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I remember when steam first released you could start hl1 before it was finished downloading. That was neat. I think they ripped out support for that though...
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Nov 19, 2020 17:33
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The problem with HL2 is that every part of it goes on just a bit too long to be comfortable
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Nov 19, 2020 17:44
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al-azad posted:People bemoan Highway 17 more than On A Rail but the feeling of loneliness and despair I got at comprehending the Combine's total destruction of civilization and perversion of Earth's fauna extending far beyond the cordoned cities was unlike any other video game until STALKER a few years later. Hell yeah. It’s by far my favorite part of HL2 and the feeling I got while playing through those sections for the first time will stick with me forever. STALKER was a different sort of vibe altogether for me. Whereas Highway 17 felt really beautiful to me (given I’m still fond of the look of the game engine), STALKER is so devoid of anything nice or comforting, even the music is haunting. The song that plays on the second STALKER’s main menu is really soul sucking, to the point that I’ve often went to start a playthough and not make it past the menu as it really puts me down. STALKER as a whole gives me that same vibe, and along with being connected to some hard times when I was younger, is an oddly emotional experience for me.
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Nov 19, 2020 19:08
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haveblue posted:The problem with HL2 is that every part of it goes on just a bit too long to be comfortable I've talked about it quite a bit whenever the opportunity arises, but my biggest gripe with HL2 is that the final product just falls depressingly short of its potential, in my opinion--especially when compared to the cut concepts and HL1. The lion's share of HL2 involves fighting Combine Troops with the well-tread pistol-Shotgun-SMG trifecta. The gravity gun stands front-and-center as the "sci fi" component of combat, but even in 2004 I recall getting worn out on the novelty of its operation; smashing some dude with an entire toilet always felt satisfying, but most of the time you're actually launching crates and bits of junk at them. Conversely, the Combine pulse rifle is punchy and "alien" looking, but holds hardly any ammo and runs dry extremely fast. I know that, often times, the coolest ideas end up as cut content because they just wouldn't work in practical application--for instance, the ethereal "Hydra" enemy. But it's hard to sift through the pieces on the cutting room floor and not wonder why we ultimately ended up with a shooter where you're fighting soldiers in buildings with a dumb-looking submachine gun, and not reaching deeper into an arsenal of sci-fi weaponry to wage a guerilla war against bizarre synth shocktroopers as gangly hybrid humanoids immolate the remains and the wastelands teem with all manner of strange alien species. "The oceans are infested with leeches" they say as a few of them bite at you to prevent you from swimming out too far. "Oh no look out, it's an Ichthyosaur!" they shout as it vanishes, never to be seen again. "A veritable zoo alien life poured out of these massive portals and took over the local ecosystem" as you deal with...well, barnacles and antlions, basically. Cream-of-Plenty fucked around with this message at 20:12 on Nov 19, 2020 |
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Nov 19, 2020 20:08
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That's a good point and probably the reason the Citadel works so much better than Xen did- you spend the whole game waiting and hoping for it to live up to the promise of something truly alien intruding.
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Nov 19, 2020 20:30
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Al Cu Ad Solte posted:It's Half-Life's birthday. Say something nice about him. Possibly my favorite FPS singleplayer ever, in terms of what was released in the box (no custom maps).
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Nov 19, 2020 20:58
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The Kins posted:For some inexplicable reason, the bad BUILD Engine DOS version of Powerslave is now on GOG. Ooh, neat! It may not be the PS/Sat version, but I was always intrigued. Played a bit of an abandonware copy ages ago but the strafe speed was hilariously slow. It's got limited support in Raze, right? Does Raze fix the strafe speed too?
