LikuI, am the Somberlain.Join Date: 2003-01-10Member: 12128Members
Brain-dead has nothing to do with it. I don't have HL2 or EP1; why? My friend has HL2 so I just used his account to beat it. HL2 wasn't worth buying until now.
<!--quoteo(post=1649345:date=Sep 13 2007, 04:53 PM:name=DiscoZombie)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DiscoZombie @ Sep 13 2007, 04:53 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1649345"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->are we done talking about price yet? how about talking about which of the games we're gonna play first?
I'm thinking portal, since it sounds really cool but short - then ep. 2, then TF since that's more of an ongoing thing...<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I'll play TF2 first because it's out this Monday <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin-fix.gif" />
Actually, since I'll have played the beta, I'll probably go for Episode 2 first when Orange Box comes out, since I'll just have finished Ep1 (replaying HL2 + Ep1 right now). Then I'll go for Portal, then back to the TF2 goodness.
Not that this should surprise anyone, or that anyone should care, but I didn't buy HL2 or Ep1. I have no plans to either. I'd like to buy portal separately since it's the only one I'm really interested in, but since it doesn't seem that I can, and since it probably would require a multi hundred dollar upgrade to my system anyway, I'll just have to play it on a friend's system.
<!--quoteo(post=1649368:date=Sep 13 2007, 07:24 PM:name=SkulkBait)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SkulkBait @ Sep 13 2007, 07:24 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1649368"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Not that this should surprise anyone, or that anyone should care, but I didn't buy HL2 or Ep1. I have no plans to either. I'd like to buy portal separately since it's the only one I'm really interested in, but since it doesn't seem that I can, and since it probably would require a multi hundred dollar upgrade to my system anyway, I'll just have to play it on a friend's system.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Portal is $20 if you buy it seperately. I don't know where you got the impression that you're not allowed to do that.
<!--quoteo(post=1648977:date=Sep 12 2007, 09:27 AM:name=lolfighter)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(lolfighter @ Sep 12 2007, 09:27 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1648977"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->If FF will be a "spiritual successor" to TFC in the sense that it'll be trickjumping, trickjumping and MORE trickjumping, I'll buy TF2 TWICE just to give FF the finger.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> /snicker
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Portal is $20 if you buy it seperately. I don't know where you got the impression that you're not allowed to do that<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> Probably because I've only ever seen it advertised as part of Orange Box. Hell, the first line of the WikiPedia page on Portal is "Portal is an upcoming single-player first-person game by Valve Corporation, shipping in a bundle package known as The Orange Box which will also include Half-Life 2: Episode Two and Team Fortress 2 as well as Half-Life 2 and Episode One."
If I can buy it separate then the only potential hurdle left is the system requirements.
<!--quoteo(post=1649398:date=Sep 13 2007, 09:46 PM:name=SkulkBait)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SkulkBait @ Sep 13 2007, 09:46 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1649398"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Probably because I've only ever seen it advertised as part of Orange Box. Hell, the first line of the WikiPedia page on Portal is "Portal is an upcoming single-player first-person game by Valve Corporation, shipping in a bundle package known as The Orange Box which will also include Half-Life 2: Episode Two and Team Fortress 2 as well as Half-Life 2 and Episode One."
If I can buy it separate then the only potential hurdle left is the system requirements.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
What are your specs? Source scales down a ton and since the point of Portal is puzzle solving in what look like sparse lab rooms it doesn't really matter if you can't run it at 1280x1024 with 4xAA and 8xAF.
According to the requirements listed on steam I should be able to run it. Barely.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> That's a really old setup, oh wow. I used a 440.. 4 years ago, and I bought it for $40 then.
