Ok, so let me get this straight about HL2...

[Parker03GT]

This is in reference to playing single player. If you do NOT have internet access, then you should NOT buy it correct?

[tigstah]

that is correct.
its stated on the box, an internet connection is required....
but its to activate the game....and download some other stuff from steam..
its not needed to play everytime i dont think....

[Yuanji]

kinda one of the downers about steam =( need an internet connection

[spyder003]

Steam is crap.

[Alienware_Dude]

What exactly is Steam?

[TwoRails]

wow... you mean somebody can't just play the game? I can understand them wanting you to register, but a phone call, or a mail in card should still be a viable option.. to make it so you can't just play the game is a little harsh.

[sdkfz]

You must have an internet connection to st up the steam account and then if you use the remember password feature you do not need an account going forward, BUT that does not mean you can go to your friends pc set up steam and then go home to play on your internet free pc cause you will need that initial log onto steam back home.

Seems to me more of an anti piracy type of thing than anything else so you can only blame all the people who caused this sort of reaction by distributors of copyright materail.

[DragonNOA1]

All you need is to activate HL2 once, after that block it at the firewall and play in offline mode.

[lil Jimmie]

Originally Posted by DragonNOA1 All you need is to activate HL2 once, after that block it at the firewall and play in offline mode.

Agreed... activate HL2 then just play it in offline mode.

[Yuanji]

how do you play it in offline mode?

[DragonNOA1]

Originally Posted by Yuanji how do you play it in offline mode?

Originally Posted by DragonNOA1 block it at the firewall

It being steam

[Parker03GT]

Originally Posted by DragonNOA1 All you need is to activate HL2 once, after that block it at the firewall and play in offline mode.

That'd be nice but I'm in Honduras for a year on a remote assignment. Only internet access is at work It's killing me!

[DragonNOA1]

LoL, take your computer to work for internet access and activate it,

or, maybe more trouble, activate at work, then ghost (or just move) the drive to your home computer.

[GhostRecon]

You don't need Steam to activate

[DragonNOA1]

Originally Posted by GhostRecon You don't need Steam to activate

Explain......

[mikezel]

I think that eventually all games will be distributed through a system similar to Steam, as internet access speeds up and becomes more available. Steam really does nothing to stop small-scale piracy, because currently you can have more than one person logged into an account at a time, but that may change, and it does prevent the large-scale piracy that has become common.

[TwoRails]

Originally Posted by GhostRecon You don't need Steam to activate

I installed HL2 last night, and that is what I call a freaking major hassle. It forced me to go thru Steam, which I did Not want to do as I play offline only. So how do you get around Steam?

[ric449]

Whenever you try and start Half Life 2, Steam starts up. I think it is needed for Half Life 2 to run.

[Alienware_Dude]

I ask again: what is Steam exactly?

[kram 2.0]

Originally Posted by Alienware_Dude I ask again: what is Steam exactly?

Steam is the client used by Valve for all its games - such as CounterStrike, Half Life, Half Life 2, DOD, etc. All your online games from Valve are played through Steam instead of individually through individual programs - it basically bundles up those programs for one tightly packed interface. I personally haven't had much problem with Steam, and I do CS almost everyday so no problem with installing HL2, hopefully

kram

[Alienware_Dude]

So, why do you need it if you're not playing HL2 online?

[Moose on the Loose]

You download HL2 via steam, and you also fill in your CD-key via it.

[DragonNOA1]

Steam is the "layer" (program) that you must go through to play any of Valve's games. Once Steam is started, then it will check cd-codes and update with any available updates, then you are aloud to play your game. Steam sits on top of every Valve game and is required for playing.

Don't think of it as a "stupid program" because it is really supposed to stream-line all Valve games, updating them, and being able to d/l games to computers so as to negate having to worry about CD's and scratching them.

[DragonNOA1]

What is Steam?

Steam is Valve's new broadband platform for direct software delivery and content management.

Steam lets you:

• Buy Valve games via the Internet, and start playing within minutes of confirming your purchase
  
• Access your games from any PC
  
• Stop worrying about product updates and patches (they're all handled automatically!)
  
• Instant-message your friends, even while playing games.
  
• Browse and connect to game servers
  
• See when your friends are playing, and join their games

In addition to using Steam to deliver games, Valve is also making Steam available to other software developers. Steam is a distributed file system and shared set of technology components that can be implemented into any software application. With Steam, software developers are given integrated tools for direct-content publishing, flexible billing, ensured-version control, anti-cheating, anti-piracy, and more. The Steam SDK also includes an integrated set of communications tools and Valve’s Graphic User Interface (V-GUI) that provide built-in support for a variety of services such as instant messaging, configuration, and server browsing.

http://www.steampowered.com/index.ph...15543,35888300

[Alienware_Dude]

Okay, thanks a lot for clearing that up.

[spyder003]

This is why I don't like Steam. I bought Condition Zero. Installed it, activated it online, all is good. I moved, didn't play any games for a while. I switched ISP's from the one I registered my Steam account with. I've since done a reformat on my computer. I can't my remember Steam account username or password. Since I don't have access to the email account I registered Steam with, I can't play online. The only way to fix that is to send Valve the Condition Zero box with all the contents and $10 to reset the CD key. /rant

[TwoRails]

That's bloody rediculous!!

[lil Jimmie]

Originally Posted by spyder003 This is why I don't like Steam. I bought Condition Zero. Installed it, activated it online, all is good. I moved, didn't play any games for a while. I switched ISP's from the one I registered my Steam account with. I've since done a reformat on my computer. I can't my remember Steam account username or password. Since I don't have access to the email account I registered Steam with, I can't play online. The only way to fix that is to send Valve the Condition Zero box with all the contents and $10 to reset the CD key. /rant

That sux, but that is why I keep copies of all e-mails such as this on hdd, cd and paper.

Oh and I forward copies to my hotmail account as well.

[spyder003]

I'll just write down my username and passwords from now on, lol. As bad as I want HL2 now, Steam makes me a little leery of buying it.

[TwoRails]

Originally Posted by spyder003 I'll just write down my username and passwords from now on, lol. ...

That's what I do, but my problem is I make it "cryptic" and sometimes I can't decipher what I've written!!

Originally Posted by spyder003 ... As bad as I want HL2 now, Steam makes me a little leery of buying it.

Ya, I had no prior knowledge of all the BS involved in just playing a game on my own computer! It just may effect future purchases of mine.