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[heyf00L]

Neither option is particularly appealing. It looks like at the current rate of potato consumption the counter will reach zero in somewhere between 8 and 9 hours.

Right now the page javascript isn't set to do anything when the potato counter reaches zero (in fact it will start counting up negative numbers).
However, the page is set to refresh every 5 minutes, so they'll probably add the code to do whatever is supposed to happen later.

 

[electristan]

19 out of 36. That is only the first page and the ratio on it is over half. And those are only the ones playing it at the very moment the screen was taken.

its like you just arrive to gaf, but i see you have been here a long time.

almost all your posts are bringing up points that have been discussed several times already in this thread, or in this case over a year ago.

 

[Corky]

I don't feel like I was mistreated. I, like most people, bought the Potato Sack long before the countdown stuff was even known, because it was a great deal and the new Portal content for the games looked rad. I'd like to play Portal 2 as soon as possible, of course, but I don't feel like I've been cheated by Valve in any way.

That's the beauty of opinions, YOU don't feel lilke YOU weren't cheated, but obviously there are tons of people just judging by this thread alone that feel differently. So it's easy for you to say nobody is going to give a shit in 24h when you clearly don't care one way or the other.

All I know is that I'm going to enjoy portal 2, but this has been a petty marketingscheeme to squeeze out money from loyal fans, regardless of portal 2s quality.

 

[Spire]

That's the beauty of opinions, YOU don't feel lilke YOU weren't cheated, but obviously there are tons of people just judging by this thread alone that feel differently. So it's easy for you to say nobody is going to give a shit in 24h when you clearly don't care on way or the other.

All I know is that I'm going to enjoy portal 2, but this has been a petty marketingscheeme regardless of portal 2s quality.

The damn potato counter starting moving down and everyone stopped whining and bitching for awhile. I have no doubt the actual game's release is going to make people care less.

 

[BY2K]

So Potatoes are finally overclocking the CPUs, huh? At what number did it start? 500k?

I missed a lot since I was at work. Progress seems to be going fine. Though, I'm not sure we can actually finish before the official release.

 

[Ark]

This is where Valve actually release Episode 3 instead of Portal 2.

 

[Corky]

I have no doubt the actual game's release is going to make people care less.

Me neither, since it'll be a thing of the past by then. But nobody would even dare to believe this has been positive for Valves image.

 

[Oreoleo]

So Potatoes are finally overclocking the CPUs, huh? At what number did it start? 500k?

I missed a lot since I was at work. Progress seems to be going fine. Though, I'm not sure we can actually finish before the official release.

No we never hit 500k. Dunno if anyone could say for sure, just all of a sudden, "OMGZ WERE LOSING TUBERS"

 

[Lostconfused]

To be fair, the PC price never dropped below $40 either. Fuck Activision.

I have no idea how it happened by I only ever bought call of duty games made by Treyarch. One was for my friend because he likes the WW2 setting and then I bought black ops because I thought that he would play with me. I was wrong.

 

[EternalGamer]

its like you just arrive to gaf, but i see you have been here a long time.

almost all your posts are bringing up points that have been discussed several times already in this thread, or in this case over a year ago.

I apologize for my lack of omniscience regarding everything that has ever been said on GAF.

In the future, I will try to research everything that has ever been mentioned before attempting to make a contribution.

 

[Kyaw]

This is where Valve actually release Episode 3 instead of Portal 2.

Free Ep3 with Portal 2 purchase? :O
And it will be like 4 hours long or something probably.

 

[Salacious Crumb]

Me neither, since it'll be a thing of the past by then. But nobody would even dare to believe this has been positive for Valves image.

People said the same thing when they announced L4D2, gamers are nothing if not fickle.

 

[shuyin_]

Thank you.

I'm glad some people can at least appreciate the value in our complaints, whether they be on the whiny side or not.

The complains are valid. Especially those that come from people who feel they wasted their time, since the reward for their effort in some cases (where a few hours make no difference) just wasn't worth it.

