MAC version...maybe this is the occasion Valve waited for to... [Archive]

trenmost

03-08-2010, 01:59 PM

Valve worked hard on the Mac version of HL series in the last months...if they updated it to the OB engine, then its logical that we PC players will get it also on the OB engine (by an update)...so maybe in April all of us will get our official:

achievements
HDR (for HL2EP1: improved HDR)
flashlight soft shadows
motion blur
updated models
more, and better blood splatter
all other advancements the OB engine has (like better gamepad support, etc.)

geckofish52

03-08-2010, 04:14 PM

wouldent that be nice. this whole thing might explain the hold on episode 3 aswell.

Stuckinabox

03-08-2010, 05:38 PM

Oh dear. I didn't think of that. If Mac users get the updated versions and we don't...

rage...so much :o

JCD

03-09-2010, 01:48 AM

Start raging, so you don't feel disappointed later. =P

Or well, It's just good to see more people can enjoy Valve's games... although Valve's actions since Orange Box has been totally $$$$$ oriented instead.. strange turn of events.

in.meinem.turm.

03-09-2010, 02:11 AM

although Valve's actions since Orange Box has been totally $$$$$ oriented instead.. strange turn of events.

Yes. These free DLCs for TF2 were so $$$$ oriented. Or the free Engine upgrade for DOD:S. It's a shame they are still making money.

matsa

03-09-2010, 03:59 AM

Yes. These free DLCs for TF2 were so $$$$ oriented. Or the free Engine upgrade for DOD:S. It's a shame they are still making money.

Exactly. I'm so extremely tired of reading of all the rage-posts aimed at VALVe. I'm looking at you, JCD.

Few companies follow up on their games as enthusiastically as VALVe. I'm starting to feel that the Steam platform is about the only thing keeping PC gaming alive (Blizzard is also doing a good job at this).

This new 'Steam Play' is also great. JCD: Please notice that VALVe will now release all their source games to both OSX and Windows and gamers will only have to pay once. If they were so damn money-grubbing wouldn't they charge extra for this? They actually ported Source and all their games to OSX and aren't charging anything for it! What have you to say about that?

spyrochaete

03-09-2010, 04:09 AM

matsa

03-09-2010, 04:31 AM

The Mac platform being added means EP3 won't be released until it's ready on yet another platform - Mac, PC, and Xbox. I really don't want to wait any longer.

Furthermore, it means we're going to get the whole HL2 series bundled with the latest Episode yet again. That's okay with me, as long as I don't have to pay for them. I think I've bought HL2 3 or 4 times now.

One: from http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/62687:
"Checking in code produces a PC build and Mac build at the same time, automatically, so the two platforms are perfectly in lock-step," added Portal 2 lead Josh Weier. "We're always playing a native version on the Mac right alongside the PC. This makes it very easy for us and for anyone using Source to do game development for the Mac."

Two: You're really gonna complain about the Orange Box again? Du you recall how much you paid for that thing? You didn't really pay for HL2 + ep1 at all! You got Portal, TF2 and Ep2 for a very low price. What was it? Like $30-35? I remember it converted to 256 NOK (Norway's currency). New games like Modern Warfare 2, Bad Company 2, and most others cost way more than this today. VALVe gave you an extra copy of HL2 + ep1 for free. That's all there is too it.

General Frags

03-09-2010, 05:03 AM

Hopefully, we will all get this sometime in April (debut of iSteam).

gorpie

03-09-2010, 06:38 AM

Furthermore, it means we're going to get the whole HL2 series bundled with the latest Episode yet again. That's okay with me, as long as I don't have to pay for them. I think I've bought HL2 3 or 4 times now.

Two: You're really gonna complain about the Orange Box again? Du you recall how much you paid for that thing? You didn't really pay for HL2 + ep1 at all! You got Portal, TF2 and Ep2 for a very low price. What was it? Like $30-35? I remember it converted to 256 NOK (Norway's currency). New games like Modern Warfare 2, Bad Company 2, and most others cost way more than this today. VALVe gave you an extra copy of HL2 + ep1 for free. That's all there is too it.

