Xtreme2damax Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 About two or so years ago when the console versions of Half-Life 2 and the episodic content was released, Valve promised their loyal PC gaming community and fanbase which has supported them for years, an optional update would be released for the PC version of Half-Life 2 in order to bring it up to the quality of the console version. Here we are still, about a few years later and still no update or news of an update. I and many owners of a copy of Half-Life 2 are left in the dark and wondering what happened. It's useless trying to ask on the Valve/Steam forum, as you will be bombarded by Valve fanboys and the thread would likely be closed by one of the moderators. Has anyone got anywhere with finding out any information besides the auto-response emails that are usually sent back to you when you try to email them? Is there any hope left for an update for the PC version, or did they abandon any plans they had for a PC update for Half-Life 2? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InterceptorX Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 I would just forget about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yusuf M. Veteran Posted December 11, 2009 Veteran Share Posted December 11, 2009 It simply isn't a priority for Valve. Half-Life 2 is an old game that's single-player only. A game like Day of Defeat: Source, which is MP-only, was ported to the "Orange Box" engine. They also added a new map and 51 achievements. By the way, this was in May 2008. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nagisan Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 I never really followed Valve on the whole HL2 scene, but I have never heard of this update period until this thread right here. Do you mind supplying some info on when/what they stated? I personally didn't even remember the console versions getting a higher quality HL2, I thought it all ran on the same engine (other than EP2 running on the orange box engine and what not). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yusuf M. Veteran Posted December 11, 2009 Veteran Share Posted December 11, 2009 I never really followed Valve on the whole HL2 scene, but I have never heard of this update period until this thread right here. Do you mind supplying some info on when/what they stated? I personally didn't even remember the console versions getting a higher quality HL2, I thought it all ran on the same engine (other than EP2 running on the orange box engine and what not). All the Orange Box games (Portal, TF2, HL2 + episodes) ran on the updated Source engine (at the time of release). This is only for the console version though. The PC version didn't update HL2 and Ep1 to the "Orange Box" engine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xtreme2damax Posted December 11, 2009 Author Share Posted December 11, 2009 Console versions were done on the orange box engine which has HDR and better shadows. The owners of the PC version of Half Life 2 asked if and when they would get an update to bring it up to the quality of the console ports. Valve stated they were planning on releasing an optional update for the PC version of Half-Life 2. It was only going to be optional because not everyone has powerful enough hardware to support rendering features such as HDR and shadows. I thought it was a couple years ago this was stated, apparently it was only last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nagisan Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 All the Orange Box games (Portal, TF2, HL2 + episodes) ran on the updated Source engine (at the time of release). This is only for the console version though. The PC version didn't update HL2 and Ep1 to the "Orange Box" engine. I do not have side-by-side comparison but I never noticed a quality difference between HL2 and HL2:Ep2. :blink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yusuf M. Veteran Posted December 11, 2009 Veteran Share Posted December 11, 2009 I do not have side-by-side comparison but I never noticed a quality difference between HL2 and HL2:Ep2. :blink: If you ever get a chance to play it again (on a console), load up HL2 and move around. You should notice motion blur which isn't in the PC version. Also, turn on your flashlight and shine it on a fence or object. It should cast a dynamic shadow which, too, isn't in the PC version. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozgeek Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 Once a game is released, it can't be modified. Updating the engine of HL2 to the OB's is a resources heavy job and besides, who still plays HL2 vanilla. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nagisan Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 If you ever get a chance to play it again (on a console), load up HL2 and move around. You should notice motion blur which isn't in the PC version. Also, turn on your flashlight and shine it on a fence or object. It should cast a dynamic shadow which, too, isn't in the PC version. Don't have the console version so I can't really compare it that way, but I have found this: Episode Two actually started simultaneously with Episode One. Robin Walker's heading up Episode One development, and David Spiros is heading up another team doing Episode Two. Basically Ep1 and Ep2 use the same technology, so the only thing they would to update would be HL2 (the original). I am honestly surprised they did that for consoles and not the PC version, they have their roots in PC games (mostly, at least), it could have something to do with lack of implementation methods. With the console, depending on how much they had to rewrite for it to work on consoles it would have been fairly easy. With the PC version though, they would have to provide an optional download (if they went that route) which would be difficult for the normal use to find, and would just be a bad way of doing it in general (would they release a "mod" which runs HL2 on a new graphics engine, or would they have a separate OPTIONAL download which updates the original HL2 game, something that has never been done for Valve games yet). The best way they could do it would be to release HL2: Enhanced or something, free to anyone with HL2, which runs on the newer engine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LOC Veteran Posted December 11, 2009 Veteran Share Posted December 11, 2009 Not to mention the supposed switch to the Orange Box version of Source for Counter-Strike Source that has never materialized. