[WHO]ThemYou can call me DaveJoin Date: 2002-12-11Member: 10593Members, Constellation
<!--quoteo(post=1650309:date=Sep 18 2007, 12:36 PM:name=DiscoZombie)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DiscoZombie @ Sep 18 2007, 12:36 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1650309"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->seriously? I thought they shimmer such that you can see their outline while moving. or is that just how friendly spies appear?
if enemy spies really are completely invisible even when moving, that's pretty nuts and I've gotta start spying.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Ahh, yes, forgot about friendly spies. You will see a slight shimmer all the time for friendlies.
Well apparently I'm the best at (in this order) the Sniper, Soldier and HWGuy. Sniping is so very very satisfying, and even <i>being</i> sniped doesn't feel as lame with the zoom-in view showing you exactly where your killer was hidden. The soldier, apparently my second best class, feels a little boring. Probably because I can't get the hang of rocket jumping. HWGuy is for when i'm tired of sitting back and sniping and just want to go "RAAAARGH!" and charge at the enemy wielding a great big gun. This is an urge that all true gamers will feel now and again.
*edit* Oh yes, and the spy is so very very sweet. I just need to get the hang of not getting owned immediately after I do my stabby thing.
I've tried some more scout action and I'm liking it. It's just not very effective. I got like 6 or 7 minutes without dying but only 3 kills. In the same time, I could rank up about 10 with demo, hwg or engi.
The class feels great, jumping arround, but the damage is really really bad. You'll have to get really close to get 100% of the damage in, but that will kill you in most of the corriders and even if you manage to do it, you will need 3-4 shots for a soldier, 2-3 shots for a engi and about 4-5 shots for a hwg.
Soldier/Demo/Pyro Areaeffects/Engieturrets > Scout Of course, spies, snipes, medics and pyros out of melee range are mostly fodder, for a skilled scout.
Comparing it to the spy, it just dosn't feel that valuable at all.
Spies can seriously cripple the defense of a team and even take one or two enemies, before dieng. The Scout will be able to take out one enemies, then retreat, heal up, kill another one etc.
Overall, after playing it for a whole day now I say the game is ready for launch. I've not noticed any bugs at all, any tweaking that may happen is minimal. Giving one or two more damage to some bullets of a class, maybe add 25 hp to another.
The maps feel pretty good, only the capture point maps with five capture points are kind of... hard. After getting the middle cp, you should spawn somewhere arround there and not in the starting area. That could give attacking teams more of an edge to actually get the fourth cp down.
<!--quoteo(post=1650301:date=Sep 18 2007, 02:30 PM:name=TychoCelchuuu)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TychoCelchuuu @ Sep 18 2007, 02:30 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1650301"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Valve's never made a bad game. I'm not one of *them* so it counts when I say it.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> I disagree with you there, but it's normal for me to disagree with you.
Man, I just spent like 2 and a half hours playing, and I haven't even spawned as engineer or demoman once yet. I played mostly as soldier, then medic, plus a bit of sniper for shooting people, scout for capturing the documents (the paper trail is awesome) and HWG for shooting more people. Plus pyro because hey, you have to set someone on fire. Oh and I went spy to sabotage a turret. Impressions:
The Awesome: All the classes are useful, as are the weapons, and the maps are well designed The graphics are absolutely beautiful The sounds are also great. The voices in particular are hilarious The scout's double jump thing is really cool. Some people feel he's too underpowered in combat but I think he works great as long as you don't go toe to toe with a HWG from the front Super polished, with the little videos and the team choosing screen and the stats and stuff The gibs have to be seen to be believed. Not just the gibs themselves, but the bloody explosions
The Bad: 6 maps isn't as many as I'd like Too much awesomeness from one game company Release looks inevitable, meaning Rapture is too. What will I do without religious people to cook my food? And grow my food?
So..many..idiots..who..don't..get..what..uberpower..is/works. Probably wasted 10 of those on HWGs and soldiers who then retreat behind corners and whatnot when fired upon.
The spy zapper needs shorter range and something to indicate who it came from. I had a guy zapping my turret 10 times from 5m distance (running away around a corner each time).
The turrets are too freakishly effective, even a lvl 1 turret eats up a hwg swiftly. They also spin 180 degrees and fire in less then a split second (animation doesn't even keep up).
A few more special abilities would be great, the lack of grenades needs its void filled.
Otherwise it's just awesome, love how they point out your gibs if caught on the zoom-in of your killer, "Your leg!" "Your arm!" "Another piece of you!".