I myself don't like having to buy a bundle just to get an expansion pack. Yeah, with HL you can give your extra copy away, but otherwise, why do I need extra copies--I don't care how inexpensive it is, I can only play one at a time. (And I only need one, anyway.)

VALVe didn't "give" anyone an extra copy for free--it was paid for. It may have cost less than other games, but it was still paid for.

nightcabbage

03-09-2010, 07:58 AM

I myself don't like having to buy a bundle just to get an expansion pack. Yeah, with HL you can give your extra copy away, but otherwise, why do I need extra copies--I don't care how inexpensive it is, I can only play one at a time. (And I only need one, anyway.)

VALVe didn't "give" anyone an extra copy for free--it was paid for. It may have cost less than other games, but it was still paid for.

It depends on how you look at it. If Valve would have released the OB first WITHOUT the previously released HL2/EP1, then later came back in a week and ADDED them in something like (OB+HL2/EP1) for the same price and retroactively made HL2/EP1 available for free download for those who had already purchased the OB, would you not have considered them given us those titles for free? The difference is: they just did it from the start.

No, I think the retail price for TF2/Portal/EP2 was the best Valve release deal ever... and the inclusion of a basically FREE HL2/EP1 was a marketing technique used to help sell the package by making it appeal to new players of the franchise who had not yet been able to experience those titles, and who would also have then had a BAD experience with EP2 because of that.

I already owned HL2/EP1 when I bought the OB, and I did not feel like I was paying for them again in any way. I felt like I got more than my share of a deal paying for the other 3 new titles, and felt glad that they gave me another copy of HL2/EP1 I could gift to a friend (which was another brilliant marketing technique).

The reason I like Valve marketing is because not only does it work well for THEM, but it works extremely well for their customers. They aren't cheating their customers, they are giving us great deals and free stuff for us and our friends.

gorpie

03-09-2010, 09:17 AM

It depends on how you look at it. If Valve would have released the OB first WITHOUT the previously released HL2/EP1, then later came back in a week and ADDED them in something like (OB+HL2/EP1) for the same price and retroactively made HL2/EP1 available for free download for those who had already purchased the OB, would you not have considered them given us those titles for free? The difference is: they just did it from the start.

No, I think the retail price for TF2/Portal/EP2 was the best Valve release deal ever... and the inclusion of a basically FREE HL2/EP1 was a marketing technique used to help sell the package by making it appeal to new players of the franchise who had not yet been able to experience those titles, and who would also have then had a BAD experience with EP2 because of that.

I already owned HL2/EP1 when I bought the OB, and I did not feel like I was paying for them again in any way. I felt like I got more than my share of a deal paying for the other 3 new titles, and felt glad that they gave me another copy of HL2/EP1 I could gift to a friend (which was another brilliant marketing technique).

The reason I like Valve marketing is because not only does it work well for THEM, but it works extremely well for their customers. They aren't cheating their customers, they are giving us great deals and free stuff for us and our friends.

I'm not talking about just tOB here. I'm talking about any game. To get the Warcraft 2 add-on I needed to buy the battle chest; lo and behold I then had extra copies of both Warcraft 1 and 2. I gave them to my cousin, but still.

Because tOB was such a great deal, you can consider that some games were free--it depends on what games you had before you bought it. Since I didn't have any of the games, none of them were free, just really, really cheap. :)

spyrochaete

03-09-2010, 09:51 AM

One: from http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/62687:
"Checking in code produces a PC build and Mac build at the same time, automatically, so the two platforms are perfectly in lock-step," added Portal 2 lead Josh Weier. "We're always playing a native version on the Mac right alongside the PC. This makes it very easy for us and for anyone using Source to do game development for the Mac."

