Half-Life 2 = GOTY.
- Thread starter Andy787
- Start date
A 20 second wait "once in a while"?? It seems like you hit a load point every 5-7 minutes (assuming you don't die). And for me the loads are a good deal longer than that. It's really just lame, in this day and age.
The game's complexity is really a pathetic excuse (though not quite as bad as the defense that the six-year-old predecessor had technical faults) when you you consider that games like Far Cry didn't have a ton of gigantic mid-level loads and their areas are much, much larger than any single "zone" in HL2.
Has anybody ever managed to "miss" a load point? I did it last night.....the boat just slammed into some invisilble wall and the tunnel cut off into thin air :lol
Another gripe is that there seems to be a checkpoint system, but you never really know when or where a checkpoint is. When you hit the checkpoint, the only indicator is that the game stutters because it's saving. They ought to at least tell you "Checkpoint done" or something like that.
It would also be nice if all of the load screens had a progress bar to let you know how close you are to being done. And why do some of the loads take place at exciting moments? There is one part in the 3rd or 4th mission where your boat jumps up a ramp, through a dam, and there is a 100 ft drop on the other side that you didn't even see or know about. Would've been a pretty cool moment if I didn't get slapped with a load screen 3/4 of the way through.
Graphics and gameplay are good, but presentation is really quite poor.
The game's complexity is really a pathetic excuse (though not quite as bad as the defense that the six-year-old predecessor had technical faults) when you you consider that games like Far Cry didn't have a ton of gigantic mid-level loads and their areas are much, much larger than any single "zone" in HL2.
Has anybody ever managed to "miss" a load point? I did it last night.....the boat just slammed into some invisilble wall and the tunnel cut off into thin air :lol
Another gripe is that there seems to be a checkpoint system, but you never really know when or where a checkpoint is. When you hit the checkpoint, the only indicator is that the game stutters because it's saving. They ought to at least tell you "Checkpoint done" or something like that.
It would also be nice if all of the load screens had a progress bar to let you know how close you are to being done. And why do some of the loads take place at exciting moments? There is one part in the 3rd or 4th mission where your boat jumps up a ramp, through a dam, and there is a 100 ft drop on the other side that you didn't even see or know about. Would've been a pretty cool moment if I didn't get slapped with a load screen 3/4 of the way through.
Graphics and gameplay are good, but presentation is really quite poor.
Yeah, it happens VERY VERY often. Every few minutes...
The skipping is bothering me more, though. The framerate is perfect right now, but the HDD skips piss me off so much. I hate turning a corner or opening a door and having the game (and its sound) pause. Almost everyone seems to have this issue as well...
They NEED to figure it out and fix it.
The stutters were irritating me as well. Dropping the texture and sound quality doesnt help either.
I defragged last night and will see if that helps, I think someone mentioned going to beta drivers fixed it.
Its also next to impoisble to know if the stutter is from performance or just a checkpoint save, really irritating.
I defragged last night and will see if that helps, I think someone mentioned going to beta drivers fixed it.
Its also next to impoisble to know if the stutter is from performance or just a checkpoint save, really irritating.
ced said:
I think the problem is related to reading sound files from the GCF file. It only occurs when new, unique sounds are loaded. They simply did not optimize the file access, it would seem, and the game hitches while accessing the file. I fully believe that it is related to that...
dark10x said:
Is there a way to extract these files at all? I remember extracting all those compressed files for Doom 3 and it made a huge difference in performance. Especially in the area of stuttering. It went away. Although with the 4.12B I'm not experiencing any stutter at all. But I play in 1024 X 768 though so not the highest resolution (I have all details on high though).
Musashi Wins!
FLAWLESS VICTOLY!
Can you guys report back if you load those drivers? I have to stop playing and go to work.
I'm kinda a little more bummed out at how the execution takes away from the game. It's strange to me that you would have such an excellent presentation and not deal better with such technical flaws as akward loading, etc. Still a great game, but it removes me from it at the same time.
I'm kinda a little more bummed out at how the execution takes away from the game. It's strange to me that you would have such an excellent presentation and not deal better with such technical flaws as akward loading, etc. Still a great game, but it removes me from it at the same time.
Well, the loading zones don't change with those drivers. They may be a bit faster, not sure. But I know some people were having stuttering problems in the game. I had been too with the 4.09 drivers. But when I went to the 4.12 beta drivers the stutters went away. Plus I got a 5-10 FPS boost in the game depending on the scenery.
johnjohnson
Member
how can i tell the game to run at a fixed fps rate again? There was a post today of someone saying to fix the fps to 30, but I can't find it anymore.
johnjohnson said:
Open the console with "~" (which can be enabled in the options menu) and type in...
FPS_MAX "desired number"
So, FPS_MAX 30 will give you 30 fps. I'm finding that leaving this disabled while also disabling V-sync helps a whole lot. The framerate feels much better...