Lots of people say the turrets are too good, but it's really easy to take them out with a spy or with medic backup, and a lvl 1 turret goes down easy to a soldier without any backup at all. I think people have trouble because they want to be able to go one on one with a turret. You need at least 2 people firing, or one firing and another healing, to take it down (or, like I said, a spy).
Looping sound bug that made HL2:Ep1 virtually unplayable for me is also occuring in TF2 <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":(" border="0" alt="sad-fix.gif" />
Well with any luck there'll be <a href="http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?p=6711589" target="_blank">another 1000 post thread</a> in the Steam Forums for me to keep an eye on in the hope someone comes up with a fix. I hope that HL2:Ep2 and Portal won't be affected, but I won't hold my breath.
A skilled scout can take out a Soldier or HWG. There's nothing funnier than double jumping over a HWG, unload into his head as you bounce over him, and watch as he spazzes out trying to see where you went.
schkorpioI can mspaintJoin Date: 2003-05-23Member: 16635Members
<!--quoteo(post=1650350:date=Sep 19 2007, 08:02 AM:name=MedHead)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(MedHead @ Sep 19 2007, 08:02 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1650350"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I disagree with you there, but it's normal for me to disagree with you.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
which one was bad ? they were all highly acclaimed during their own times - unless valve made games before hl1 ?
<!--quoteo(post=1650368:date=Sep 18 2007, 05:57 PM:name=Svenpa)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Svenpa @ Sep 18 2007, 05:57 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1650368"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Otherwise it's just awesome, love how they point out your gibs if caught on the zoom-in of your killer, "Your leg!" "Your arm!" "Another piece of you!".<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yeah, I loled when I was blown to bits by a demoman point-blank and the zoom-in had "Your torso" next to my killer and "Your head" waaaaay off in the distance.
<!--quoteo(post=1650376:date=Sep 19 2007, 09:12 AM:name=JazzX)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JazzX @ Sep 19 2007, 09:12 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1650376"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Looping sound bug that made HL2:Ep1 virtually unplayable for me is also occuring in TF2 <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":(" border="0" alt="sad-fix.gif" />
Well with any luck there'll be <a href="http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?p=6711589" target="_blank">another 1000 post thread</a> in the Steam Forums for me to keep an eye on in the hope someone comes up with a fix. I hope that HL2:Ep2 and Portal won't be affected, but I won't hold my breath.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
You mean <a href="http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=102651" target="_blank">this</a> problem? Yeah, I've trawled the steam forums, and both the interwebs, for the last couple months to no avail. That steam thread is like a stone cairn at the top of a mountain. Except for a bug in a computer game.
Quick fix: -dxlevel 81. Problem is you lose 90% of the graphical awesome that TF2 has.
ThansalThe New ScumJoin Date: 2002-08-22Member: 1215Members, Constellation
I spent most of yesterday playing this game (something I don't do even with new games).
The game REALLY rewards balls, and that is actually a problem, as people don't GOT EM.
people refuse to push objectives, people just camp their flag/base, people don't make use of Ubercharge (even with some one explaining exactly what it does, they still try to dodge shots).
grumble grumble.
I also figured out one of the really big weaknesses on SGs: Range. The range is actually not that long, and if you can get a LoS on it out of it's range then you can demolish it FAST (they don't have much HP, and an engie can only repair so fast/much).
Take the room with all the ramps in 2fort. A favorite place (for me) to place an SG is at the top of the ramp to the basement. Normally this is great. I can upgrade it fast, it covers where the enemy HAS to pass through (unless they are a good scout or good at rocket/pipe jumping), I can guard it with my back to a corner (no spys ftw!), etc etc. HOWEVER, no matter where you place it attackers can get at it with out it firing back from the room that leads into the ramp room (either 2nd or 1st floor). A HWG or Soldier can demolish it very quickly, and Snipers are also very good for taking them out (but not as likely to be there).
That also brings me to the next point on SGs, Snipers. Building sniping is a great way to eliminate pesky SGs. IT takes 1 charged shot to take out a lvl 1 SG, and 2 for a lvl 2/3 (Assuming you have placed a bullet through the engie's head first).
<!--quoteo(post=1650471:date=Sep 19 2007, 09:35 AM:name=Abra)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Abra @ Sep 19 2007, 09:35 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1650471"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Just preordered it, why can't I see it in my games list?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Because you have clawed your eyes out? In the future don't do that.
<!--quoteo(post=1650479:date=Sep 19 2007, 09:53 AM:name=locallyunscene)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(locallyunscene @ Sep 19 2007, 09:53 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1650479"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I have preloaded it but can't seem to play it. Epic Fail.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I can't import a spray :( Just came from a game where I was Scout the entire round (aiming on that "full round as each class" thing) and hot damn, it was an awesome adrenaline rush. I don't think it's underpowered at all, you just can't take on more than 1 person at a time unless they're ignoring you. Also cramped areas give a disadvantage. But the important thing is to get into places the enemy doesn't expect using the doublejump, you can get as many melee kills as any spy if you've got a bit of luck.
ThansalThe New ScumJoin Date: 2002-08-22Member: 1215Members, Constellation
<!--quoteo(post=1650523:date=Sep 19 2007, 04:31 PM:name=Align)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Align @ Sep 19 2007, 04:31 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1650523"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I can't import a spray <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":(" border="0" alt="sad-fix.gif" /> Just came from a game where I was Scout the entire round (aiming on that "full round as each class" thing) and hot damn, it was an awesome adrenaline rush. I don't think it's underpowered at all, you just can't take on more than 1 person at a time unless they're ignoring you. Also cramped areas give a disadvantage. But the important thing is to get into places the enemy doesn't expect using the doublejump, you can get as many melee kills as any spy if you've got a bit of luck.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> My full round of scout was on one of the push style maps (takes place in factories, 2 cap points per team with one center one?)
The speed capping, the freedom of movement, and the devastation of the supper shotty <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin-fix.gif" /> I was soloing HWGs
We were in overtime and I was the HWG in an HWG/medic team. He had precharged and we were right next to the last stronghold, a few engineers had bunkered down a defensible area with turrets. We coordinated over voice comm, edged to the wall, activated ubercharge and went in screaming. A few downed sentries turrets and wounded engineers later, the ubercharge ended. and the remaining engineers fled, right into the rest of the team.
<!--quoteo(post=1650460:date=Sep 19 2007, 09:39 AM:name=Scythe)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Scythe @ Sep 19 2007, 09:39 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1650460"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->You mean <a href="http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=102651" target="_blank">this</a> problem? Yeah, I've trawled the steam forums, and both the interwebs, for the last couple months to no avail. That steam thread is like a stone cairn at the top of a mountain. Except for a bug in a computer game.
Quick fix: -dxlevel 81. Problem is you lose 90% of the graphical awesome that TF2 has.
--Scythe--<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->Yeah that's the one. I'm afraid I'm going to have to run dxlevel 81 until something (probably my PC hardware) changes and its playable in a normal state again.
Tycho: alt-tabbing doesn't do anything but bring me to a crippled glance of my desktop, and then back to a completely paralyzed view of what was once my running TF2 session. If I have 10 minutes to waste (no exageration) I can then patiently wait for my desktop to load itself, right click and select "Close" from TF2's button on the Taskbar and then after dumpprep.exe crashes, HL2.exe will finally shut down and I get my PC back. Or I can leave HL2 up and listen to the stuttering sound change pitch about 30 times before I finally decide to power off my machine and then restart it.
I'm sure it isn't the first time this has been theorized, but in the original HL2:Ep1 "Looping sound forever death thread" a poster going by the name wien <a href="http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showpost.php?p=6717030&postcount=1140" target="_blank">wrote this</a>, and it makes as much sense as anything else I've seen on the subject: <!--QuoteBegin-wien+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(wien)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteEBegin--><!--QuoteBegin-heiatufte+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(heiatufte)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Setting dxlevel 80 is not a "solution".<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->It doesn't always help either. Different settings cure it for different people, but it almost always includes some sort of reduction in quality. Like I said in a similar thread in the TF2 forums, the problem seems to escalate the more features you enable, and it always seems to happen when Source is loading something or doing something else asynchronously. This leads me to think the infamous cache system is at fault and that there's some rare deadlock or other multi threading issue in there.
In my head that explains why it happens on seemingly random computer configurations, why the severity changes with load (lower dxlevel can be enough to change context switches around enough that the deadlock don't occur anymore), and why Valve can't seem to find the root of the problem (multi threading is a "beach" to debug). It's still no excuse though.
EDIT: This problem really frustrates me. I have tested Alpha and Beta software before and I usually know how to report bugs so they can be fixed, but when there is no way to reproduce the problem across multiple computers, often not even on one computer, and there is no actual crash (and hence crash address) to report, how do I go about reporting it?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yeah it's a pretty crazy bug. Mine (DoD:S, Episode 1, Lost Coast, Counterstrike: Source) went away after a few weeks/months despite my not having changed anything significant in the computer. It also only happened intermittently for DoD:S. On my new computer, I haven't encountered it at all. Weird stuff.
Comments
if enemy spies really are completely invisible even when moving, that's pretty nuts and I've gotta start spying.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Ahh, yes, forgot about friendly spies. You will see a slight shimmer all the time for friendlies.
*edit* Oh yes, and the spy is so very very sweet. I just need to get the hang of not getting owned immediately after I do my stabby thing.
The class feels great, jumping arround, but the damage is really really bad. You'll have to get really close to get 100% of the damage in, but that will kill you in most of the corriders and even if you manage to do it, you will need 3-4 shots for a soldier, 2-3 shots for a engi and about 4-5 shots for a hwg.
Soldier/Demo/Pyro Areaeffects/Engieturrets > Scout
Of course, spies, snipes, medics and pyros out of melee range are mostly fodder, for a skilled scout.
Comparing it to the spy, it just dosn't feel that valuable at all.
Spies can seriously cripple the defense of a team and even take one or two enemies, before dieng. The Scout will be able to take out one enemies, then retreat, heal up, kill another one etc.
Overall, after playing it for a whole day now I say the game is ready for launch. I've not noticed any bugs at all, any tweaking that may happen is minimal. Giving one or two more damage to some bullets of a class, maybe add 25 hp to another.
The maps feel pretty good, only the capture point maps with five capture points are kind of... hard. After getting the middle cp, you should spawn somewhere arround there and not in the starting area. That could give attacking teams more of an edge to actually get the fourth cp down.
I disagree with you there, but it's normal for me to disagree with you.
The Awesome:
All the classes are useful, as are the weapons, and the maps are well designed
The graphics are absolutely beautiful
The sounds are also great. The voices in particular are hilarious
The scout's double jump thing is really cool. Some people feel he's too underpowered in combat but I think he works great as long as you don't go toe to toe with a HWG from the front
Super polished, with the little videos and the team choosing screen and the stats and stuff
The gibs have to be seen to be believed. Not just the gibs themselves, but the bloody explosions
The Bad:
6 maps isn't as many as I'd like
Too much awesomeness from one game company
Release looks inevitable, meaning Rapture is too. What will I do without religious people to cook my food? And grow my food?
The spy zapper needs shorter range and something to indicate who it came from. I had a guy zapping my turret 10 times from 5m distance (running away around a corner each time).
The turrets are too freakishly effective, even a lvl 1 turret eats up a hwg swiftly. They also spin 180 degrees and fire in less then a split second (animation doesn't even keep up).
A few more special abilities would be great, the lack of grenades needs its void filled.
Otherwise it's just awesome, love how they point out your gibs if caught on the zoom-in of your killer, "Your leg!" "Your arm!" "Another piece of you!".
It had pieces of crap gibs. Like cheeseburgers for the HWG. Rubber ducks, springs, etc. were common.
Well with any luck there'll be <a href="http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?p=6711589" target="_blank">another 1000 post thread</a> in the Steam Forums for me to keep an eye on in the hope someone comes up with a fix. I hope that HL2:Ep2 and Portal won't be affected, but I won't hold my breath.
which one was bad ? they were all highly acclaimed during their own times - unless valve made games before hl1 ?
Yeah, I loled when I was blown to bits by a demoman point-blank and the zoom-in had "Your torso" next to my killer and "Your head" waaaaay off in the distance.
Well with any luck there'll be <a href="http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?p=6711589" target="_blank">another 1000 post thread</a> in the Steam Forums for me to keep an eye on in the hope someone comes up with a fix. I hope that HL2:Ep2 and Portal won't be affected, but I won't hold my breath.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
You mean <a href="http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=102651" target="_blank">this</a> problem? Yeah, I've trawled the steam forums, and both the interwebs, for the last couple months to no avail. That steam thread is like a stone cairn at the top of a mountain. Except for a bug in a computer game.
Quick fix: -dxlevel 81. Problem is you lose 90% of the graphical awesome that TF2 has.
--Scythe--
The game REALLY rewards balls, and that is actually a problem, as people don't GOT EM.
people refuse to push objectives, people just camp their flag/base, people don't make use of Ubercharge (even with some one explaining exactly what it does, they still try to dodge shots).
grumble grumble.
I also figured out one of the really big weaknesses on SGs: Range. The range is actually not that long, and if you can get a LoS on it out of it's range then you can demolish it FAST (they don't have much HP, and an engie can only repair so fast/much).
