"The demo didn't go into much detail about new weapons, although it did suggest weapons may often be in short supply, as considerable use was made of the Gravity Gun. However, we did see one new weapon, the Strider Buster: a sort of magnetic mine which you can attach to Striders' backs, and then explode by shooting it."
"And puzzles get a lot trickier as the game progresses. Unlike the dark, fleshy corridors in Prey, Portal's clean, white environments have been presented with a simple, easy-on-the-eyes attitude, providing Valve with a little more freedom to concoct wild and head-spinning tasks. Once I'd got my hands on the all-important portal gun, extra set-pieces and apparatus were added to the mix, such as moving platforms, bouncing energy balls and rotating sentry guns. But what impressed me the most was the subtle efforts Valve has made to keep everything obvious - visual cues like shadows and lights on the ceiling, so you know exactly where to place your space-bending hole."
* SDK shaders have been revamped * Linux Dedicated Server Build now properly builds and links * 'vbspinfo.exe' and 'splitskybox.exe' have been added to SDK * 'mathlib' source code has been added to the Source SDK * Procedural materials now working
Counter-Strike: Source, SourceEngine, and SourceTV updates released
by Wester | 0 comments
On 12 Sep 2006
Changelog:
Counter-Strike: Source
* Added zoom/scope to first person view in SourceTV * Fixed exploit to access full map overview while alive * Fixed exploit to bypass mp_forcecamera 1 restrictions
Source Engine
* Fixed clock synchronization while recording a demo
SourceTV
* Added number of spectators and broadcast title in spectator GUI * Added chat groups for SourceTV spectators
"And the G-Man plays a bigger role in Episode Two, doesn't he?
Gabe Newell: Yes. The overall progression of the three episodes is that the G-Man is losing control of you. In Half-Life he made you; in Half-Life 2, he used you for his own purposes, which are still mysterious to you; and now he's starting to lose control. At the same point that he's losing control, you've come to the attention of other forces - the Combine hierarchy is now saying, "We thought that Earth was under our thumb, and this one person is being such a pain in the ass for us. So we're going to have to pay more attention to this person." So, although you have more freedom from the G-Man, other forces will come to bear on you."
Clicky clicky. Wiggity wiggity.
Half-Life 2: Episode Two / Portal Preview
by Wester | 0 comments
"Portal started life as a class project from a group of students at videogame design school DigiPen. The team created a first-person game using portals called Narbacular Drop, and one day Valve head Gabe Newell saw the game at a presentation and hired the team immediately. But since DigiPen owns the rights to Narbacular Drop -- and to create something more polished and accessible -- the team shifted the basic idea into the more stylish Portal, which takes place at the futuristic looking Aperture Science Center. "I personally really like the change that we've made," says level designer Kim Swift. "Putting it in the Half-Life 2 universe gives us a whole range of story things that we can use."
Two new Half-Life 2: Episode Two Gameplay Videos
by Wester | 0 comments
On 06 Sep 2006
I suppose the previous videos weren't room enough to quench gamers amongst gamers who wouldn't come to grips otherwise... or that it was just a subject of circumstance? In regards to the actual news post, two new 720p Half-Life 2: Episode Two gameplay videos, which shows even today that the Source Engine can work wonders with a new render-to-texture super-sampled soft shadow w/self-shadowing system, 64-bit non-linear gamma-correct FP16 precision SM2.x/3.x HDR filtering/blending and then dynamic tone mapping... not to mention an excess of post-processing pixel shader light bloom effects otherwise, and then the new DirectX 9.x SM2.x/3.x particles system to accompany such.
The videos reveal the differing locations, weapons, vehicles, and the aforementioned Source Engine improvements. Weighing 157.1MB / 91.3MB respectively, be sure to make off to Worthplaying for these rather prodigious downloads (hinting at those still on 56.6k dial-up modems ).
(EDIT: and now 3rd one has taken a stride and is revealed, weighing around 125MB and can be seen at Filefront. And now the 4th one.... reveals itself as the masses find it better.... on FileFront, weighing 145.27MB..... and now the finality of the 5th one, as such can seen on Steampowered)
New HD Episode 2 and Team Fortress 2 trailers released
by Wester | 0 comments
On 31 Aug 2006
A new WMV9 HD Episode 2 trailer has fallen in place, as seen at Filefront if a download mirror is in order, weighing 107.61MB. As well as a Team Fortress 2 HD trailer at Filefront, wieghing 217.92MB, and both being in the Windows Media 9 Professional format / Windows Media 9.1 Professional (a 44 kHz output rate, a 8760Kbps variable bit transfer rate and at 720p , if you wish to know).
