
Messages
5,210
im sorry if this has allready been posted.

I want to run HL2 with out steam because there is so much down time in loading steam and "preparing to play HL2"...is there a way just to have an HL2 icon on my desktop?
 
BTW...notice that a lot of these Steam supporters who was all for steam before HL2 was released are now VERY pissed at them cause Steam sux so badly??? Kinda ironic isn't it...
 
I'll post as someone who has had NO problems installing and playing Half Life 2 and CounterStrike Source
 
Well, alot of people had not experienced steam until now...myself being one of them. Very bad first impression with steam. Now that the rush of people registering at once is done, I've had no problems....but I worry about updates and future model/maps to be released....hope they get their shit together personally.
 
Getting patches/maps over steam is fine. Its just when new games are released, then Steam gets taxed.
 
as far as non-LAN play is concerned ill...fifth dat? But trying to get CS to work as a lan game is a waste of time...
 
DemonDiablo said:
as far as non-LAN play is concerned ill...fifth dat? But trying to get CS to work as a lan game is a waste of time...
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yeah, how are you supposed to play LAN games ... if you didn't have an internet connection?
 
I just find something wrong with the fact that I got up...drove my ass over to GameStop... Dropped $55.00 on this software... came home and installed to find out that an open client (STEAM) was a requirement for me to even play SINGLE PLAYER. I call bullshit! I want to be able to install and play damnit. What about in 10 years when STEAM is but a memory?!? What then? Will I be able to install on to a fresh computer and play? Doubtful (without a fix that is surely to come out (i hope)).

While I can understand the online authentication process for those who purchased via STEAM, but I simply can not understand the mentality that went in to requiring those of us who purchased at a retail store to be shackled to STEAM...it's just wrong.
 
I grant that the populace is divided down the middle, some have had problems, some haven't. Such is the nature of software like this.

But, my major beef with this whole deal is something that has been raised many times: what do we do if Steam goes under? This is an issue that, one way or another, Valve needs to address.

From a programming standpoint, it seems pretty trivial for them to, at some time in the future, release a patch that removes the steam checking (probably when HL2 reaches its end of life). However, we need to know now, before many of us invest the time and money in this game, that we're not going to buy a product and then several years down the road, no longer be able to play it any more at all because the Steam servers have all be recommissioned as space heaters.

Some of my favorite PC games are way more than 4 years old and are long forgotten by their developers and publishers. However, I can still play them.

I understand the whole issue of "you dont own the game, you own the license"; but not being able to use, at my discretion, a product that I paid for, is against the law. It's like buying a car that depends on Ford-brand gas. Then, four years down the road, Ford decides to stop making that type of gasoline. Suddenly, I can't drive my car anymore.

Further, these EULA restrictions are NOT *on* the box, they're *in* the box. So, if you buy the game and realize you don't agree with the license, you can't return it to the store because it's been opened and 99.99% of stores do not allow returns on opened PC software. That may not be LEGALLY wrong, but it's MORALLY wrong.

For all parties, those that like and dislike STEAM and this authentication scheme, we need concrete answers from Valve and soon. With this fiasco, they are quickly losing the PR war in the online community. I've looked forward to buying and playing HL2 for years now, but I won't buy a product with a future dictated by the oracle at delphi.

No, I won't pirate it..that would be even more wrong that what Valve is doing... i will cast my vote with my wallet.

well, i think I'll step down from my soap box now and breathe for a few minutes.
 
svet-am said:
For all parties, those that like and dislike STEAM and this authentication scheme, we need concrete answers from Valve and soon. With this fiasco, they are quickly losing the PR war in the online community. I've looked forward to buying and playing HL2 for years now, but I won't buy a product with a future dictated by the oracle at delphi.
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I definitely agree with that - Valve needs to give the community some answers. This is the biggest game in a long time and it seems like they have like 2 or 3 guys handling all the community stuff and that is just stupid. They need to pay more attention to the community because it has been them that made HL such a lasting game.
 
I can understand how steam is a great system for game delivery... I hear so many people praising it because they purchased their game through it. but they seriously should have taken it out of the retail box and made steam a selectable option. Steam not only is a huge inconvenience for people not wanting to deal with a system like steam, but it creates a system that is dependent on it, and makes it so you can't sell your games in the future...

I'm honestly not worried about playing my game in the future. this is a top notch game that if valve drops the ball, there will be plenty of download-able unlocks to play it. i believe that it's actually legal to crack the game if the authentication system that allows you to use it doesn't exist anymore. I could be wrong though.

and WHAT is with also needing to have the disc inserted while using Steam?! people who download don't need to have a disc inserted....
 
Just wondering, I got the free copy of HL2 with my 9800 XT. Since I dled it, will I not recive a hard copy of it?
 
Matrox462 said:
*snip*

and WHAT is with also needing to have the disc inserted while using Steam?! people who download don't need to have a disc inserted....
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we (talking about the people that dl'ed hl2) also don't have access to our own cd-keys but that hardly matters because if you log in to steam anywhere we'll be able to play hl2 whether if it was downloaded to that computer or installed from a cd.
 