I am just simply astonished that some people defend this. I also have this idea that the same people defending Valve now are the same people that complained about things like EA's "if we get 1million likes on FB, we'll give you BF3 trailer". I bet they're the same, which is pure hypocrisy.

The only good thing out of this is more people bought indie games. But that's negated by the hatred for said games that they would feel after taking part in the ARG (if indeed they obeyd Valve).

We knew the load was different per game on Friday, an hour after this whole thing started. You're saying that everything else was fabricated to match a plan.

So, name the release time.

You're saying it wasn't? I doubt Valve would've made it so you could get Portal 2 on friday or even saturday, detrimental to retailers and part of their market (the console part)

 

[Borgnine]

Weird, now the focus is on Killing Floor.

Seems like the best strategy, the bigger the game the more time gets knocked off when completed right? With the potato power they might be able to finish it up pretty quickly and take off a huge chunk of time. I'm guessing no less than 3 hours. Of course this is all predicated on the idea that it's not just a big scam. I still believe.

 

[TheExodu5]

19 out of 36. That is only the first page and the ratio on it is over half. And those are only the ones playing it at the very moment the screen was taken.

And still, how does it matter? How is it a controlled test by any standard? What was stopping someone of saying "I'll join this public group so I can parade the fact that I'm playing MW2 anyways".

The screenshot proves nothing, and furthermore, the effects of good will are more likely to be seen in the long term, as pointed out by EviLore.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Though it will still hurt Valve's credibility in the future, if ever they decide to set up similar events.

The anticipation of a Friday release had quite a few people pre-order, at least in the NeoGAF community. Those people will be far more skeptical in the future.

What the hell?

There is no one to blame but yourself if you got hyped up for a Friday, or even a weekend release, neither of which were even hinted at by Valve.

 

[EviLore]

People said the same thing when they announced L4D2, gamers are nothing if not fickle.

L4D2 ended up being the price of an expansion pack, basically, if you went in for a four-pack, which took care of the "it sounds like an expansion pack!" complaints. Did for me, anyway.

 

[Corky]

People said the same thing when they announced L4D2, gamers are nothing if not fickle.

See that's a great example, the fact that people remember something that was called "L4D2 "scandal" " makes you realize that it wasn't something that was beneficial for valves image.

 

[Ferrio]

Also this "good will" may not affect people buying Valve games, but I most certainly bet you it'll make people think twice the next time one of the events come up.

 

[EmCeeGramr]

See that's a great example, the fact that people remember something that was called "L4D2 "scandal" " makes you realize that it wasn't something that was good for valves image.

Ehhh, not reaaaally. Most people remember how ridiculous the response to that was, especially when the "leaders" of the boycott got flown out to Valve and reported back that the game was a true sequel and worth the price. By the time the game came out, nobody cared anymore.

 

[Corky]

What the hell?

There is no one to blame but yourself if you got hyped up for a Friday, or even a weekend release, neither of which were even hinted at by Valve.

WHAT? That's it, I'm out.


Not even hinted?

 

[StuBurns]

In a way, the L4D2 thing was really the fault of L4D. L4D2 is awesome, there is enough content for the price, and it did get a fair amount of post-launch support. It's L4D1 that was abnormally under weighted for Valve value.

 

[electristan]

I apologize for my lack of omniscience regarding everything that has ever been said on GAF.

In the future, I will try to research everything that has ever been mentioned before attempting to make a contribution.

no no that is of course not called for, but when you are making comments that are clearly not the general consensus in a long and old thread it might be good to read a few pages back.

Thats one of the main reasons i don't post much, since 99% of the time someone has already made my point.

the MW2 picture has been making the rounds so long i would have though everyone would have seen it and the discussion around it at some point, but fair enough if you haven't.

 

[eiskaltnz]

See that's a great example, the fact that people remember something that was called "L4D2 "scandal" " makes you realize that it wasn't something that was beneficial for valves image.

And in all the interviews after it they said they did make a mistake. I am not saying that Valve didn't totally screw up the end of this ARG but if they do another one they won't make the same poor decisions.

 

[TheExodu5]

People said the same thing when they announced L4D2, gamers are nothing if not fickle.