The latter having an extension of multiplayer footage and the former showcasing the game's 64-bit FP32 high arithmetic precision SM2.x/3.x HDR target-inter-alpha colour space filtering/blending/dynamic tone mapping/shaders/lighting, plus higher-res normal maps and the addition of depth-of-field and motion blur, feel free and obliged to download the two!
CS: Source Engine and SourceTV Steam Client updates released
by Wester | 0 comments
On 31 Aug 2006
Changelog:
Counter-Strike: Source
Fixed a crash caused by loading a custom map that has an associated .nav file but no "place names" in the navigation mesh
Fixed an issue with cl_minmodels swapping CT and T skins
Enemies can no longer be "radar spotted" through smoke clouds or while blind
The radar obeys HudRadar properties in the HudLayout file now
Your "self dot" in the radar now shows your view cone
The inset overview zoom level is no longer reset to default each round
SourceTV
Fixed free-look mode in tv_transmitall mode
Fixed missing sounds and effects on servers with high tickrate
Fixed relay proxies connecting with wrong name "Unnamed"
"tv_chattimelimit 0" disables spectator chatting
Fixed rendering bug with area portals
Added client command "status", showing basic info about the SourceTV server your connected to
Counter-Strike: Source Engine Steam Client Update Released and new Eurogamer Doug Lombardi Interview
by Wester | 0 comments
On 25 Aug 2006
Changelog:
Counter-Strike: Source
The radar display has been enhanced
de_train has received a High Dynamic Range (HDR) lighting treatment, as well as some bug fixes and layout tweaks
The player's eye height while crouching now matches their in-game player model eye position more closely
SourceTV now shows the weapon in first-person view
SourceTV supports the tv_transmitall command
Assorted exploit fixes
As for said Eurogamer interview with Doug Lombardi of VALVe Software (an excerpt from it, as related to the interview):
"Eurogamer: Episode Two is out in Q1 next year now, right? Doug Lombardi: Yes that's right.
Eurogamer: Originally you said you'd hoped to get it ready this year. Is there a particular reason you had to change that? Doug Lombardi: No, it's just sort of classic Valve being overly aggressive on our dates. But we're aiming for Q1 right now and we're really far along in the playtest stage. You know, our thing is always that we're trying to make really good experiences and so we're going to manage to that rather than the schedule."
...and then an IGN Half-Life 2: Episode Two preview and subsequently a new interview with Gabe Newell of VALVe Software, which you're rather in exultation over the prospect of reading... ? (I hope such)
EDIT: Worthplaying have a tremendously higher-quality WMV9 128Kbps 48 kHz Half-Life 2: Episode Two (Game Convention) trailer up, weighing 38MB, be sure to keep grasp on it (with a 107.61MB weighing WMV9 720p HD one seeded at Filefront.)
Gamespot's Half-Life 2: Episode Two Impressions
by Wester | 0 comments
On 23 Aug 2006
Gamespot have huffed up their impressions of Half-Life 2: Episode Two. Here's an excerpt of the said preview:
"The final sequence of the demo saw Gordon facing off against a number of tripod walkers in and around what appeared to be an abandoned cabin. Choosing to use his gravity gun almost exclusively, Gordon was forced to improvise as he moved in and out of the cabin by smashing windows and jumping through them to evade the enemies' attacks. Objects that got hurled at the walkers during the fight included old tires, an axe, a rock, a large water trough, and some kind of sticky bomb or magnetic explosive that landed on the walker's head and stayed there until Gordon detonated it with another well-placed shot."
As always, the unabridged preview is a much more refreshening and filling read in indulging in.
EDIT - The YouTube user hot564321 has an onset of 5 new Episode 2 gameplay Flash videos, one new Team Fortress 2 Video, and one new Portal Video (all as seen at the Leipzig Games Convention, as showcased by VALVe Software, of course). up, which also can be accessed through in the user's profile. And then... in other news.... this may leave some registering a shock that may lump disparaging words of hooplah into the community: Half-Life 2: Episode Two has been delayed from the end of this year to February 2007.
).