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamawesomewicked Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 Umm.. the PC version of Half Life 2 looks 10x better than the Xbox 360/PS3 version, I dunno what you're talking about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_c_b Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 Once a game is released, it can't be modified. :rolleyes: Valve did promise this and did not deliver, just as they promised better support for TF2 on Live and only sporadically delivered. And let's not get into L4D. The bigger Valve gets the more detached they get from the fans who supported them first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s1k3sT Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 I love valve's games but if they can't follow through on their promises maybe they are spreading themselves too thin... Maybe seperating valve and steam is a good idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LOC Veteran Posted December 11, 2009 Veteran Share Posted December 11, 2009 :rolleyes: Valve did promise this and did not deliver, just as they promised better support for TF2 on Live and only sporadically delivered. And let's not get into L4D. The bigger Valve gets the more detached they get from the fans who supported them first. That has nothing to do with the PC versions of their games though. Valve doesn't control the Live situation, Microsoft does. Both TF2 and L4D suffered because of that. TF2 and L4D both get updated on the PC quite a bit (especially TF2). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raa Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 When haven't Valve over promised and under delivered? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozgeek Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 They didn't promise. They said they WOULD but that doesn't mean they will. It all depends on the situation of the game involved. Things can't go the right way. This is like saying: Lets switch HL to the HL2 engine. (well they did but not proplerly). Or lets change Call of Duty 1 so it uses the same engine as MW2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LOC Veteran Posted December 11, 2009 Veteran Share Posted December 11, 2009 They didn't promise. They said they WOULD but that doesn't mean they will. It all depends on the situation of the game involved. Things can't go the right way.This is like saying: Lets switch HL to the HL2 engine. (well they did but not proplerly). Or lets change Call of Duty 1 so it uses the same engine as MW2. But Call of Duty 1 does use the same engine as MW2 :) (Where are you Sethos? :D) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Decryptor Veteran Posted December 11, 2009 Veteran Share Posted December 11, 2009 I always thought this was more of a "we'll see about doing it" rather than "we're going to do it" HL2 and EP1 on the EP2 engine would be nice, but it would also involve a lot of work and updating content. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LOC Veteran Posted December 11, 2009 Veteran Share Posted December 11, 2009 I always thought this was more of a "we'll see about doing it" rather than "we're going to do it"HL2 and EP1 on the EP2 engine would be nice, but it would also involve a lot of work and updating content. I thought this also. I thought the CSS ---> OB switch was more a priority as well. Who knows with Valve, they are sneaky buggers lately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozgeek Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 But Call of Duty 1 does use the same engine as MW2 :) (Where are you Sethos? :D) Really? COD1 looks very out-dated compared to MW2. Remember HL2 is a very old game. Valve's looking forward, not backwards. Making new games, not remaking games that actually still works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LOC Veteran Posted December 11, 2009 Veteran Share Posted December 11, 2009 Call of Duty 1 used the Quake 3 engine as I'm sure you know, and Infinity Ward continues to use that engine, though as Sethos will point out it's been gutted and changed quite a bit. I still call it the Quake 3 engine though :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Decryptor Veteran Posted December 11, 2009 Veteran Share Posted December 11, 2009 I thought this also. I thought the CSS ---> OB switch was more a priority as well. Who knows with Valve, they are sneaky buggers lately. Yeah, I think if it's going to happen, it'll happen after CS:S is ported, DoD:S was a test really. The OB engine has absolutely no DX7 support, and Valve knows what most Steam users are running vs. what games they have, so they would know how many Steam users with HL2 have it installed and set to run in DX7 mode. Edit: People with DX7 hardware accounts for a very small percentage of Steam users, but that doesn't mean people on DX9 cards and such also won't run in DX7 to get the 200fps or whatever they want. And the percentage is in total, so it may very well be possible that a majority of the people running a certain game still run it on that hardware, I know I haven't played HL2 for years, last time I did I had a DX7 card, now I have a DX10 card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LOC Veteran Posted December 11, 2009 Veteran Share Posted December 11, 2009 Yeah, I think if it's going to happen, it'll happen after CS:S is ported, DoD:S was a test really.The OB engine has absolutely no DX7 support, and Valve knows what most Steam users are running vs. what games they have, so they would know how many Steam users with HL2 have it installed and set to run in DX7 mode. Edit: People with DX7 hardware accounts for a very small percentage of Steam users, but that doesn't mean people on DX9 cards and such also won't run in DX7 to get the 200fps or whatever they want. And the percentage is in total, so it may very well be possible that a majority of the people running a certain game still run it on that hardware, I know I haven't played HL2 for years, last time I did I had a DX7 card, now I have a DX10 card. This. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xerxes Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 Simple they won't. They usually don't update the original game but rather just release the next episode on an updated version of the game engine. The console version was updated because I believe HL2 was release with both episodes as a bundle wasn't it? if they left HL2 "as is" console owners would of bitched and moaned about it how HL2 looks crapper then the episodes, so in a sense they were forced to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts