The Orange Box

[JustJon]

At midnight tonight, Half-Life 2:Episode 2 is unleashed upon the world. I preordered and preloaded my copy off Steam, so I can start playing as soon as it's released, although I won't get to until tomorrow.

Also included is HL2, HL2:Ep1, Portal and Team Fortress 2. For those of us who own HL2 and Ep1 already, you can "gift" your new copies of those two games. I may give mine away on RF.Net this week or something.

[JPMNICK]

i have never gotten into this game, but lately all I hear about it people talking about this

[lleeder]

I thought this thread was about Kathy Griffin's cunt.

[DolaMight]

I'm probably gonna get it for the 360. Played HL2 and Ep1 on the PC so looking forward to seeing how it looks and feels and doin it all over again on the 360. I wonder when they're just gonna make a part 3 instead of these expansions.

[JustJon]

There's been no announcement about any HL3, right now it's just the episodic HL2.

[djjd]

looking forward to the 360 version

played HL2 on the XBOX, and then again on the 360

portal looks pretty cool

[CofyCrakCocaine]

You can play Team Fortress 2 right now if you pre-order it. I started playing last week when I pre-ordered. Fantastic. I also discovered you can find all the old games Id made available on steam, modified to work on your XP system. It's been a good 10 years since I last played Hexen.

Oh, and I have an extra copy of HL 2 and Ep.1 as a result of the pre-order too. I have yet to think of someone who wants it.

[JustJon]

You can play Team Fortress 2 right now if you pre-order it. I started playing last week when I pre-ordered. Fantastic. I also discovered you can find all the old games Id made available on steam, modified to work on your XP system. It's been a good 10 years since I last played Hexen.

Oh, and I have an extra copy of HL 2 and Ep.1 as a result of the pre-order too. I have yet to think of someone who wants it.

Hexen wasn't Id, it was Raven. Great game, though.

[joethebartender]

I thought this thread was about Kathy Griffin's cunt.

She looks like she's 70 on her show...so I'd say she's gray or worse, Grorange!

[FUNKMAN]

I thought this thread was about Kathy Griffin's cunt.

She looks like she's 70 on her show...so I'd say she's gray or worse, Grorange!

or rusty

[Gvac]

I really thought this thread was about UNICEF.

http://www.rose-hulman.edu/AlphaOmicronPi/Philanthropy/UNICEF/unicefBox.gif

[topless_mike]

the worst part about this is that there is some 17 year olds that spent all nite playing it and beat it already.

*sigh* what life would be like w/ no responsibilities.

[JustJon]

the worst part about this is that there is some 17 year olds that spent all nite playing it and beat it already.

*sigh* what life would be like w/ no responsibilities.

Well, it was released 3am on Steam, Eastern Time, so I couldn't even watch the opening before bed. But I know what I'm doing when I get home from work tonight.

[torker]

The Orange Box of Failure http://www.childabusemd.com/images/appendix-b-arrow.gif

[lleeder]

But I know what I'm doing when I get home from work tonight.

I guess jacking it. :innocent:

[HBox]

I just finished Episode Two. So awesome. I wish they could crank these out more quickly but the quality of Valve's games are unmatched. Team Fortress 2 rocks and I haven't even touched Portal yet, which has at least a tangential connection to Half-Life 2.

[sailor]

is half life any good?

[booster11373]

I just spent the last 2 hours playing Portal, it really cool definitely need to think outside the box to get through it. There is a creepy atmosphere to the game which adds to the fun

[CofyCrakCocaine]

Hexen wasn't Id, it was Raven. Great game, though.

Technically it was both Id and Raven. See? (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3d/Hexenbox.jpg) Hexen used the Doom Engine, developed by Id, and Id published the heretic series. I also bought Hexen on steam as part of the 'Id super pack':wink:. Granted, I do believe developers always deserve more credit for their games than publishers do, so good point.

[JustJon]

My rule of thumb is the game is made by the developers, so I credit them. Activision distributed Quake, but Id made it.

And I got in about an hour and a half of HL2:Ep2 last night, I quit when the first boss gets teased by smashing the wall.

To not ruin anything...
Watching Alyx get stabbed in the train yard was sick. I didn't realize how attached to the character I had gotten. I got so paranoid travelling by myself at first after that scene when you're travelling thru the abandoned building and entering the catacombs, and seeing the larva the first time. And the big battle in the area where the Vorn was healing Alyx was great.


Sailor, if you want a free copy of Half-Life 2, I can give you my extra copy from Steam tonight.

[Axem Red]

Looking forward to picking it up next week on 360! Been craving this way more than Halo.

[booster11373]

I finished Portal last night, I want more Portal

[Madrox]

<----old school TFC addict

If anyone has an extra copy of HL2 now that they've purchased the orange box, I'd appreciate getting a copy. Finally got a computer that can run it, and have heard nothing but great things in the few years since it's been released.

[djjd]

picked up my copy for the 360 yesterday

currently dividing my time replaying HL2 (played the original xbox version) and playing episode one and portal

will have to update my xbox live to try TF2

portal rules, hopefully they provide some additional maps in the future

[JustJon]

The Cake is a Lie


Finished Ep2 and ran thru Portal this weekend. Fun games. I need Ep3 to see how the story ends!

[Chimee]

Portal could be one of the greatest games ever made. Too bad it's so short, it could have been a standalone.

[Chigworthy]

I just played through the original Half Life, Opposing Force, and Blueshift again. Those games still hold up to this day.

[booster11373]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKg3TUPQ8Sg&eurl=http://www.primotechnology.com/2007/10/17/half-life-2-portal/


Someone figured how to get the portal gun into HL2, looks cool as hell gives a lot of new replay value if true

steps look a bit to complicated for me right now, how they make a more user freindly mod in the future

[Mangoat]

I put up a TF2 server at my work: 66.118.168.213

Let me know if you have any questions or comments about the server.

[JustJon]

Spoilerized for Portal ending discussion...

I played thru Portal over the weekend and saw somewhere last week that the ending ties into HL2. I saw the board room where Aperture is compared to Black Mesa, so obviously they are a competitor, but I thought I read last week that the main character of Portals somehow ties in to the HL2 storyline as does the ending.

The things that wake up around the cake at the end looked like the bombs from the helicopter, but I think they're more supposed to be the modules you destroyed in the final battle. And I would think you are killed in the final battle, so Gordon Freeman and Alyx can't run into the Portals character in Ep3.

So what is the connection supposed to be?

[Axem Red]

Adding to JustJon's portal ending thing.

I was thinking the way HL ep2 was going is that you would take the helicopter go to the ruins of the Aperture center in ep3 and grab the portal gun and use it more as a weapon paired with the gravity gun. Which will be bad ass if I'm right!

[JustJon]

Adding to JustJon's portal ending thing.

I was thinking the way HL ep2 was going is that you would take the helicopter go to the ruins of the Aperture center in ep3 and grab the portal gun and use it more as a weapon paired with the gravity gun. Which will be bad ass if I'm right!

Yeah, I kinda thought the Portal gun would appear in HL2:Ep3, but the interviews and whatnot made it sound like there was more of a tie-in

[Axem Red]

Yeah, I kinda thought the Portal gun would appear in HL2:Ep3, but the interviews and whatnot made it sound like there was more of a tie-in

I'm also thinking that when the Gman kept referring to "other parties" being interested in Gordon Freeman's "services" that he wasn't just talking about Breen, but also talking about the Aperture company. It seems like there are a lot of connections between the usage of portals and the way that the combine travel to earth and mentions of the portal storms.

[Kilgores Feet]

so is anyone playing TF2?

name: PatboyX is anyone is interested.

[DolaMight]

I just finished portal and was blown away by the ending. The humor of the "final boss" scene was genuinely funny and the rolling credits with the computer song was fantastic.

I haven't played through HL2 yet so I didn't get the tie-ins, but for entertainment value that was easily my favorite ending to a videogame ever. Just shows how far games have come vs movies. They have some talented writers.

Cake.

[CofyCrakCocaine]

I am hopelessly addicted to TF2, just like Mr.C. Anyone else addicted to this game? I play under name "John Matrix".

Portal is one of the most awesome games I've played. I love that creepy computer and the child-voiced sentry guns.

As for Portal's tie-ins to HL2, I just know that the big boat thing Eli wants you to destroy (in Episode 3 apparently) has the Aperture Science logo on it... beyond that I have no idea what the tie-ins could be.

[JustJon]

I still haven't played TF2, but I still think about how great Portal was. And that wonderful ending song.

[LordJezo]

Bethesda, the folks behind The Elder Scrolls Game, have come out with a Portal level. Everyone who has played it says it's quite great and is nice and challenging.

Grab it here:
http://bethblog.com/?p=336

[SeriouslySuprCJ]

The things that wake up around the cake at the end looked like the bombs from the helicopter, but I think they're more supposed to be the modules you destroyed in the final battle. And I would think you are killed in the final battle, so Gordon Freeman and Alyx can't run into the Portals character in Ep3.

I doubt Chelle (I do believe that's the main character's name) died at the end of Portal. Even if she was thrown from the Aperture Science Center, it's already been well established that she can survive long falls thanks to the crowbar-things on her feet.

I believe the center destroyed was not the same one that we will see in Half Life 2: Episode 3, though it is a possibility. There are some parts of the Science Center that I definitely believe could have been in a large ship.

As to the comment about the GMan mentioning other "interested parties," I don't think that was in relation to Aperture Science or even Breen. I think he was referring to other, yet unknown, cosmic beings. And, of course, the Vortigaunts.

Edit: Oh yeah, and those modules at the end of the game I definitely believe are just more pieces of GLaDoS, implying she isn't truly destroyed but I don't think it'll be important. How else could she sing the song if she wasn't destroyed?

[extracheese]

I was sent an "invite" and got to play free..HL2 and HL2 episode 1 from the Orange Box. Great stuff. Unfortuantly my computer cant handle PORTAL or TFC2. How do you people afford 2000 - 3000 computers?
and if you wanted to play CRYSIS with all the bells and whistles on a high setting...youd have to spend 4 - 5 thousand, because you must have a quad core and a pair of GF8800gt cards...at a grand a piece.

In the meantime i am a regualr play of the original TFC...and play constantly in Drippy/Jiggly/CHAOS servers.

that is until my CASE FAN arrives from DELL. Until then im forced to..ugh read books.

[SeriouslySuprCJ]

When I recently did a major upgrade of most of my computer (I think I ended up only keeping the sound card and the network card), it only cost $800. You don't have to spend much to have a computer that could run everything coming out right now and everything coming up in the next few years.

If you can play HL2 I don't see why you couldn't run Portal or TFC2. It's all the same engine.

[Chigworthy]

Since my computer sucks ballnuts, I played Portal: the flash version while all you rich bastards were enjoying the real thing.

http://portal.wecreatestuff.com/

It's a cool little flash platformer with the basic mechanics of the real Portal.

[HBox]

Half Life 2 (and all of the episodes, Portal and Team Fortress 2) is one of the easiest games to run on the market. It's very scalable. You're computer must be very old. Mine is 4 years old and runs it extremely well on decent settings.

[JustJon]

Since my computer sucks ballnuts, I played Portal: the flash version while all you rich bastards were enjoying the real thing.

http://portal.wecreatestuff.com/

It's a cool little flash platformer with the basic mechanics of the real Portal.

I've played the flash game. It's great.

[Chigworthy]

My computer is about 4 years old. I "borrowed" HL2 and it would freeze up every 30 seconds on the lowest settings. I have a P4 2.66 with a GeForce FX 5200, all new drivers. I think my hard drive maybe decaying.

[Chigworthy]

I've played the flash game. It's great.

Is it a fair "flash platformer" representation of the real thing?

[JustJon]

My computer is about 4 years old. I "borrowed" HL2 and it would freeze up every 30 seconds on the lowest settings. I have a P4 2.66 with a GeForce FX 5200, all new drivers. I think my hard drive maybe decaying.

My old machine was a P4 1.7Ghz with an ATI All In Wonder. Your machine should be fine for HL2.

Is it a fair "flash platformer" representation of the real thing?

fairly accurate.

[Chigworthy]

My old machine was a P4 1.7Ghz with an ATI All In Wonder. Your machine should be fine for HL2.


Do you think the whiny hard drive could be a problem?

[LordJezo]

When I recently did a major upgrade of most of my computer (I think I ended up only keeping the sound card and the network card), it only cost $800. You don't have to spend much to have a computer that could run everything coming out right now and everything coming up in the next few years.

If you can play HL2 I don't see why you couldn't run Portal or TFC2. It's all the same engine.

Yep, I agree with that. When I built my new PC earlier this year I put in a 6600 dual core Intel chip and a Geforce 8800 GTS. The whole build only cost me about $800.

I found another site with lots of Portal maps:
http://myaperturelabs.com/index.php

I also finally gave that Bethesda one a shot. It's fun but challenging. I am stuck in the part with the energy ball. Has anyone tried it yet?

[extracheese]

Very skilled to be able to build your own computer. To me the inside of a computer is more complicated that brain surgery. I had to read 10 different "how to" pages just to understand how to replace my chassis fan (coming from DELL in one week).

My P3 is a 1Gz model from 2000. The only saving grace is that i bought it with a RADEON 9700 Pro card inside so i can play Hl2 E1 on lowest settings ( with some freezing), but the specs for epside 1 and episode 2 are very different.

I will have to get a new computer in order to play the newest games, which i cant afford right now so i will play old games i missed. For instance i just borrowed PAINKILLER from a friend, and am playing that. Its no HL but its pretty good.

[Walt1028]

I just found this recently, I don't know how new it is but it is a mod for HL2 and the other games that are Source based. It is Golden Eye Source. It is pretty much the same Golden Eye game that was on the N64 just no single player, it is all multi player

http://dev.goldeneyesource.com/wiki/index.php/Installing_Client

[angrymissy]

I've had this through gamefly for almost a month and just started playing it. What a fucking awesome set of games. I'm going to keep it, it's worth it for portal alone.

[angrymissy]

Ok, this is hilarious if you've played the game

Grodon Freeman calls up Coast to Coast AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liKV4Ij8LtU

[HBox]

Ok, this is hilarious if you've played the game

Grodon Freeman calls up Coast to Coast AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liKV4Ij8LtU

Yeah, that's great. I really lost it at the subtle Portal references. I also posted that in the Youtube thread.

[Knowledged_one]

I believe that in Game Informer this month there is some kind of mod so that you can use the portal gun during the campaign

[Walt1028]

Yeah, this is the mod to use the portal gun in HL2

http://www.primotechnology.com/2007/10/17/half-life-2-portal/

[LordJezo]

JustJon (and everyone else):

What is your Steam ID?

I need more friends on my friends list.