"The Freeman Returns" with The Official Orange Box Thread

I wish that a screenshot option be added in the future. Everytime I pause the game, I always grin at how nice the graphics are and how nice a screenshot from the paused scene would be. :lol

And it's one of the rare games where the characters seems real, that they have substance. You look at them and they seem alive. HL2, Oblivion, MGS3 and Heavenly Sword are the only games where the characters seem to look at my eyes in the right way.
 
suikodan said:
I wish that a screenshot option be added in the future. Everytime I pause the game, I always grin at how nice the graphics are and how nice a screenshot from the paused scene would be. :lol
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Yeah I do wish TF2 had a screenshot ability. The 360 version that is. PC users can obviously take screens. I doubt Valve would be able to add something like that at this point. But it would be sweet.
 
suikodan said:
And it's one of the rare games where the characters seems real, that they have substance. You look at them and they seem alive. HL2, Oblivion, MGS3 and Heavenly Sword are the only games where the characters seem to look at my eyes in the right way.
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Bit off the topic here, but eeehhh, Oblivion? They certainly hyped the radiant AI a lot, but it still came off as pretty fake and silly (although, of course it needs to be more generic and there needs to be more of it for the vastness of Oblivion compared to the linear experience of HL2). Heard any news from the other provinces hello goodbye heard any news from the other provinces? Or when the beggars would change voice sets wildly between lines. :lol
 
epmode said:
If you're talking about the no more on-contact explosions after the first bounce change (which has been in the PC version for a while now), all it did was completely break the demoman's primary gun. Stickybombs are better than regular grenades in almost every situation now.

edit: Don't get me wrong, it's still my favorite class. I just don't use the primary fire anymore.
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This statement is so false, pipe bombs are still extremely useful, its unfortunate that so many demos gimp themselves by not using them.

In before Tek
 
PillowKnight said:
This statement is so false, pipe bombs are still extremely useful, its unfortunate that so many demos gimp themselves by not using them.

In before Tek
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Totally agree. The demoman before the update was too similar to the soldier, playing wise. Demo's would just run towards their enemy and shoot off some bombs. Their real use is to flush out the baddies around corners or to use the bounce to destroy sentries. Now there is a clear distinction in strategy between the soldier(forward attack) and demo(angle attacks).
 
Ventrue said:
Bit off the topic here, but eeehhh, Oblivion? They certainly hyped the radiant AI a lot, but it still came off as pretty fake and silly (although, of course it needs to be more generic and there needs to be more of it for the vastness of Oblivion compared to the linear experience of HL2). Heard any news from the other provinces hello goodbye heard any news from the other provinces? Or when the beggars would change voice sets wildly between lines. :lol
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Probably just meant the facial expressions, which were pretty good in Oblivion.

HL2 though, just great. What Eli, Alyx, etc. were saying and their expressions synced up perfectly, not to mention the VA was terrific. I spent half of HL2/ep1/ep2 just looking at Alyx because of this.
 
traveler said:
The funny thing is, if you listen to the commentary, they make it quite clear that the player IS completely spoonfed throughout the entire game. They do it so subtly well, though, that you don't even notice.

Take the
turret defense sections in Nova Prospekt for example. In the first encounter, you are faced with a relatively easy attack in a fairly defensible position. This makes it easy for the player to set up and monitor the turrets without feeling too pressured. Near the end of that first encounter, once you've gotten the hang of it, manhacks are sent in to force you to learn to simply trust the turrets to do their work while you deal with external threats.

Now take a look at the second encounter involving turrets. Having taught the player how to set a good defense with them, Valve clearly felt free to up the challenge and require more out of the player. Rather than giving you a single easily defensible position, they provide an entire floor with plenty of rooms for the player to choose from and take advantage of. However, none of these locations are quite as easy to defend as the command station where the first attack took place at. This greater freedom both allows the player more freedom to try out his new ability and the Combine forces more space in which to execute their attack. Increased challenge is also provided by a greater number of enemies, easier openings for grenades, (which are the ultimate threat to a turret defense) and Alyx's constant reports of more and more soldiers, which make for a significantly greater feeling of tension.

The third and final encounter involving turrets is, arguably, easier than the second, but it does something the other two didn't. If the first turret section's purpose was to teach the player and the second one's was to demand mastery of the ability from the player, then the third turret defense's point is integration. The best strategy for the second segment was for the player to hole up in a room and let the turrets do the dirty work, while watching for grenades and keeping an eye on them to make sure they didn't get knocked over. In the final one, players have to run about the enviroment, which features multiple points of entry, and help the turrets in the fight. The turret defense is merely one part of the player's arsenal in this instance.

That was just one example of how Valve "spoonfeeds" players, though. If you look throughout HL2 and its episodes, I'm sure you can find more.

(That whole thing actually looks like one of the commentary tracks from the Episodes. I didn't go in expecting to write that much. :lol )
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See, your example is exactly what I'm talking about. In most games you would simply have a tutorial section of some sort to tell you all about how turrets work then followed by someone instructing you to put them in front of the entrance to stop the combine. It's obvious that Valve does things differently. They leave it to the player to figure out, they just nudge you in the right direction. Subtlety vs. beating you over the head explaining every little thing.
 