<!--quoteo(post=1649051:date=Sep 12 2007, 09:49 AM:name=TychoCelchuuu)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TychoCelchuuu @ Sep 12 2007, 09:49 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1649051"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->And then there's the whole "bundled with HL2 and Ep1" deal which I think has been discussed a ton already, through (but not limited to) my grocery store analogy that I copied from lolf. When it comes right down to it, I'm actually pretty happy with $40 for TF2/Portal/Ep2. What I'm <i>not</i> happy with is the $70 I paid for HL2/Ep1. I think that could net me at least a $5 discount or something on the Orange Box.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I do agree with you that people who already own both HL2 and EP1 should get some $5 or $10 discount or something, or in the sense that they could buy the black box for only $35-40.
I am not sure when you bought HL2 and EP1 but think of it this way: <!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->face it - all games go down in price over time, be it in straight price drop on the single game, or via them appearing to be worthless thanks to bundling. if you always want the best bargains, don't play new releases. wait 2 to 4 years and that $60 game will be $10.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The prices of games are $40-50 when they're first released. After about a year or two, and the game reaches "Greatest hits"(or any other "status") or something, the price gets lowered to $20.
Well, you could pay $40-50 to buy the game when it's released or you could just wait a year or two or three for it to go down to $20.
This is a similar case for a lot of things: 1. Buy early, pay more. 2. Buy much later, pay less.
Sounds like someone can't bhop or conc jump.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> That's right, I can't. I've never made an effort to learn because it's just asinine. I can't ride a unicycle or skateboard either and the string on my yo-yo keeps getting tangled. I don't play with Pogs and I don't collect Pokemon cards and I don't drink Mountain Dew Gamer Energy Whatever.
I think im probably going to simply create a second account, gift HL2 and Episode 1 over and sell it on ebay, should get about £10 ($20) making it only $34 so not bad at all <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile-fix.gif" />
ThansalThe New ScumJoin Date: 2002-08-22Member: 1215Members, Constellation
<!--quoteo(post=1649477:date=Sep 14 2007, 10:00 AM:name=lolfighter)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(lolfighter @ Sep 14 2007, 10:00 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1649477"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->That's right, I can't. I've never made an effort to learn because it's just asinine. I can't ride a unicycle or skateboard either and the string on my yo-yo keeps getting tangled. I don't play with Pogs and I don't collect Pokemon cards and I don't drink Mountain Dew Gamer Energy Whatever.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> And Master Chief hates you for that.
<!--quoteo(post=1649477:date=Sep 14 2007, 09:00 AM:name=lolfighter)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(lolfighter @ Sep 14 2007, 09:00 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1649477"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->That's right, I can't. I've never made an effort to learn because it's just asinine. I can't ride a unicycle or skateboard either and the string on my yo-yo keeps getting tangled. I don't play with Pogs and I don't collect Pokemon cards and I don't drink Mountain Dew Gamer Energy Whatever.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I don't see how learning to concjump is more or less asinine than learning how to snipe correctly or learning how to blink around the map and kill marines.
<!--quoteo(post=1649498:date=Sep 14 2007, 10:15 AM:name=lolfighter)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(lolfighter @ Sep 14 2007, 10:15 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1649498"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->It's just asinine. If you want to blame someone for bringing it up, blame pardzh.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
"It's just asinine" doesn't really answer my question. It seems like it's a skill just like any other; what's so special about conc jumping that makes it not worth it to bother learning?
bunny hopping and conc jumping are skills, but they're skills in abusing game mechanics. this abuse is sanctioned by the FF team and shunned by the TF2 team, apparently. I side with the people who don't like them. I prefer accessible games to games that don't require you to do illogical things to get an edge. games that DO encourage you to do such things may appeal a little more to the hardcore among us, but they will always alienate a lot of potential players and never quite have the same size audience of more accessible games.
[WHO]ThemYou can call me DaveJoin Date: 2002-12-11Member: 10593Members, Constellation
<!--quoteo(post=1649529:date=Sep 14 2007, 10:35 AM:name=Gwahir)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Gwahir @ Sep 14 2007, 10:35 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1649529"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->My mother swims with sharks and had a license to fly before before she had one to drive, forget conc-jumping<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Pffft, those sharks don't even have lasers attached to their heads.