And the L4D2 situation has hurt their reputation. Before L4D2, I had assumed every Valve title would receive incredible support post-launch. After L4D2, Valve chipped at the L4D1 userbase, making it nothing more than a periodical console release.

Now? They've at least supported L4D2 quite a bit, so my faith in them has been partially restored. But I will be skeptical that any new title will be heavily supported post launch. Before L4D2, I would have assumed that Portal 2 would get a ton of free updates, new challenges, a post-campaign story, etc... Now? I hope so, but I can't be so sure.

 

[TouchMyBox]

Also this "good will" may not affect people buying Valve games, but I most certainly bet you it'll make people think twice the next time one of the events come up.

VALVe tricked us into playing awesome games! Grrrr...

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Managing expectations is part of business. They set up a big promotion that was bound to cause huge expectations. On top of this, they asked people to spend money and time to make the reward even bigger (even sooner release date). They knew that if they had said 'if you buy all these games and spend your whole weekend playing them, we'll release Portal 2 3 hours early' people would've said 'screw that; that isn't worth the time/effort/money'. They chose to leave it open-ended and implied that the more money/effort was put in, the quicker it would be released. This is setting expectations very high on purpose and they failed to follow through.

If a project is due on Thursday and you claim you'll have it done by Tuesday (and the client is told that) and then flake out, you can't say 'well, it was originally due on Thursday, so no harm done'.

Please point out where Valve ever said that the game would be released early. Also, please show me where it has been confirmed that the game will NOT come out early.

That's what it would take for your terrible analogy to be remotely applicable to the situation.

 

[Baha]

What the hell?

There is no one to blame but yourself if you got hyped up for a Friday, or even a weekend release, neither of which were even hinted at by Valve.

You really can't be this dense. I mean you could argue for Friday but the weekend? You can't really get any clearer than "Help Release Portal 2 Early". A release during the weekend was well within anybody's expectations at the time.

 

[TheExodu5]

What the hell?

There is no one to blame but yourself if you got hyped up for a Friday, or even a weekend release, neither of which were even hinted at by Valve.

Really?

Really?

Please point out where Valve ever said that the game would be released early. Also, please show me where it has been confirmed that the game will NOT come out early.

That's what it would take for your terrible analogy to be remotely applicable to the situation.

They can imply without ever saying anything.

It's all about expectations, and Valve has to manage those expectations.

 

[Campster]

People said the same thing when they announced L4D2, gamers are nothing if not fickle.

I think the difference is that L4D2 proved to be an amazing experience that was well worth the money.

Here, even if Portal 2 is a rousing success financially and a beautiful game to play, the ARG has ended on an undeniably sour note.

 

[EviLore]

In a way, the L4D2 thing was really the fault of L4D. L4D2 is awesome, there is enough content for the price, and it did get a fair amount of post-launch support. It's L4D1 that was abnormally under weighted for Valve value.

Yeah, a big part of the problem for a lot of folks was how Valve promised extensive post-release support for L4D1, then went "well, the scope of what we want to do is a little beyond that, so let's just release a new full price sequel a year later instead."

But yeah, it was priced aggressively (on PC, anyway) and turned out to be a good game with plenty of post-release support that time around, and Valve isn't continuing to milk the franchise with annual releases now, so there isn't much bitterness.

 

[XeroSauce]

In a way, the L4D2 thing was really the fault of L4D. L4D2 is awesome, there is enough content for the price, and it did get a fair amount of post-launch support. It's L4D1 that was abnormally under weighted for Valve value.

The L4D2 thing was the fault of entitled L4D1 players, not Valve. L4D1 was a quality game, and is different from L4D2.

 

[Corky]

VALVe tricked us into playing awesome games! Grrrr...

Erhm, the key point of your statement isn't the "games" part it's the "tricked" part and yes you should be mad.

 

[Kyaw]

I wanted a weekend release but that never happened...
Kudos to Corky for even gifting me the game early because i wont be able to get the game early if it came in the weekend but no... its going to release on it's original time...