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Nov 19, 2020 22:24
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haveblue posted:The problem with HL2 is that every part of it goes on just a bit too long to be comfortable Cream-of-Plenty posted:I've talked about it quite a bit whenever the opportunity arises, but my biggest gripe with HL2 is that the final product just falls depressingly short of its potential, in my opinion--especially when compared to the cut concepts and HL1. The lion's share of HL2 involves fighting Combine Troops with the well-tread pistol-Shotgun-SMG trifecta. The gravity gun stands front-and-center as the "sci fi" component of combat, but even in 2004 I recall getting worn out on the novelty of its operation; smashing some dude with an entire toilet always felt satisfying, but most of the time you're actually launching crates and bits of junk at them. Conversely, the Combine pulse rifle is punchy and "alien" looking, but holds hardly any ammo and runs dry extremely fast. Several of the HL2 locations seemed to ape those moments of solitude, of lonely exploration in a unknown and dangerous environment that HL1 had, but... something was missing. It felt a bit off. Also like haveblue said, each part was a bit too long. Similarly, I thought Gordon Freeman being mute felt off, when it wasn't a problem in HL1. But in HL2 they put more npcs talking and acting around, more non-combat scenes with named characters, and things happen in front of you, and it felt so weird you couldn't talk or react... Already in 2004 I never totally got the hype for the g-gun, because taking some metal object that would clash all around and then throwing to an enemy (blinding you while you hold it) was just clunky, and less visceral that shooting immediately with a shotgun. The exception were the explosive barrels of course. It felt a gimmick then, and years later I can affirm myself in that opinion. The same with puzzles, the physics puzzles were a novelty but they were so basic that instead of adding to the game, they were clearly just a gimmick of playing around with what was then a novel feature. They didn't have some decent puzzles until Ep 2.
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Nov 19, 2020 22:47
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I respectfully disagree and think that Half life 1 really hasn't aged well at all. The platforming alone is a headache, and I don't think the shooting mechanics feel great in 2020. For me, Half life 2 is all about how vibrant City 17 feels, and that goes a long long way for me
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Nov 19, 2020 22:49
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All the enemies in HL1, especially the marines, feel really bullet spongey to me. I feel like thats something 2 improved on. 1 also felt like it was easier to get stuck in and have no idea where to go next. 2 was the reason I first got a gaming PC though and I've replayed it a lot more recently than 1 so I am probably biased.
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Nov 19, 2020 22:56
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Narcissus1916 posted:I respectfully disagree and think that Half life 1 really hasn't aged well at all. The platforming alone is a headache, and I don't think the shooting mechanics feel great in 2020. I feel the game and always preferred 2, that’s why I’m excited to get to Black Mesa soon.
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Nov 19, 2020 22:57
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Gravity gun combat was great and is still great. Ripping a radiator off of a wall and flinging it at a shock-troop, it slamming into him and crushing him against a wall was chunky and fun combat. Sure there were less effective things to use everywhere, but there were also bricks, tyres and barrels too and it generally one shotted everything apart from the ant lion king thing.
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Nov 19, 2020 23:10
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The secret to HL1 is to remember it's a tarted up Quake game and you should really leave auto-aim on. That's the magic of the combat. Things feel less spongey when I'm just pointing in the general direction and holding down the button.
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Nov 19, 2020 23:25
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The marines are the best though.
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Nov 19, 2020 23:41
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Someone managed to do a single-segment UVmax run of the Doom WAD Sunlust: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcXHg-Wu36A That's certainly an achievement, considering that the WAD has a reputation of being rather difficult.
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Nov 19, 2020 23:51
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Groovelord Neato posted:The marines are the best though. https://youtu.be/9DKwJ-yxQpQ
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Nov 19, 2020 23:57
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I think the that bugs me the most in HL2 is where the grenades go on the MP7. Are we supposed to believe that the bullets and grenades come out the same barrel?? I really hope someone got fired for that blunder
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Nov 20, 2020 00:01
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Another positive for HL1, it sounds like no other video game. It's like they cranked the reverb up to 11 and never turned it down so footsteps echo like thunder and marine voice chat sounds like Satan speaking through a cheap walkie talkie.
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Nov 20, 2020 00:04
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The sound design is so goddamn good in HL1 its crazy I can hear every loving noise is my head clear as day
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Nov 20, 2020 00:08
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Carpator Diei posted:Someone managed to do a single-segment UVmax run of the Doom WAD Sunlust: haha what the gently caress
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Nov 20, 2020 00:26
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Carpator Diei posted:Someone managed to do a single-segment UVmax run of the Doom WAD Sunlust: Why does his plasma rifle sound so different? at 4:42 for example. Is it a map thing or am I out of the loop in regards to a 'fixed' sfx for the plasrifle?