<!--quoteo(post=1649518:date=Sep 14 2007, 12:09 PM:name=DiscoZombie)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DiscoZombie @ Sep 14 2007, 12:09 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1649518"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->bunny hopping and conc jumping are skills, but they're skills in abusing game mechanics. this abuse is sanctioned by the FF team and shunned by the TF2 team, apparently. I side with the people who don't like them. I prefer accessible games to games that don't require you to do illogical things to get an edge. games that DO encourage you to do such things may appeal a little more to the hardcore among us, but they will always alienate a lot of potential players and never quite have the same size audience of more accessible games.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
So where would something like skiing in Tribes fall? It was technically an abuse of game mechanics in the first game, but it made the game ten times as fun and they specifically added it in to Tribes 2 and Tribes: Vengeance (and games like Enemy Territory: Quake Wars) because it added so much to the game. Talk to any real player of TFC and they'll tell you stuff like concjumping adds a ton to the game.
ThansalThe New ScumJoin Date: 2002-08-22Member: 1215Members, Constellation
<!--quoteo(post=1649534:date=Sep 14 2007, 01:57 PM:name=TychoCelchuuu)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TychoCelchuuu @ Sep 14 2007, 01:57 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1649534"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Talk to any real player of TFC and they'll tell you stuff like concjumping adds a ton to the game.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
See, that was/is the problem.
The level of entry for playing TFC was just to high for a good number of players. Combine that with standard elitism that you get from a vocal minority of skilled players and you have a decently large group of people that actively dislike all things associated with 'real skill' in TFC (concin, bhopping, trimping, what ever). PErsonaly, I have none of these skills. I might try and learn them for FF as there are now actually decent guides for learning (that was another problem 'back in the day', you generally had to find some one to teach you, only problem is that the majority CBA to, and a number of those would just flame you).
Meh.
If you honestly wana have a discussion on this, why do we take it to the discussion bored?
<!--quoteo(post=1649055:date=Sep 12 2007, 06:26 PM:name=Confused)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Confused @ Sep 12 2007, 06:26 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1649055"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Additionally, it would appear that the price of 30$ for a game is not all that bad given that <b>I paid more than that for beer and dinner last night</b> and will likely do the same again tonight, as I seem to have failed to take a certain red headed girl to lunch today. Now, that said, dropping 45$ for a game or two, let alone three, seems like an easy choice<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->I can play my Steam games whenever I want, the same rules do not apply for your little RedHead investment! <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="wink-fix.gif" /> <!--quoteo(post=1649518:date=Sep 14 2007, 06:09 PM:name=DiscoZombie)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DiscoZombie @ Sep 14 2007, 06:09 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1649518"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->bunny hopping and conc jumping are skills, but they're skills in abusing game mechanics. this abuse is sanctioned by the FF team and shunned by the TF2 team, apparently. I side with the people who don't like them. I prefer accessible games to games that don't require you to do illogical things to get an edge. games that DO encourage you to do such things may appeal a little more to the hardcore among us, but they will always alienate a lot of potential players and never quite have the same size audience of more accessible games.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->FF want to include aspects that require skill to master, but they have tried to make things like conc jumping a LOT easier than in TFC. And FF is out btw so why not download it (for free) instead of relying on heresay.
---
The thing people are missing here is that Ep2 probably relies heavily on HL2 code and to minimise the DL times they probably didn't include that code in the bundled Ep2 copy. Now Valve would have a LOT less purchases if Ep2 didn't have HL2 thrown in, so if we really think about this the HL2 is not 'free' it's a given. It's in no way an act of generosity from Valve, it's simply good business sense, the generosity bit is how Valve's marketing dept. have spun it. The same almost goes for Ep1. Why would you want to buy Ep2 if you haven't played Ep1? People might be put off purchasing Ep2 if they had to pay an extra $9.95 for Ep2. So these bundles are neccessary from Valve's end.