Just because two builds are produced simultaneously it doesn't mean they work equally well. Different platforms, different operating systems and hardware drivers, and who knows what other non-obvious differences there may be. Perhaps Valve has found a way around this, but if it's so easy then why can you only find 1% of PC games available for Mac?

Two: You're really gonna complain about the Orange Box again? Du you recall how much you paid for that thing?

Reread my post above. I made a comment about price.

nightcabbage

03-09-2010, 11:22 AM

Just because two builds are produced simultaneously it doesn't mean they work equally well. Different platforms, different operating systems and hardware drivers, and who knows what other non-obvious differences there may be. Perhaps Valve has found a way around this, but if it's so easy then why can you only find 1% of PC games available for Mac?

This exactly. There's a lot of effort involved.

trenmost

03-11-2010, 07:01 AM

If i make the achievements in Filip Victor's mod, do i have to redo these achievements if valve updates HL2 with the same but official achievements?

nightcabbage

03-11-2010, 07:58 AM

Probably not, but good question.

gorpie

03-11-2010, 08:13 PM

If i make the achievements in Filip Victor's mod, do i have to redo these achievements if valve updates HL2 with the same but official achievements?

I second nightcabbage. I don't think you'll need to get the achievements again (unless Valve clears them all, or something, which I don't think they would do).

kommandojoe

03-13-2010, 03:29 PM

I have a feeling its not going on the Orange box engine. If anything its skipping it too the source engines latest build ;) Which would also explain why mod-tools haven't been released for the L4D1+2 builds of Source.

trenmost

03-14-2010, 01:20 AM

actually the L4D engine is really similiar to (if not the same as) the OB engine..i couldnt make any major technical differences...AIDirector is a nice addition, but HL2 wont profit from it.

raw_bean_uk

03-17-2010, 07:32 AM

gorpie

03-17-2010, 07:59 AM

Unfortunately, I think VALVe is used to angry fans by now...

trenmost

03-17-2010, 08:24 AM

This would be very cool. It would also explain why the Steam UI beta initially listed achievements for HL2 and Ep1, since the beta is going to be the first version for the Mac, it follows that the Mac version may well be the Orange Box/achievement version of HL2 and Ep1. And Valve would get themselves in a big heap of trouble if the updated versions of HL2 and Ep1 were available on Mac and not PC. :D

you are right. valve cant release the MAC version with OB engine, and leave the PC version as it is. The real question is, did valve update HL2 to the OB engine for the Mac version...i think they did, beacuse its easier to use the already ported (because of EP2,portal,tf2,l4d,l4d2) OB engine, and then add HL2 maps+code to it. The code is actually nearly identical to EP2.

so this is easier than Port OB engine, then Port HL2engine too...

nrnoble

03-17-2010, 06:55 PM

Unfortunately, I think Valve is used to angry fans by now...

LOL.... it comes with the business. I frequently get a good laugh at watching some gaming videos when for an entire 10 minutes (if I actually watch that long) the commentator says "This sucks..." every 5 - 10 seconds. Then adds other negative comments about how the game devs are morons, dorks, losers, lazy, stupid, etc, etc, etc. and he and his buddies could make mods that are superior to the original game. It's not all that different than couch potato sport fans who perceive that all professional sports are populated with incompetent\mediocre players. :)

ArmorArmadillo

03-17-2010, 08:21 PM

Imagine the rage if valve updated the mac hl2 on to the ep2 engine but left the pc one alone...

gorpie

03-17-2010, 08:24 PM

Imagine the rage if valve updated the mac hl2 on to the ep2 engine but left the pc one alone...

