this post was submitted on 15 Nov 2024
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Bonus: it also seems that the episodes have been rolled into the base game. Full details of the anniversary update.

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[–] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 124 points 6 days ago (6 children)

Cool, but I already bought it like 20 years ago and still have it on steam

[–] goldteeth@lemmy.dbzer0.com 79 points 6 days ago (2 children)

...Think it's too late to get a refund?

[–] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 18 points 6 days ago (1 children)

They didn't even do refunds back then

[–] Crackhappy@lemmy.world 21 points 6 days ago

So you're saying there's a chance...

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[–] Flamekebab@piefed.social 49 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Ye gods, 18 years, 4 months for mine. You'd hope that they'd just automatically stop asking if I'm old enough to view store pages, right?

[–] dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 40 points 6 days ago

My account is so old I have (or had, before they normalized the format) a four digit steam ID. I "owned" Half Life 2 for like four months before it released thanks to getting a code free in the box with my Radeon 9800 Pro back in the day. For a short and glorious flash of time in the summer of 2004, I was guaranteed a copy of the most hotly anticipated game ever, even though nobody could play it yet, and also owned an example of the fastest video card on the planet. Damned if I didn't mow a fuckton of lawns and reinstall Windows and Outlook an a horde of septuagenarians' computers to afford that card.

And no, they do not stop asking about your age.

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[–] FilthyHands@sh.itjust.works 24 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (5 children)

My steam account just turned 20. Fugggggg

edit: just double checked... 21 years of service.

i'm old

[–] naticus@lemmy.world 10 points 6 days ago

Oh hell, mine too back in August. Guess I'll have to take it out drinking next year.

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[–] NOT_RICK@lemmy.world 13 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Originally played on orange box on the 360, I’m surprised I didn’t already have it on steam. Glad I stumbled on this post

[–] Sludgehammer@lemmy.world 15 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Holy crap, someone who actually didn't have it yet!

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[–] umbraroze@lemmy.world 5 points 6 days ago

[old woman memories mode]

I remember registering my CD key of HL1 on Steam and was surprised when they gave me the expansions for free. Cool, because I didn't have them.

I remember buying The Orange Box on Steam. I remember it because Steam gave me a warning because I already had Portal - it was free at some point. Was a bit miffed when TF2 went free to play later on.

And I somehow still haven't played HL2 on Steam, I think? I played it about 1/3 way on Xbox 360. Played the shit out of Portal on 360 though.

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[–] dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 113 points 6 days ago (10 children)

Neat, but.

Even HL: Alyx left us with just as much of a cliffhanger as the end of HL2 Episode 2...

[–] Grandwolf319@sh.itjust.works 42 points 6 days ago (1 children)

“Best I can do I more cliffhangers”

-valve probably

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[–] Grandwolf319@sh.itjust.works 48 points 6 days ago

Ah, this is why I come to lemmy.

Thank you kind user!

[–] missingno@fedia.io 45 points 6 days ago (6 children)

This new edition concludes the Half-Life 2 development story, with never-before-seen concept art from Episode One and Episode Two, along with ideas and experiments for the third episode that never came to be.

Not that it should be a surprise to anyone, but is this the first time Valve has openly admitted that Episode 3 is officially cancelled?

[–] Kingofthezyx@lemm.ee 23 points 6 days ago (2 children)

from Episode One and Episode Two, along with ideas and experiments for the third episode that never came to be.

Emphasis mine. They mean HL2 Ep 3 was planned and canceled. Not HL3.

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[–] BlemboTheThird@lemmy.ca 20 points 6 days ago

They've admitted to cancelling ideas before, getting to various stages of production before going back to the drawing board, but always (and appear to still) insist that it is in development on some level. That's why Newell's responses to questions about hl3 are usually some form of "we have nothing new to share." Valve doesn't like sharing until they're in the final stages of development, and hl3 has never made it that far.

[–] silverchase@sh.itjust.works 13 points 6 days ago

They have mentioned before that they gave up on episodic development, which tacitly ditches Episode 3. The episodes ended up not being that much easier or faster to make and in a time when PC games in retail was still kind of relevant, it was a pain to make, distribute, and get shelf space for.

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[–] lolrightythen@lemmy.world 32 points 6 days ago (2 children)
[–] Janovich@lemmy.world 52 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Finally Alf-Life 2. I was going we’d get a sequel for our cat eating alien roommate.

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[–] M137@lemmy.world 5 points 5 days ago

Vann here's what it shows on sync for lemmy:

I can only agree.

[–] PanArab@lemm.ee 20 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Thanks good fellow. I never actually played it before.

[–] A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world 14 points 6 days ago (6 children)

is real good. and stands up too. still as good today as it was 20 years ago.

except the bridge level.