Valve could just have easily given players a selection of games that cost the same as HL2 ($19.95) and Ep1 ($9.95), such as: - Counter-Strike ($9.95) - Counter-Strike: Source ($19.95) - Day of Defeat ($9.95) - Day of Deafeat: Source ($9.95) - Deathmatch Classic ($9.95) - Half-Life ($9.95) - Half-Life: Deathmatch ($9.95)
Most of those are multiplayer, so it almost makes more sense that you'd want to give your free games away so you could play with your friends. The simple truth is that the reason HL2 and Ep1 were singled out is because they will increase sales, and other multiplayer freebies would endanger TF2's success.
The real question here is why people who have got Valve to this stage by buying their games and supporting them get the finger with this 'free games' bull######. As people have pointed out the donating aspect is merely a ploy to get more people started playing through the single player that leads up to Ep2. Really Valve could have given a slight discount, even if only a $5 gesture that really makes barely any difference, to their supporters. The fact is they didn't, they axed the Black Box for retail and now seemingly for Steam.
That's why I'm miffed, because the generosity skit most people are swallowing whole falls down when you analyse the necessity of releasing prequels to support the sequel and the clear benefits of virally distributing those games to the masses. Remember, more people with free HL2 Steam copies means more potential Steam customers. It's so win-win for Valve it's not even funny, and it has nothing to do with being generous.
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->That's a really old setup, oh wow.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> Bah. This is my recently purchased bi-decade upgrade. Until a few months ago I was running a P3 1.13GHz 384MB GeForce2 MX 400. And the only real reason I upgraded was to better take advantage of Virtual Machines. I'm not one of these people who can afford to dump $500+ a year on new kit, not that I would even if I could afford it, because there are exactly 0 PC games worth that kind of money.
On another note: I was a big fan of TFC for a long time, until people stopped playing maps like The Hunted and CZ2 and Rock2 and all the servers became 2fort or dustbowl only (actually, I do like a good game of Dustbowl...), and if you're really really lucky, they might mix it up with The Well. I can't conc jump, or bhop really well, but it never really bothered me because TFC gave me classes where those skills were not required. Engineer and Spy were my favorites.
LikuI, am the Somberlain.Join Date: 2003-01-10Member: 12128Members
<!--quoteo(post=1649539:date=Sep 14 2007, 12:30 PM:name=Crispy)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Crispy @ Sep 14 2007, 12:30 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1649539"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->The real question here is why people who have got Valve to this stage by buying their games and supporting them get the finger with this 'free games' bull######. As people have pointed out the donating aspect is merely a ploy to get more people started playing through the single player that leads up to Ep2. Really Valve could have given a slight discount, even if only a $5 gesture that really makes barely any difference, to their supporters. The fact is they didn't, they axed the Black Box for retail and now seemingly for Steam.
That's why I'm miffed, because the generosity skit most people are swallowing whole falls down when you analyse the necessity of releasing prequels to support the sequel and the clear benefits of virally distributing those games to the masses. Remember, more people with free HL2 Steam copies means more potential Steam customers. It's so win-win for Valve it's not even funny, and it has nothing to do with being generous.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> Valve's a business, not a charity. You're getting upset that they want people to play their games and purchase their products. You might as well cry because companies release demos. You know, those "cheap ploys" to get people to buy their product. A free copy of HL2 and access to all 3rd party mods is pretty nice.
Comments
I don't have any friends braindead enough not to have purchased 2 of the best games ever made.
I'm thinking portal, since it sounds really cool but short - then ep. 2, then TF since that's more of an ongoing thing...
I'm thinking portal, since it sounds really cool but short - then ep. 2, then TF since that's more of an ongoing thing...<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I'll play TF2 first because it's out this Monday <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin-fix.gif" />
Actually, since I'll have played the beta, I'll probably go for Episode 2 first when Orange Box comes out, since I'll just have finished Ep1 (replaying HL2 + Ep1 right now). Then I'll go for Portal, then back to the TF2 goodness.