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Nov 20, 2020 00:50
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al-azad posted:Half-Life 2 hasn't aged spectacularly well but it's still a masterclass in environment design and art design in an era where people were like "bloom and specular maps automatically make better graphics!" People bemoan Highway 17 more than On A Rail but the feeling of loneliness and despair I got at comprehending the Combine's total destruction of civilization and perversion of Earth's fauna extending far beyond the cordoned cities was unlike any other video game until STALKER a few years later. I felt the same way about that segment. You can see the ocean has receded, rusted out boats and wrecks sitting around unused, no sign of human life- its desolate, sad, and conveys that the earth itself is changing and humanity is clearly on the way out here. Even city 17 isn’t very crowded, and there are voiceovers addressing the fact people can’t reproduce anymore. I think people didn’t like it because most games are pretty desolate looking and lonely just by happenstance, so the contrast doesn’t stick out as much unless you actually stop and look around in HL2. It’s great though.
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Nov 20, 2020 00:59
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Serephina posted:Why does his plasma rifle sound so different? at 4:42 for example. Is it a map thing or am I out of the loop in regards to a 'fixed' sfx for the plasrifle? Was going to guess Perk's hd sfx mod, but looking at the vid it's not that. Maybe just a little mod to make the plasma sound less annoying? Anything to stay sane over 1000 attempts I guess
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Nov 20, 2020 01:16
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I liked the Gravity Gun through Half-Life 2, but I was kinda sick of it by the Episodes. Part of the problem I feel is that it really replaces the crowbar, but the crowbar is both satisfying and iconic enough that eventually I was thinking I just wanted to bust it out instead. Ravenholm is still great, the first half is an amazing Gravity Gun playground where it really shines, but beyond that I'm iffier on it now than I used to be, for sure.Carpator Diei posted:Someone managed to do a single-segment UVmax run of the Doom WAD Sunlust: Good lord. That's impressive! It kicked my rear end a lot on HMP and I was playing with Final Doomer's BtSX set.
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Nov 20, 2020 03:20
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catlord posted:Ooh, neat! It may not be the PS/Sat version, but I was always intrigued. Played a bit of an abandonware copy ages ago but the strafe speed was hilariously slow. It's got limited support in Raze, right? Does Raze fix the strafe speed too? As for the PSX/Saturn version... https://twitter.com/pripyatbeast/status/1329634152002449408 The Kins fucked around with this message at 06:12 on Nov 20, 2020 |
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Nov 20, 2020 06:03
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Gonna stan for PC Exhumed. It's an above average 2.5d shooter with a pretty distinct weapon set and most of the level design is pretty good save for a few irritating maze sequences. It's better than Redneck Rampage, if not it's expansion.
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Nov 20, 2020 06:12
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The Kins posted:PCExhumed is the source port of choice for... the PC version of Exhumed. Raze incorporates it, or tries to, but it's been bugged to poo poo in a variety of entertaining ways for quite a while so for now you're best off going straight to the source. Thanks! I expect it'll be a bit before I get around to it though, so maybe by then Raze'll have figured it out.
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Nov 20, 2020 06:17
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Turin Turambar posted:By the way, I thought HL2 Ep 1 was very good, I never know why it was ignored by most people. I thought Ep 1 was super good, and Ep 2 was actually pretty bad. Cream-of-Plenty posted:Oh my god, I know it wasn’t well-received (and so it’s just par for the course) but 2014’s Thief had these in spades: The narrow passages where you had to mash a button to move a wooden beam, and the windows you had to jimmy open with a pry bar by rapidly mashing a button. They were everywhere. Even as someone who doesn't outright loathe that game, what was especially bad was that some openings were on the border of the map chunk so 80% of windows would require the QTE for no real reason* and then 20% would instantly shunt you through a loading screen without any real indication of which was which. Wouldn't be surprised if the map got overhauled halfway through production when they realized they couldn't just stream everything dynamically without red ringing an Xbox. *An argument can be made that they're a cheap way to increase tension in stealth and reduce your ability to just nope out of the AI's probably busted, limited perception. The Arkham games are also lousy with vents that take Batman ages to pry open and they usually cluster around stealth arenas. Turin Turambar posted:They didn't have some decent puzzles until Ep 2. The very first physics puzzle in HL2 is a basic see-saw puzzle. The much-hyped "biggest physics puzzle ever" in Ep 2 is...a basic see-saw puzzle. dracula vladdy AF posted:I think the that bugs me the most in HL2 is where the grenades go on the MP7. Are we supposed to believe that the bullets and grenades come out the same barrel?? I really hope someone got fired for that blunder It has two barrels! Of course, they're the exact same size so...