Fuck the bridge level.

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[–] pikmeir@lemmy.world 30 points 6 days ago (15 children)

Never played any of these before. Do I start with this one or would I need 1?

[–] Romkslrqusz@lemm.ee 44 points 6 days ago (3 children)

In terms of storyline, it doesn’t really matter too much.

I still think you should play through the first one. If you need something that feels less 1998, Black Mesa is a remake of the original Half Life and it is very fun.

[–] MacNCheezus@lemmy.today 18 points 6 days ago

FYI, Black Mesa is currently on sale for $4.99, absolute steal at that price.

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[–] Masta_Chief@lemmy.world 32 points 6 days ago (8 children)

Imo the best enjoyment to time ratio is:

  1. Black Mesa (the Xen level at the end was redone and extended compared to in HL1 and it's cool but if it starts to drag just move on)

  2. HL2 (main game)

  3. HL2: EP1 start it but maybe skip and watch a playthrough if you get bored

  4. HL2: EP2

  5. HL Alyx, if you can play it on a decent headset. DO NOT MOD IT TO PLAY IT WITH MOUSE/KB it will be extremely boring since it's designed for VR

Have fun, there's simply nothing else like Half-Life games

[–] westyvw@lemm.ee 8 points 6 days ago (2 children)

I disagree. Black Mesa is Black Mesa. It is no Half Life 1. The atmosphere in one is completely lost with Black Mesa. Start with Half Life and play to Alyx. Go back to Mesa for a second way to view 1.

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[–] Couldbealeotard@lemmy.world 13 points 6 days ago

If you start with the second one you won't know what's going on and feel like you've missed a bunch of important story.

This is how it felt after playing the first one as well. Half Life 2 is almost an unrelated game. The plots of the two barely line up.

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 9 points 6 days ago (1 children)

If you're gonna start with 1, I recommend playing Black Mesa as the updated graphics and qol stuff make it easier to tolerate in modern times.

But that's just me. There is probably some crucial reason why Black Mesa is not the definitive version, and I'm about to hear why

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[–] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 9 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

Hl1 and hl2 are not really connected plotwise and can be enjoyed separately. There's some small references and a couple characters you wouldn't necessarily know even if you played HL1, because HL1 didn't have much of a focus on that kind of story-telling.

The series is certainly a must play because of how much it influenced the industry. Going back to it now may not seem like it's all that great; but you gotta keep in mind, it was one of the very first FPS games designed this way. Before Half-Life, FPS games were all just basically Doom clones.

[–] catloaf@lemm.ee 9 points 6 days ago

They each stand completely on their own. Start with 1 if you want the whole lore and like 90s PC games. Start with 2 if you want a slightly more modern experience.

[–] InFerNo@lemmy.ml 7 points 6 days ago

Start with 1

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[–] germtm_@lemmy.world 21 points 6 days ago (1 children)

us Half-Life fans are eating good this month. first, we get Project Borealis Prologue, and now HL2 update and the game going free to own for a limited time. i am so going to enjoy checking the update out. and the documentary as well.

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[–] chemical_cutthroat@lemmy.world 18 points 6 days ago

Hell yeah! Commentary! Looks like I'm replaying it for the 100th time.

[–] greencactus@lemmy.world 8 points 6 days ago

You're amazing! Thanks for sharing!

[–] revlayle@lemm.ee 11 points 6 days ago

That changelog is waaaay longer than I expected it to be.

[–] secret300@lemmy.sdf.org 14 points 6 days ago (6 children)

Yo after all this time I never bought episode 1 or 2. I'm playing the fuck outta it

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[–] bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.de 12 points 6 days ago (6 children)

Huh? I wanted to see whether Portal 1 and 2 are free as well to recommend them to family and friends but for the life of me I can't figure it out. They don't show any info on purchasing them whether I'm logged in or not.

[–] Aatube@kbin.melroy.org 23 points 6 days ago

It says they're at full price to me; it's the HL2 anniversary, after all. The Orange Box as a whole is 90% off though.

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[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 7 points 6 days ago

Hmmm... I guess it has been over a decade. Maybe it's time to play HL2 again.

[–] SynopsisTantilize@lemm.ee 6 points 6 days ago

Thank you! My kids Christmas account will need to save city 17 as soon as Dec 25th

[–] blackstrat@lemmy.fwgx.uk 5 points 6 days ago (4 children)

Just started playing it. So far I can't remember it at all. I played HL1 so much and have recently started with Black Mesa. I remember a lot of EP1, also. Managed to clock 3 hrs on HL2 today and there's only one bit I remember, I think. Good fun game. Only annoyance are the ladders and getting on / off them well.

I bought Trepang 2 the other day too and that has a similar era vibe, but with a modern take.

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