Half-Life 2 is out!!!

[BustaMike]

Not a bad theory. I wish that there were some resource that explains exactly what's going on.

On an unrelated note, have you guys seen it when the snipers start shooting down birds? It's awesome.

[Maquiladora]

Would you say its more demanding than Doom 3? Most of the time I could play Doom 3 at 20-30fps, which isnt worth it.

[Guynemer]

God damn, this game is FUN.

The airboat sequence was terrific; most fun I had had in a long time.

And then I hit Ravenholm.

Ho. Ly. Crap.

How I love to use the gravity gun to fling circular saws around.

And that priest is crazier than hell.

Those jumping-running-screeching headcrab-zombies scare the bejeezus outta me.

[Kassiopeia]

They do surprisingly little damage, though, but heck, the SOUND they make... I've heard it somewhere before. It's definitely a stock sound, but god damn is it freaky.

[laurentius]

Originally posted by Comrade Tassadar
Russian

[FrostyBoy]

Originally posted by BustaMike
I would give the edge in lighting effects slightly to Doom 3. That's the only edge it gets. Otherwise, there is no comparison in any aspect of the game. HL2 surpasses it in every other way.

Funny Half-Life Moment
There's a part in the driving section where you have to get some batteries to open a door. Well, 2 of the batteries are right there, but the other is waaaaay up on some platform that you can't reach. So, I took a barrel and lobbed it up there. It hit the bottom of the platform and sent the battery shooting up in the air. Like a dumbass, I watched it the whole time, until it hit me square in the face and took off 10 health .

rofl

I didn't know there was a battery up there. I found my 3rd battery under the bathtub

[Guynemer]

Did anyone else get a good laugh out of the Vortigaunts in chef's hats at Eli's base?

[MattH]

Yeah, that cracked me up. Those vortigons....

[Kassiopeia]

The whole scene in the elevator was neat. The chef's hats were the ones that took the cake, yes, but it was cool to see them practice their zaps in that one floor, too.

I also thought the teleportation scene was hilarious and brilliant at the same time. First you show up in BREEN'S OFFICE and give the man a surprise he'll never forget. Then you appear behind that other scientist on the balcony - "Where did Gordon go now?" he exclaims - "Right behind you!" Eli shouts on the screen. And then you go back to Breen's office - "and I could swear the man in my office was" Breen turns around and looks at me "GORDON FREEMAN!"

[Solver]

The game definitely takes place on Earth. And while City 17 is a fictional Eastern European city Valve made up, if it was real, it would be in Estonia.

Snoopy, I did also have shadows in Doom3 that weren't completely black. Have to tweak something. Only the game gets too frigging slow. In fact, in Doom3, in some places the lighting and shadowing worked in such a way that I had a very weird sensation as if the place is real... mind tricks. In HL2, dynamic lighting seems weak.

But overall, I love how the things HL2 pictures are realistic. It's a very beautiful looking, great game.

And on the airboat sequence... yeah, whoah. I especially love the part when you drive full speed, and there's this copter chasing you, and you see ripples on water created by the wind from copter.

[Kassiopeia]

I was climbing down from a guard tower after opening one of the many gates when I saw the helo lower down to the water, looking for me, and that was when I saw the ripples. "Oooooooh."

[Asher]

Originally posted by Sn00py
Hmm.. I'm not sure about Doom 3's lighting. Many a time I came across lighting that just looked like fake lighting effects.

Half Life 2's lighting effects seem much more refined.
When I picked up one of those blades with the Gravity Gun and fired the blade into a wall, it would cast a long shadow against the wall leading down to a small shadow on the floor, accurately casting the correct shape of the blade. Most of Doom 3's shadows were completely black, but most of HL2's shadows are transparent, which is far more realistic.

The only thing Doom 3 really has going for it is its fear factor, but I didn't find that very fun.

HL2's lighting is very much inferior to DOOM 3's. You can't even shoot out lights in HL2, which is something I've become used to in most FPS now.

[ZargonX]

HL2's lighting is very much inferior to DOOM 3's. You can't even shoot out lights in HL2, which is something I've become used to in most FPS now.

I think, in this case, it was a question of utility: why add extra processing power and programming to let the player shoot out lights when it doesn't affect the game anyway? It isn't a stealth game, so sneaking around in the shadows is useless.

[Asher]

Originally posted by ZargonX
I think, in this case, it was a question of utility: why add extra processing power and programming to let the player shoot out lights when it doesn't affect the game anyway? It isn't a stealth game, so sneaking around in the shadows is useless.

The whole game is about being immersive and impressive. When I have a big firefight in a room, and lights are hit and go out...it's impressive.

I know it's not a stealth game, but I think the possibility to shoot out lights is cool.

I know they couldn't do it because they're doing it on a much larger scale (which modern video cards can't do dynamic lighting well with), but the fact remains that DOOM3's lighting is way more advanced than HL2's is.

HL uses lightmaps most of the time, something that's been around since Quake2(?)...

[Solver]

The whole game is about being immersive and impressive. When I have a big firefight in a room, and lights are hit and go out...it's impressive.

Which is one of the things making HL2 great. No, not lights going out, which they don't. But it's how I have had firefights where bullets hit wooden objects, they break, or better yet, grenades throw stuff in all directions, and so on. No more battles are something where you fight enemies in a room that is static or with a movable object or two at best.