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Nov 20, 2020 09:44
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Serephina posted:Why does his plasma rifle sound so different? at 4:42 for example. Is it a map thing or am I out of the loop in regards to a 'fixed' sfx for the plasrifle?
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Nov 20, 2020 14:37
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John Murdoch posted:Even as someone who doesn't outright loathe that game, what was especially bad was that some openings were on the border of the map chunk so 80% of windows would require the QTE for no real reason* and then 20% would instantly shunt you through a loading screen without any real indication of which was which. Wouldn't be surprised if the map got overhauled halfway through production when they realized they couldn't just stream everything dynamically without red ringing an Xbox. Yes. I'm in the same boat: I bought the game for like $5 and played it during Shelter-in-Place and didn't end up hating it, but my god--mash, mash, mash, window open...mash mash mash, window open, mash mash mash, wooden beam moved...
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Nov 20, 2020 15:19
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If anyone is still really sad about XIII being bad and Fallen Aces being delayed, Slasher's Keep just got released from Early Access today. It looks very cool.
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Nov 20, 2020 15:28
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verbal enema posted:The sound design is so goddamn good in HL1 its crazy It blows my mind Valve never made a VOX announcer for Dota. Groovelord Neato fucked around with this message at 17:01 on Nov 20, 2020 |
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Nov 20, 2020 16:17
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Cream-of-Plenty posted:Yes. I'm in the same boat: I bought the game for like $5 and played it during Shelter-in-Place and didn't end up hating it, but my god--mash, mash, mash, window open...mash mash mash, window open, mash mash mash, wooden beam moved... The point where I started to dislike a few of the main writers at rock paper shotgun was when one of them really liked the Thief reboot.
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Nov 20, 2020 16:19
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verbal enema posted:The sound design is so goddamn good in HL1 its crazy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzBRbWtUL08
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Nov 20, 2020 16:39
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verbal enema posted:The sound design is so goddamn good in HL1 its crazy *FKKKK* ZHOOM ZHOOM ZHOOM ZHOOM
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Nov 20, 2020 16:53
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Rob Rockley posted:I felt the same way about that segment. You can see the ocean has receded, rusted out boats and wrecks sitting around unused, no sign of human life- its desolate, sad, and conveys that the earth itself is changing and humanity is clearly on the way out here. Even city 17 isn’t very crowded, and there are voiceovers addressing the fact people can’t reproduce anymore. Carpator Diei posted:Someone managed to do a single-segment UVmax run of the Doom WAD Sunlust:  just watching bits of that gave me a shudder. I suck noodles so take it with a grain of salt, but Sunlust was like putting my nuts in sawdust and army ants... in a good way. Well until like map 20-something. I went until I just couldn't. Seeing someone single-segment that is just loving nuts.
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Nov 20, 2020 17:35
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Congratulations gaben on becoming the first person to unlock Little Rocket Man in real life
haveblue fucked around with this message at 18:33 on Nov 20, 2020 |
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Nov 20, 2020 18:10
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God gently caress that achievement, I always lose the gnome during the helicopter chase.
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Nov 20, 2020 19:05
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Keiya posted:God gently caress that achievement, I always lose the gnome during the helicopter chase. My friend and I were doing it on the hardest difficulty and were right near the end and when we dropped it at one point it clipped through a wall.
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Nov 20, 2020 19:21
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The Powerslave EX dream isn't dead yet: https://twitter.com/ThrowbackCorp/status/1329889365447897091
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Nov 21, 2020 03:51
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