MaMMa said:
Just wondering, I got the free copy of HL2 with my 9800 XT. Since I dled it, will I not recive a hard copy of it?
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From what I heard, anybody who downloads the game, can not get a physical copy
 
Optional87 said:
we (talking about the people that dl'ed hl2) also don't have access to our own cd-keys but that hardly matters because if you log in to steam anywhere we'll be able to play hl2 whether if it was downloaded to that computer or installed from a cd.
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well, keys are litterally useless. once you use a key to register with steam, it can NEVER be used again... so it really doesn't matter. all the key is there for is to make sure that the disc you are trying to register is only being registered once.

so pretty much, i dont have a key anymore too lol
 
I'm waiting for someone to hack their servers again and erase all their cd key data...I will be laughing at them until I die of laughter...LOL!!!! What a bunch of jackholes!!!
 
fromage said:
I don't have any problems with Steam...
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Did you download the game, or buy retail? Almost all people complaining are the people who bought retail. Most users who downloaded the game got to play it immediately with no problems what-so-ever.

On the other hand, people who bought the game, spent hours to get it running. (like i did). It wouldn't even let me play it while being off-line for a while.

Anyways, even though most of the problems were with the servers being flooded, I still think the system sucks. It's just my opinion, but I hate how long it took to install. I dread having to reinstall this game. And I hate that I need the disc inserted to play every time. It's just a lot of little minor inconviences.

A lot of people are just really worried about being able to play their game if Steam ever goes away...

Imagine, you can't even INSTALL the game without Steam. And to me, after spending $80, that doesn't give quite a feeling of confidence.
 
I bought retail.

Took me half an hour to install, unlock, and load the first level.
 
fromage said:
I bought retail.

Took me half an hour to install, unlock, and load the first level.
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Well you were lucky. I had my copy a day before the launch, but I didn't get around to doing it till mid day since I was sick. But even then, a half hour is a little long compared to the install time on other games. Imagine how much easier it would have been if it didn't have to unlock the game files and register... maybe 5-10 minutes max? I know it seems petty, but it's just annoying for something that doesn't have to be there...
 
It only took me half an hour because I was doing my homework and chatting on MSN rather than swapping CDs.
 
Yes you can do it, but thats all Im saying about that because this type of discussion is not allowed here
 
I had no problems with steam [it's the game that's buggy as fuck, just like the original], but I still wouldn't mind seeing steam die a bloody death. It's the principal of the thing.
 
Matrox462 said:
From what I heard, anybody who downloads the game, can not get a physical copy
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Load STEAM.
Open your games Menu.
RIGHT-CLICK on the game you want a copy of, then click MAKE BACKUP COPY.

You can figure out the rest.
 
bought it retail, took me TWO AND A HALF HOURS TO UNLOCK ONLY

and im on a T3

and so then /me put a lead bar on the enter key to keep it retrying

it better get better (faster)
 
Downloaded the game and had no problems with any of it, but that doesn't mean that I like STEAM, how it works or what it stands for. I have come to absolutely despise hackers. All they do is make life hell for the rest of us, who will actually buy the game.
 
Steam crashed when I was registering my CD-Key. So, I restart steam andl I got "That CD-Key is in Use" when I logged onto steam. I had to drive 1/2hr to return it and swap it for another copy. Because it may take 1-2weeks to get it fixed from valve. Plus I have to keep using my CD! Steam SUX.
 
you guys are bitching abotu 1.5 hours -2 hour download? This game is freaking huge and there's millions of people dlin it at the same time. I think thats pretty damn fast myself for such a huge dl :rolleyes:
 
Will steam allow me to uninstall the game and reinstall it on a different computer?
 
MaMMa said:
you guys are bitching abotu 1.5 hours -2 hour download? This game is freaking huge and there's millions of people dlin it at the same time. I think thats pretty damn fast myself for such a huge dl :rolleyes:
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you are correct. BUT, that shouldn't be an issue. Think about how many people are hitting the Microsoft servers at the same time to download Windows Updates or service packs (which are huge) at the same time....and we rarely if ever see their servers laying on the floor in a pile of parts this way.

It is obvious and apparent that Valve didn't do enough "worst case" planning and deployment for this product. And by them saying "HL2 is more popular than we thought" actually implies that they had less faith in their own product than the public did...
 
svet-am said:
you are correct. BUT, that shouldn't be an issue. Think about how many people are hitting the Microsoft servers at the same time to download Windows Updates or service packs (which are huge) at the same time....and we rarely if ever see their servers laying on the floor in a pile of parts this way.

It is obvious and apparent that Valve didn't do enough "worst case" planning and deployment for this product. And by them saying "HL2 is more popular than we thought" actually implies that they had less faith in their own product than the public did...
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Dood, do you have any idea how much bigger Windows is compared to Valve? Thats like a pinto to a Ferrari. That's not a good argument. The game is what a 4 gig file or so? 1.5 hours is NOT long. I think they're doing great
 
I just bought the DVD special edition and installed it last night, now have to take my home pc to a friends house, not really a disaster, just a pain. Now, what happens when all the other game manufacturers decide they need a client and we have 20+ clients running on one PC?

Does Steam run 100% of the time? I havn't actually signed up yet till I get the PC to a net connection...
 
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