Portal is $20 if you buy it seperately. I don't know where you got the impression that you're not allowed to do that.
/snicker
Sounds like someone can't bhop or conc jump.
Probably because I've only ever seen it advertised as part of Orange Box. Hell, the first line of the WikiPedia page on Portal is "Portal is an upcoming single-player first-person game by Valve Corporation, shipping in a bundle package known as The Orange Box which will also include Half-Life 2: Episode Two and Team Fortress 2 as well as Half-Life 2 and Episode One."
If I can buy it separate then the only potential hurdle left is the system requirements.
If I can buy it separate then the only potential hurdle left is the system requirements.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
What are your specs? Source scales down a ton and since the point of Portal is puzzle solving in what look like sparse lab rooms it doesn't really matter if you can't run it at 1280x1024 with 4xAA and 8xAF.
512MB
GeForce 4 MX 440
According to the requirements listed on steam I should be able to run it. Barely.
512MB
GeForce 4 MX 440
According to the requirements listed on steam I should be able to run it. Barely.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
That's a really old setup, oh wow. I used a 440.. 4 years ago, and I bought it for $40 then.
I do agree with you that people who already own both HL2 and EP1 should get some $5 or $10 discount or something, or in the sense that they could buy the black box for only $35-40.
I am not sure when you bought HL2 and EP1 but think of it this way:
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->face it - all games go down in price over time, be it in straight price drop on the single game, or via them appearing to be worthless thanks to bundling. if you always want the best bargains, don't play new releases. wait 2 to 4 years and that $60 game will be $10.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The prices of games are $40-50 when they're first released. After about a year or two, and the game reaches "Greatest hits"(or any other "status") or something, the price gets lowered to $20.
Well, you could pay $40-50 to buy the game when it's released or you could just wait a year or two or three for it to go down to $20.
This is a similar case for a lot of things:
1. Buy early, pay more.
2. Buy much later, pay less.
Sounds like someone can't bhop or conc jump.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
That's right, I can't. I've never made an effort to learn because it's just asinine. I can't ride a unicycle or skateboard either and the string on my yo-yo keeps getting tangled. I don't play with Pogs and I don't collect Pokemon cards and I don't drink Mountain Dew Gamer Energy Whatever.
And Master Chief hates you for that.
I don't see how learning to concjump is more or less asinine than learning how to snipe correctly or learning how to blink around the map and kill marines.
"It's just asinine" doesn't really answer my question. It seems like it's a skill just like any other; what's so special about conc jumping that makes it not worth it to bother learning?
Pffft, those sharks don't even have lasers attached to their heads.
So where would something like skiing in Tribes fall? It was technically an abuse of game mechanics in the first game, but it made the game ten times as fun and they specifically added it in to Tribes 2 and Tribes: Vengeance (and games like Enemy Territory: Quake Wars) because it added so much to the game. Talk to any real player of TFC and they'll tell you stuff like concjumping adds a ton to the game.
See, that was/is the problem.
The level of entry for playing TFC was just to high for a good number of players. Combine that with standard elitism that you get from a vocal minority of skilled players and you have a decently large group of people that actively dislike all things associated with 'real skill' in TFC (concin, bhopping, trimping, what ever). PErsonaly, I have none of these skills. I might try and learn them for FF as there are now actually decent guides for learning (that was another problem 'back in the day', you generally had to find some one to teach you, only problem is that the majority CBA to, and a number of those would just flame you).
Meh.
If you honestly wana have a discussion on this, why do we take it to the discussion bored?