Take the room with all the ramps in 2fort. A favorite place (for me) to place an SG is at the top of the ramp to the basement. Normally this is great. I can upgrade it fast, it covers where the enemy HAS to pass through (unless they are a good scout or good at rocket/pipe jumping), I can guard it with my back to a corner (no spys ftw!), etc etc. HOWEVER, no matter where you place it attackers can get at it with out it firing back from the room that leads into the ramp room (either 2nd or 1st floor). A HWG or Soldier can demolish it very quickly, and Snipers are also very good for taking them out (but not as likely to be there).
That also brings me to the next point on SGs, Snipers. Building sniping is a great way to eliminate pesky SGs. IT takes 1 charged shot to take out a lvl 1 SG, and 2 for a lvl 2/3 (Assuming you have placed a bullet through the engie's head first).
Because you have clawed your eyes out? In the future don't do that.
I have preloaded it but can't seem to play it. Epic Fail.
Restart Steam.
terribly stuck at ~30kbs pr second.
Sikkert alle de amerikanere, der er online nu.
Just came from a game where I was Scout the entire round (aiming on that "full round as each class" thing) and hot damn, it was an awesome adrenaline rush. I don't think it's underpowered at all, you just can't take on more than 1 person at a time unless they're ignoring you. Also cramped areas give a disadvantage.
But the important thing is to get into places the enemy doesn't expect using the doublejump, you can get as many melee kills as any spy if you've got a bit of luck.
Just came from a game where I was Scout the entire round (aiming on that "full round as each class" thing) and hot damn, it was an awesome adrenaline rush. I don't think it's underpowered at all, you just can't take on more than 1 person at a time unless they're ignoring you. Also cramped areas give a disadvantage.
But the important thing is to get into places the enemy doesn't expect using the doublejump, you can get as many melee kills as any spy if you've got a bit of luck.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
My full round of scout was on one of the push style maps (takes place in factories, 2 cap points per team with one center one?)
The speed capping, the freedom of movement, and the devastation of the supper shotty <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin-fix.gif" />
I was soloing HWGs
We were in overtime and I was the HWG in an HWG/medic team. He had precharged and we were right next to the last stronghold, a few engineers had bunkered down a defensible area with turrets. We coordinated over voice comm, edged to the wall, activated ubercharge and went in screaming. A few downed sentries turrets and wounded engineers later, the ubercharge ended. and the remaining engineers fled, right into the rest of the team.
Quick fix: -dxlevel 81. Problem is you lose 90% of the graphical awesome that TF2 has.
--Scythe--<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->Yeah that's the one. I'm afraid I'm going to have to run dxlevel 81 until something (probably my PC hardware) changes and its playable in a normal state again.
Tycho: alt-tabbing doesn't do anything but bring me to a crippled glance of my desktop, and then back to a completely paralyzed view of what was once my running TF2 session. If I have 10 minutes to waste (no exageration) I can then patiently wait for my desktop to load itself, right click and select "Close" from TF2's button on the Taskbar and then after dumpprep.exe crashes, HL2.exe will finally shut down and I get my PC back. Or I can leave HL2 up and listen to the stuttering sound change pitch about 30 times before I finally decide to power off my machine and then restart it.
I'm sure it isn't the first time this has been theorized, but in the original HL2:Ep1 "Looping sound forever death thread" a poster going by the name wien <a href="http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showpost.php?p=6717030&postcount=1140" target="_blank">wrote this</a>, and it makes as much sense as anything else I've seen on the subject:
<!--QuoteBegin-wien+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(wien)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteEBegin--><!--QuoteBegin-heiatufte+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(heiatufte)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Setting dxlevel 80 is not a "solution".<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->It doesn't always help either. Different settings cure it for different people, but it almost always includes some sort of reduction in quality.
Like I said in a similar thread in the TF2 forums, the problem seems to escalate the more features you enable, and it always seems to happen when Source is loading something or doing something else asynchronously. This leads me to think the infamous cache system is at fault and that there's some rare deadlock or other multi threading issue in there.
In my head that explains why it happens on seemingly random computer configurations, why the severity changes with load (lower dxlevel can be enough to change context switches around enough that the deadlock don't occur anymore), and why Valve can't seem to find the root of the problem (multi threading is a "beach" to debug). It's still no excuse though.
EDIT: This problem really frustrates me. I have tested Alpha and Beta software before and I usually know how to report bugs so they can be fixed, but when there is no way to reproduce the problem across multiple computers, often not even on one computer, and there is no actual crash (and hence crash address) to report, how do I go about reporting it?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->