Oh, and I fixed the loading!!! Thank god, the game is 1000x more enjoyable this way...
OK, so I have 1gb of ram, first of all, so if you only have 512...don't use the big number.
First, go to the advanced launch options under the Half-Life 2 game option (on the Steam play games menu). Simply enter this for the command line...
-heapsize 510000
Then, find the CONFIG.CFG file (in the CFG folder within HL2's folder) and add...
+sv_forcepreload 1 +cl_forcepreload 1 +snd_mixahead 0.4
Finally, make an AUTOEXEC.CFG in that same folder and add...
+cl_smooth 0
I think the heapsize makes the biggest difference. Anyways, while the start-up is still slow, the actual in-level loads take about 5 seconds now. There is minimal HDD access between areas and the loads are not about on par with Half-Life 1 when it was first released (maybe faster). Previously, loads were taking over 20 seconds per area and the HDD was being accessed a whole lot. Now, like I said, it looks in less than 1/4 of that time. It feels SOOOO much better now...
Sadly, the sound skipping/HDD stutters still exist (though they seem a bit better). If I could get rid of those, the game would play PERFECTLY for me...
SO CLOSE!!!
For my next experiment, I'm going to try extracting the sound files from their GCF file and try to get the game to use that instead of the GCF. I bet that would help...
Dunno if it will work, though.
Bah, it won't let me. It just starts to re-download the sound GCF if it happens to be missing...
Dunno if it will work, though.
Bah, it won't let me. It just starts to re-download the sound GCF if it happens to be missing...
xabre said:
You are describing an intricay of the AI. A grunt by itself is afraid, very very afraid and will react as such. Grunts will panick left by themselves to the point where they won't even attack you and go screaming around the room like a wuss. Supported, a Grunt acts and talks like a Bully and it's hysterical.
Fixed2BeBroken
Member
I just got my half life 2 from outpost.com and finished the 1 hour long process of installing and waiting for steam to unlock after install, and then defragmentation of the 4 gigs worth of files....
now....im scared to start/run the game because of my fear that its gonna run at like 15 fps...
=(
now....im scared to start/run the game because of my fear that its gonna run at like 15 fps...
=(
Littleberu
Banned
Fixed2BeBroken said:
If you're too scared, you can always send the game my way.
Fixed2BeBroken said:
HL2 doesn't really have framerate problems on most machines. That's not what you need to worry about...
The loading and HDD access issues were huge, though. Luckily, I fixed the loading problems...but the game still skips (and it seems as if it is happening to TONS of people).
Fixed2BeBroken
Member
dark10x said:
Holy Shit balls...It runs SO GOOD and im on a damn Geforce 4600 ti! (its like 60 fps right now....but this is in a non graphyically intense area...perhaps in more intense situations it may drop some?)
Now, im getting wierd "pops" and "clicks" in the audio hear and there...dont know why.
like before a an audio sound starts there will be a wierd subtle pop or click type sound.
also, when i enabled Vertical sync, the game Crashed/Froze up. But after I had shut it down and restarted, everything has been smooth as butter (Except for the sound of course)
ok back to the game.
DCharlie
And even i am moderately surprised
i get the sound glitching , but it gets progressively worse.
if i quit out and start again, it goes away.
the other noticable thing is that my save data screens are fine when the sound glitch is reduced, but are just garbage dots and lines when it's glitching bad...
this is the one down on what is an amazing game.
if i quit out and start again, it goes away.
the other noticable thing is that my save data screens are fine when the sound glitch is reduced, but are just garbage dots and lines when it's glitching bad...
this is the one down on what is an amazing game.
Fixed2BeBroken
Member
DCharlie said:
eh the more i play the more wierd sound things are happening.....
other than that tho, the game is pretty fuckin sweet.
<edit>
ouch, i wish it would load faster. hehe
lol, instead of play the actual game, I could just pick shit up and throw it at people all day.......its just fun as hell being an asshole....reminds me of the good ol deus ex days.
peace
Ollie Pooch
In a perfect world, we'd all be homersexual
i really can't afford this game. but i just bought it anyway 
its hoovering along, 18% and giving my cable modem a good workout 
here's hoping my laptop can handle it
its hoovering along, 18% and giving my cable modem a good workout here's hoping my laptop can handle itSorry to stoke the flames of the smoldering A.I. debate but I can't help it. As I watched this thread develop, I started to wonder what had happened. Had I been so high on the game's first rate scripting during my time at Valve that I was seeing things? Or had many of the people complaining just not played past the airboat levels, up to which, Half-Life 2's A.I. is admittedly unremarkable? Now as I'm playing again, and onto the Highway I can't help but think it was the latter. Who was bitching about Combine not using grenages to their advantage? I just tried hiding under a porch, and not only did one dude throw a nade down, but another guy slid down to my right while yet another ran down the steps to my left. Likewise, they're flushing me out with grenades and simultaneously flanking when I stick to the same cover for too long such as in the car lot after the sniper-covered rails. But instead of playing whack-a-mole from safety, they're rushing when it's advantageous. Full out sprinting to throw me off, in fact. Whether or not the tactic is condusive to that particular individual's survival, it makes for some damn tense moments. Halo 2's Elite will similarly move from cover to cover while advancing in order to roll you out of your position, but I've only seen the behavior on Legendary mode. Also, when you're in your buggy and the enemy is at a clear disadvantage due to the Tau cannon, they will fall back to cover. I've tested it repeatedly. In fact, in one small cluster of houses I got out to explore when I was ambushed. I ran back to my buggy, and no sooner than I had the Tau winding up did they all run back inside.