<!--quoteo(post=1649518:date=Sep 14 2007, 06:09 PM:name=DiscoZombie)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DiscoZombie @ Sep 14 2007, 06:09 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1649518"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->bunny hopping and conc jumping are skills, but they're skills in abusing game mechanics. this abuse is sanctioned by the FF team and shunned by the TF2 team, apparently. I side with the people who don't like them. I prefer accessible games to games that don't require you to do illogical things to get an edge. games that DO encourage you to do such things may appeal a little more to the hardcore among us, but they will always alienate a lot of potential players and never quite have the same size audience of more accessible games.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->FF want to include aspects that require skill to master, but they have tried to make things like conc jumping a LOT easier than in TFC. And FF is out btw so why not download it (for free) instead of relying on heresay.
---
The thing people are missing here is that Ep2 probably relies heavily on HL2 code and to minimise the DL times they probably didn't include that code in the bundled Ep2 copy. Now Valve would have a LOT less purchases if Ep2 didn't have HL2 thrown in, so if we really think about this the HL2 is not 'free' it's a given. It's in no way an act of generosity from Valve, it's simply good business sense, the generosity bit is how Valve's marketing dept. have spun it. The same almost goes for Ep1. Why would you want to buy Ep2 if you haven't played Ep1? People might be put off purchasing Ep2 if they had to pay an extra $9.95 for Ep2. So these bundles are neccessary from Valve's end.
Valve could just have easily given players a selection of games that cost the same as HL2 ($19.95) and Ep1 ($9.95), such as:
- Counter-Strike ($9.95)
- Counter-Strike: Source ($19.95)
- Day of Defeat ($9.95)
- Day of Deafeat: Source ($9.95)
- Deathmatch Classic ($9.95)
- Half-Life ($9.95)
- Half-Life: Deathmatch ($9.95)
Most of those are multiplayer, so it almost makes more sense that you'd want to give your free games away so you could play with your friends. The simple truth is that the reason HL2 and Ep1 were singled out is because they will increase sales, and other multiplayer freebies would endanger TF2's success.
The real question here is why people who have got Valve to this stage by buying their games and supporting them get the finger with this 'free games' bull######. As people have pointed out the donating aspect is merely a ploy to get more people started playing through the single player that leads up to Ep2. Really Valve could have given a slight discount, even if only a $5 gesture that really makes barely any difference, to their supporters. The fact is they didn't, they axed the Black Box for retail and now seemingly for Steam.
That's why I'm miffed, because the generosity skit most people are swallowing whole falls down when you analyse the necessity of releasing prequels to support the sequel and the clear benefits of virally distributing those games to the masses. Remember, more people with free HL2 Steam copies means more potential Steam customers. It's so win-win for Valve it's not even funny, and it has nothing to do with being generous.
Bah. This is my recently purchased bi-decade upgrade. Until a few months ago I was running a P3 1.13GHz 384MB GeForce2 MX 400. And the only real reason I upgraded was to better take advantage of Virtual Machines. I'm not one of these people who can afford to dump $500+ a year on new kit, not that I would even if I could afford it, because there are exactly 0 PC games worth that kind of money.
On another note: I was a big fan of TFC for a long time, until people stopped playing maps like The Hunted and CZ2 and Rock2 and all the servers became 2fort or dustbowl only (actually, I do like a good game of Dustbowl...), and if you're really really lucky, they might mix it up with The Well. I can't conc jump, or bhop really well, but it never really bothered me because TFC gave me classes where those skills were not required. Engineer and Spy were my favorites.
That's why I'm miffed, because the generosity skit most people are swallowing whole falls down when you analyse the necessity of releasing prequels to support the sequel and the clear benefits of virally distributing those games to the masses. Remember, more people with free HL2 Steam copies means more potential Steam customers. It's so win-win for Valve it's not even funny, and it has nothing to do with being generous.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Valve's a business, not a charity. You're getting upset that they want people to play their games and purchase their products. You might as well cry because companies release demos. You know, those "cheap ploys" to get people to buy their product. A free copy of HL2 and access to all 3rd party mods is pretty nice.