{"id":146,"date":"2005-01-23T21:36:11","date_gmt":"2005-01-23T21:36:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.alquier.org\/linfa\/create\/2005\/01\/23\/finally_having\/"},"modified":"2005-01-23T21:36:11","modified_gmt":"2005-01-23T21:36:11","slug":"finally_having","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.alquier.org\/laurent\/sites\/2005\/01\/23\/finally_having\/","title":{"rendered":"Finally having fun with Half Life 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"It took a few months of patience but I finally got Helf Life 2 to work. I made several changes at once so I am not sure which one actually fixed my issues. I will list them all here in case that can help someone else.<\/p>\n

The first change was a bit extreme in most cases – I replaced my Nvidia GeForce 5900 by a new ATI Radeon 800 Pro. Both vendors are coming up with new PCI Express models, so I figured it was the right time to get my last AGP card before upgrading my motherboard in a year or two. I was a bit tense switching over to ATI after years of Nvidia, but I don’t regret it so far. This new card is cooler and quieter than the old one. And most of all, the visual quality I get out of it is well worth the jump. <\/p>\n

The next change was to wait long enough after the initial release of the game to download the latest patch level. I can’t tell how much I dislike the lack of control while using Steam. Valve’s online distribution system splashes news like a spyware and downloads updates wether I need\/want them or not. There is also little indication where these updates are loaded or wether I can make an offline backup of these files. I sincerely hope this is not the future of game delivery. If it is, I am afraid I will have to cherish my current collection of ‘normal’ games while I can.<\/p>\n

Next update was to run a utility released by Valve to check the integrity of Half Life 2 files. Corrupted files can lead to an unstable system according to the online support site. This utility can be ran by clicking on the the corresponding links from Valve’s support site.<\/p>\n

The final stop was a Tweak Guide for Half Life 2<\/a> strongly recommended by gamers on the official forum. This help file walks you step by step through a series of updates that are supposed to make the game run smoothly. It seemed to work so far \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

So how is the game now that I can finally play it ?<\/p>\n

It feels like a semi-interactive movie. It is a one way ride , alternative between mad dashes on foot and with vehicles, and from time to time, a ‘big boss’ or a Physics Puzzle ™. In spite of the lack of depth and a weak story, this game is still a lot of fun. The physics system is just amazing, as is the AI and scripting sequences (ntohing is more fun than throwing antlions to a squad of combine soldiers and watch them fight it out).<\/p>\n

I can’t wait until someone uses this game engine in a non-linear, story based game.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It took a few months of patience but I finally got Helf Life 2 to work. I made several changes at once so I am not sure which one actually fixed my issues. I will list them all here in case that can help someone else. The first change was a bit extreme in most cases – I replaced my… <\/p>\n

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