I honestly don't know where some of you were coming from earlier, and the Gamespot review's comments regarding A.I. are just as perplexing.
I honestly don't know where some of you were coming from earlier, and the Gamespot review's comments regarding A.I. are just as perplexing.
DCharlie
And even i am moderately surprised
'Sorry to stoke the flames of the smoldering A.I. debate but I can't help it. As I watched this thread develop, I started to wonder what had happened. Had I been so high on the game's first rate scripting during my time at Valve that I was seeing things? Or had many of the people complaining just not played past the airboat levels, up to which, Half-Life 2's A.I. is admittedly unremarkable? Now as I'm playing again, and onto the Highway I can't help but think it was the latter. Who was bitching about Combine not using grenages to their advantage? I just tried hiding under a porch, and not only did one dude throw a nade down, but another guy slid down to my right while yet another ran down the steps to my left. Likewise, they're flushing me out with grenades and simultaneously flanking when I stick to the same cover for too long such as in the car lot after the sniper-covered rails. But instead of playing whack-a-mole from safety, they're rushing when it's advantageous. Full out sprinting to throw me off, in fact. Whether or not the tactic is condusive to that particular individual's survival, it makes for some damn tense moments. Halo 2's Elite will similarly move from cover to cover while advancing in order to roll you out of your position, but I've only seen the behavior on Legendary mode. Also, when you're in your buggy and the enemy is at a clear disadvantage due to the Tau cannon, they will fall back to cover. I've tested it repeatedly. In fact, in one small cluster of houses I got out to explore when I was ambushed. I ran back to my buggy, and no sooner than I had the Tau winding up did they all run back inside.
I honestly don't know where some of you were coming from earlier, and the Gamespot review's comments regarding A.I. are just as perplexing.'
Fart for president!
I've spent most of the time thinking "and this is shitty AI?!?"
I honestly don't know where some of you were coming from earlier, and the Gamespot review's comments regarding A.I. are just as perplexing.'
Fart for president!
I've spent most of the time thinking "and this is shitty AI?!?"
It's funny. Just last week I finished the boss of Halo 2's second level, sat back, and thought "that was probably the greatest gaming moment of all time".
Today I played the first three hours of Half-Life 2, having never played HL1 or really many PC games, and sat back and thought, "this beats the crap off Halo 2".
Doesn't matter what happens for the rest of the game. Half-Life 2 isn't just GOTY, is pretty the best thing you'll have ever played period.
Today I played the first three hours of Half-Life 2, having never played HL1 or really many PC games, and sat back and thought, "this beats the crap off Halo 2".
Doesn't matter what happens for the rest of the game. Half-Life 2 isn't just GOTY, is pretty the best thing you'll have ever played period.
Fixed2BeBroken
Member
Arcticfox said:
the thing is, we are use to not needing a cd check with half life, team fortress, cs, etc....
The human enemy AI is great beyond the civil protection squads. The aliens (that I've encountered so far) are all animalistic so they're patterns are pretty simple but it doesn't make them any easier to deal with (like making a wrong step in the "sand traps" mission).
If there's any fault I've seen with AI it's that squadmates get a bit overzealous about charging into an area. I had toggled "squad follow" off so I could get rid of the "hoppers" and after I got rid of what seemed like the last one, they all started running forward, and one popped out and sent the lot of them flying. It's never that big of an issue though since there's always more people up ahead to help out.
Favorite part of the game so far: http://img100.exs.cx/img100/8625/d3_c17_020025.jpg
(spoiler if you're not on "anticitizen one" yet).
Awesome fucking game.
If there's any fault I've seen with AI it's that squadmates get a bit overzealous about charging into an area. I had toggled "squad follow" off so I could get rid of the "hoppers" and after I got rid of what seemed like the last one, they all started running forward, and one popped out and sent the lot of them flying. It's never that big of an issue though since there's always more people up ahead to help out.
Favorite part of the game so far: http://img100.exs.cx/img100/8625/d3_c17_020025.jpg
(spoiler if you're not on "anticitizen one" yet).
Awesome fucking game.