Finished Ep 1 and started Ep 2 tonight. Currently trying to get to the car on the bridge or something like that.

Ep. 2 sure looks very pretty. Wow... the lighting is just perfect, especially outdoors.
 
Hey guys,

I have both a PC and a Xbox360, but I'd much prefer to get the PC version of the Orange Box. Problem is my graphics card is only a 256 mb ATI Radeon X1300 PRO, which according to a site I checked out, is between the "minimum" and "recommended" settings for the Orange Box. The rest of my computer is brand new, so it's only the graphic's card that's holding me back. Do you think it will run smoothly on moderate settings without crashing on me?
 
suikodan said:
I wish that a screenshot option be added in the future. Everytime I pause the game, I always grin at how nice the graphics are and how nice a screenshot from the paused scene would be. :lol

And it's one of the rare games where the characters seems real, that they have substance. You look at them and they seem alive. HL2, Oblivion, MGS3 and Heavenly Sword are the only games where the characters seem to look at my eyes in the right way.
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Same here! The pause screen is fucking gorgeous... with that super sexy HL2 font overlayed!!!
 
Im on the final level of Ep. 2. 95% of it so far is awesome, potential knock-Bioshock-out-of-GOTY calibre stuff, but oh boy, whoever came up with the brilliant idea for wave upon wave of striders at the end of level 6 needs to be shot.
 
MrSardonic said:
Has anyone given MINERVA a try yet?
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Nope but a new one just came out so i probably should give the series a try. I've never played a SP mod before but that and Rock24 have really caught my eye. Infact i am gonna go DL them now :)
 
Solo said:
Im on the final level of Ep. 2. 95% of it so far is awesome, potential knock-Bioshock-out-of-GOTY calibre stuff, but oh boy, whoever came up with the brilliant idea for wave upon wave of striders at the end of level 6 needs to be shot.
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Eh? The majority love the strider fight.
 
MrSardonic said:
Has anyone given MINERVA a try yet?
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Started great, ended.. not so great :(

Game is amazing when you take account that it's made by one person. 2.5years, man. I hope maker scored job from the industry after all that hard work.
 
I'm in the chapter Anticitizen One now, and I must say I'm continually impressed by this game. Every chapter seems to introduce a new 'gimmick', but it doesn't make the gameplay feel forced, just more varied. Ravenholm had you toying around with the grav gun, Highway gave you a buggy and a crane, then came the Pheropods, turret defenses, ... and it was all fun. Sandtraps is probably my favorite chapter so far. Nothing beats sending antlions to a couple of Combine-filled towers and seeing them wreak havoc.

I do have some nitpicks though. This has probably been mentioned tons of times before, but the grav gun 'puzzles' are basically always the same: find two good platforms and place one in front of the other, repeat until end. The croc infested water has been changed to: sand with antlions, puddles of acid, electrified water.

Other thing: the Resistance members annoy me in tight corridors. There are always too many of them and they get in the way. There were times where I wanted to retreat a bit because I was being shot at, but Resistance blocked the way.

But yes, great great game. Can't wait to get into the episodes now.
 
Fragamemnon said:
The only people who don't like that fight are the achievement whore types, from the people I've spoken with.
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What in the hell do achievements have to do with a lazily designed section of wave after wave of striders? Same with the antlion section earlier. Two blemishes for me on an otherwise great experience. Both feel like artificial padding of the game's length.

I didnt like the fight, and I like achievements even less.
 
Darunia said:
But yes, great great game. Can't wait to get into the episodes now.
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Trust me, the episodes are so much better. Episode 2 is indeed the pinnacle of the series, mostly because you actually get to understand a big chunk of the history.
 
Fragamemnon said:
The only people who don't like that fight are the achievement whore types, from the people I've spoken with.
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The people I've seen that didn't like the fight have been mostly X360 players. If they really did map the car controls so up is go, I can see why. That control scheme makes alot more sense on the PC than it does on a controller.
 
WHOAguitarninja said:
The people I've seen that didn't like the fight have been mostly X360 players. If they really did map the car controls so up is go, I can see why. That control scheme makes alot more sense on the PC than it does on a controller.
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Don't believe them! I have the 360 version and I've never had a problem with any vehicle controls (the trick is: don't use the right thumbstick to look around). The issue here is with achievements- one in particular. Trying to save every building outside the silo is near impossible without reverting back to autosaves over and over. That is what I didn't like about that fight. However, after getting the achievement, the next time I play the final battle it will just be hectic improvised ass-kicking and I will enjoy it tons more.

EDIT: Must add: achievements or not, it still sucks how good Hunters are at prematurely exploding your Magnussen (sp?) device.
 
Fragamemnon said:
The only people who don't like that fight are the achievement whore types, from the people I've spoken with.
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I actually found it to be rather tedious. I thought that the ambush at the village was amazing, though.
 
Got to play online again.

Somehow spies last night were taking multiple point-blank shotgun blasts [while I was much less than a body length away] without losing their disguise as they sapped my sentries.

Great game, huh? :lol
 
The only reason I didn't like it is because it is a bitch to steer the car and it is harder to aim the MDs with the controller than with a mouse.
 
Finally finished my HL Marathon

HL1 Source
HL Opposing Force
HL Blue Shift
HL2
HL2 Episode 1
HL2 Episode 2
Portal

Steam Rating:10 - EAGLES SCREAM!
Total Time: 40 Hours

Half-Life owns me.
 
PillowKnight said:
This statement is so false, pipe bombs are still extremely useful, its unfortunate that so many demos gimp themselves by not using them.

In before Tek
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If we're talking the primary nade launcher here, absoloutely.

I remember when the patch first came out and I had fanboy's lament. It really pissed me off in a way that a game never should. But soon i'd realised that the primary (pre bounce) explosion was way,way stronger that the post-bounce explosion. Since then i've become a freaking arc-fire genius and am all the better player for it,
 
Solo said:
What in the hell do achievements have to do with a lazily designed section of wave after wave of striders? Same with the antlion section earlier. Two blemishes for me on an otherwise great experience. Both feel like artificial padding of the game's length.

I didnt like the fight, and I like achievements even less.
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What what? That was my favourite part in the game. The way it ramps up suckers you into thinking you'll just get a linear difficulty progression, and then they give you the Vorts, absolutely swarm you, and turn on the most bitching music I've heard since the first time I heard the Halo theme in Halo 1.

This game is so far from artificial padding it's refreshing. Maybe you didn't like the driving at the end(360 version?), but it definitely wasn't padding.
 
how many times has everyone played episode 2 since it came out? I've played it three times. The first time normally, the second time with commentary, and the third with the gnome. I want to play it again already!!!
 
Quincey said:
how many times has everyone played episode 2 since it came out? I've played it three times. The first time normally, the second time with commentary, and the third with the gnome. I want to play it again already!!!
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Twice more or less. I'm yet to do the Gnome challenge because Zelda and Metroid pulled me away...
 
ghst said:
If we're talking the primary nade launcher here, absoloutely.

I remember when the patch first came out and I had fanboy's lament. It really pissed me off in a way that a game never should. But soon i'd realised that the primary (pre bounce) explosion was way,way stronger that the post-bounce explosion. Since then i've become a freaking arc-fire genius and am all the better player for it,
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Seriously, The sticky bomb is considered the Demoman's main weapon by all the dedicated players. I NEVER even use the main nade launcher anymore, except for the occasional Sentry destruction.
 
Can someone point me to the Grub guide? I saw it mentioned here god knows how many pages back. I went to gamefaqs but got nothin.

PS. Are the flechettes the blue arrows hunters shoot?
 
I will play Episode 2 once again this week... frikkin excellent. I'd love to replay Half-Life 2 and Episode 1 again but that takes up too much time.
 
Gamer @ Heart said:
Can someone point me to the Grub guide? I saw it mentioned here god knows how many pages back. I went to gamefaqs but got nothin.
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Check the forums:
93 - Once you drop down into the mine shaft area where you help Griggs and Scheckley fight off the Antlions (Don't forget to get the Grub hiding in the locker where you fight the 3 Acid Antlions.)

171 - After you open up the gate for the Vortigaunt after you've gone through and solved the weighted elevators area.

226 - Before you jump down into the area where you do battle with the Zombies & Antlions, where the Combine Thumper is at.

236 - When you separate from the Vortigaunt by jumping down & across the shaft with the giant fan.

263 - Before you jump down into the area where the Antlion Guardian rams his head on the stalagmites and begins chasing after you.

311 - After you've finished running from the Antlion Guardian (Remember to check the entrance and exits to the Grub 'Hives' as they are easy to miss on the walls outside)

329 - After you've activated the elevator to bring the Vortigaunt down to get the extract.

332 - After you've retrieved the extract

333 - Almost right after you get off the elevator once Alyx is revived and you ride up to the exit. The Antlion Guardian will ram into the barrier, the last Grub is on the other side of the barrier on an explosive barrel.
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edit: Spoiler tagged, just in case.
 
Quincey said:
how many times has everyone played episode 2 since it came out? I've played it three times. The first time normally, the second time with commentary, and the third with the gnome. I want to play it again already!!!
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I played it through once, then got sucked back into TF2.
 
I've been replaying HL2 for the past week, and I just got through a fair chunk of "Follow Freeman" this afternoon.

It struck me that the Striders are completely unbalanced in this game. Why have a Rocket Launcher that holds 3 shots, if it takes upwards of 8 rockets to down just one of the damn things? I realize that they give you the ammo barrels, but really, what's the point? I had to hide behind a pillar for nearly 15 minutes just waiting for the Striders to circle, hit them with a Rocket or two, duck back behind the pillar as they begin firing, and repeat. Valve should have either let the Rocket Launcher hold more ammo, or make these things easier to kill, the battles against them just drag on too long, even if you know what you're doing.
 
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