I think that's the gist of what raw_bean said, and I replied to:

And Valve would get themselves in a big heap of trouble if the updated versions of HL2 and Ep1 were available on Mac and not PC. :D

Unfortunately, I think VALVe is used to angry fans by now... :)

raw_bean_uk

03-18-2010, 08:06 PM

Most of the time Valve have hordes of adoring fans, and a small but vocal minority of angry whiners who have either misunderstood the situation, disbelieved Valve and subsequently been proven wrong, or arrived at some ridiculous and unrealistic sense of entitlement (L4D2 boycotters being a stellar example of all three).

If the Mac versions are all OB Source and the PC users don't get the same option or don't get fresh promises of it being on the way, that will be one the incredibly few times I've actually been remotely disappointed at Valve in the last decade and a half, and more or less the only time I think the whining will be justified.

JXF

03-18-2010, 08:45 PM

wazups 2x

03-19-2010, 04:00 AM

Half Life 2 + EP1 and EP2 on Orange Box Engine and more.

http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1195438

Download this and you'll be more than happy.

gorpie

03-19-2010, 07:13 AM

JXF

03-19-2010, 09:23 AM

Half Life 2 + EP1 and EP2 on Orange Box Engine and more.

http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1195438

Download this and you'll be more than happy.

I don't think Cinematic Mod/Fake Factory gives you achievements, which is another thing the OP mentioned.

I would imagine everyone in this thread knows about the unofficial enhancement packages available. I myself have tried all that I have found, but none seem right too me.
All we want is what was promised to us over 2 years ago; HL2 and Ep1 (and any other games, could you imagine HL1:S?!) ported to the OB Source Engine.
That is what this thread is about, we are speculating as to whether or not this is or not the time we think Valve will or Valve/Gabe should deliver on those promises.
I for one hope that this is the time Valve will deliver (even if it's paid-for-DLC), and it seems allot here also hope it is.

~JXF.

gorpie

03-19-2010, 09:29 AM

I would imagine everyone in this thread knows about the unofficial enhancement packages available. I myself have tried all that I have found, but none seem right too me.
All we want is what was promised to us over 2 years ago; HL2 and Ep1 (and any other games, could you imagine HL1:S?!) ported to the OB Source Engine.
That is what this thread is about, we are speculating as to whether or not this is or not the time we think Valve will or Valve/Gabe should deliver on thoughts promises.
I for one hope that this is the time Valve will deliver (even if it's paid-for-DLC), and it seems allot here also hope it is.

~JXF.

I agree. I want the official version. I haven't even tried any of the reskin mods--I don't want to replay HL2 in someone else's idea of what it should look like; I like what VALVe did just fine. (I'm not sure I want to pay for it as DLC, but if it's inexpensive enough I won't care.)

And I sure hope we get the update before/when Mac gets their version...

spyrochaete

03-19-2010, 01:50 PM

Aside - don't you hate it when people spell Apple computers as "MAC"? It's Mac. MAC capitalized is Media Access Control (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_address).

theweapon56

03-22-2010, 12:50 PM

bobsbarricades

03-22-2010, 02:52 PM

I just feel bad for the guys over at BM:S. Or, are they already implementing OB tech?

raw_bean_uk

03-24-2010, 11:25 AM

They've been on the OB engine for ages.

I moderate their forums. :)

no circadian

03-24-2010, 11:43 AM

Realistically, how many people really care about adding Achievements to HL2 and Ep.1?

I don't.

trenmost

03-24-2010, 12:04 PM

Realistically, how many people really care about adding Achievements to HL2 and Ep.1?

I don't.

i do.

i do care for both Graphics improvements (HDR, flashlight shadows, etc.), and achievements

JXF

03-24-2010, 01:33 PM

Realistically, how many people really care about adding Achievements to HL2 and Ep.1?

I don't.

Well to be fair this thread, the one thats wondering whether Valve will be releasing the achievements, the one wanting the achievents, the one with many people talking about how they want the achievements the valve said we would get is probably not the right place (or the countless other threads or posts about this subject) to ask this question.
I can understand why some people would not want the update(s) or if the update(s) came would not (re)play these games again for the new looks or achievements, but is that enough to deny it for the people that do want it? - I would say "no!", if you don't like achievements or want to (re)play the game(s) for the new graphics then don't it's that simple. Let the ones that do, do.

~JXF.

JXF

03-24-2010, 01:36 PM

I wish April would get here so we can find out if the Achievements update has been released we know they are their it is just a matter of updating.

Don`t let us down Valve you have given so much and we thank you for all you have freely given.

Indeed, I also beleave we should find out either way this April (I would guess nearer to the end though), I am hoping atleast.

~JXF.

no circadian

03-24-2010, 04:56 PM

Well to be fair this thread...

~JXF.

I'm not saying that I don't want them. I'm just asking what is so great about adding achievements, and why would Valve really consider spending the resources to add them to a 6 year old title? Everybody else just wants updated graphics.

But what do I know about how hard it would be for Valve to do? I guess I'm just blowing hot air.

sorry

JXF

03-24-2010, 05:46 PM

I'm not saying that I don't want them. I'm just asking what is so great about adding achievements, and why would Valve really consider spending the resources to add them to a 6 year old title? Everybody else just wants updated graphics.

But what do I know about how hard it would be for Valve to do? I guess I'm just blowing hot air.

sorry

Hey don't worry, I think I may have been a bit harsh, I wasn't trying to be I am just sick of "I won’t do the achievies so we dont need 'um kkz :o:o:o" etc. It really bothers me. Sorry I thought that’s what you were doing, I guess I was wrong and I apologize.

I see what you’re saying about the "6 year old title", and if it was any other company I would probably agree with you, but this is something Valve is known and loved for.
Just look at Team Fortress 2 that game has had over 100 updates, Portal (a 3y/o title) was updated twice only a few weeks ago just to announce Portal 2!

Also the update to the Source engine and the achievements were promised on record by Gabe Newel the owner of Valve. Personally I think it's only fair that we do in fact get the update(s), and I hope Valve does indeed take this opportunity while updating/changing the Source engine for the Mac(s) to add the update and achievements to both the PC and Mac versions of the games.

My 2¢.
~JXF.

TempS

03-25-2010, 08:49 PM

i also have wanted the achievements... for quite some time now. and ep3, and hl3, and achievements for both of those as well..

Hiroshima

03-25-2010, 08:56 PM

Why make a game that has higher performance needs, Mac's can't play games as it is. Its just gonna make them lag more.

JXF

03-26-2010, 01:09 PM

Why make a game that has higher performance needs, Mac's can't play games as it is. Its just gonna make them lag more.

I don't even own a Mac but I know [pretty much] all Mac's from the last few years are just PC's with an OSX OS, they use [almost] standard PC components, Intel™ CPUs, DDR2/3 RAM and graphics cards etc.

To say they can't play these 6 year old games is ludacris and insinuates your lack of knowledge, maybe some Mac's can't run these games in a virtual Windows environment very well but neither can Linux or Windows systems because it a virtual system emulated and run on the CPU almost never taking full advantage of the whole system it's running on. When running in it's native OS the difference will be astounding, it's the same for all systems.
While running a Windows XP only program in a Virtual machine in Windows 7 then running the same program on a Windows XP system you will notice a performance difference no matter how slight.

I should also state that the Mac Steam (iSteam?) is ONLY going to run (at least to my knowledge and others speculation) on the newer Intel™ based Mac's as the older Macs will indeed be hardware limited [because of the proprietary CPU?] and will not play the games anyway.

~JXF.

TempS

03-26-2010, 07:31 PM

achievements
HDR (for HL2EP1: improved HDR)
flashlight soft shadows
motion blur
updated models
more, and better blood splatter
all other advancements the OB engine has (like better gamepad support, etc.)

That all sounds so good. I'm mostly interested in achievements and the increase in gore and blood splatter, but graphics improvements are always nice too. :D