I have every right to be disappointed with this promo.
Although i enjoyed the potato sack games, i feel like we should have gotten the game earlier.

 

[Oreoleo]

The L4D2 thing was the fault of entitled L4D1 players, not Valve. L4D1 was a quality game, and is different from L4D2.

There's that word again.

 

[rasberryjam]

So what's the estimated time for release? Is it still around midnight?

 

[Lasthope106]

The way I look at the L4D series is that the first game was a paid beta for the real thing, L4D2. Now with all the campaigns being ported to the new engine, there is no reason to own the first game.

 

[Hawkian]

From Halo's ilovebees ARG wiki:

Yeah, but that was the reward for those people. I put more effort into that ARG than any other I've played and ended up with literally nothing but a couple enjoyable encounters with people at phone booths. Certainly no tangible reward. But it was still a lot of fun and I don't regret spending the time on it.

Is there anyone here who participated in the ARG, the potato content, and the clocking of the CPUS honestly not disappointed? I sincerely doubt it.

Yeah me. Whatever happens really, I think this was a fun experience.

Though I guess I just don't disappoint easily. I'm the kind of gamer who will defend a company even when there's a late launch if it is a quality product. My mindset is that there are going to be a lot more days after the game comes out than there were before it.

See that's a great example, the fact that people remember something that was called "L4D2 "scandal" " makes you realize that it wasn't something that was beneficial for valves image.

I don't think that's a good way to look at it though, or more germanely, I don't think that's the way Valve is looking at it. Lots of things are not beneficial to Valve's image; the more pressing concern is whether or not it harmed Valve's image. In the case of L4D2, I'd argue that the whole scandal ended up having either zero impact or a positive impact on sales, but the aggressive pricing makes it impossible to tell. Either way I don't think a tarnished image was the result.

 

[Nappuccino]

Now? They've at least supported L4D2 quite a bit, so my faith in them has been partially restored. But I will be skeptical that any new title will be heavily supported post launch. Before L4D2, I would have assumed that Portal 2 would get a ton of free updates, new challenges, a post-campaign story, etc... Now? I hope so, but I can't be so sure.

I really don't see that happening beyond (maybe) some challenge maps. Even if l4d2 "scandal" never happened... Portal just doesn't seem like its as modular as l4d or tf2.



edit: I mean... did hl2 ever get free extra content (you can count lost coast if you really want to)? or the episodes? Their single player games are well delivered (albeit sometimes they need time to fix simple issues like sounds skipping) but they aren't given bunches of free extra content.

 

[Drkirby]

I claimed I wasn't buying MW2 due to Infinity Ward's terrible treatment of the PC gaming community, but then I...

http://steamcommunity.com/id/evilore/games?tab=all

...didn't ever buy MW2.

Gasp, how could you!

 

[heyf00L]

Killing Floor is picking up steam.

hur hur

 

[Deleted member 17706]

WHAT? That's it, I'm out.


Not even hinted?

An early release was hinted, but never outright stated or promised.

Early does not necessarily equal "Friday or the weekend" when the formal release date is Tuesday.

 

[Corky]

I wanted a weekend release but that never happened...
Kudos to Corky for even gifting me the game early because i wont be able to get the game early if it came in the weekend but no... it released on it's original time...

I have every right to be disappointed with this promo.

<3
Hey I thought we'd be rocking Co-op by now. Oh well that's gotta wait I guess

 

[DrForester]

So what's the estimated time for release? Is it still around midnight?

Looks to be Midnight PST.

And I still think that no matter what people bought/played it would have still ended up being that time.

Potato's were a red herring.

 

[mazeedibeedi]

Nothing happened

Edit: False alarm. This site isn't affiliated with Valve.

 

[TheUsual]

The L4D2 thing was the fault of entitled L4D1 players, not Valve. L4D1 was a quality game, and is different from L4D2.

Like already mentioned, I do remember it being said there was going to be alot of post release content for L4D, but we got the sequel that next fall. But whatever, L4D2 dropped in price really fast and there was alot of sales promotions with it.

 

[TheExodu5]

The L4D2 thing was the fault of entitled L4D1 players, not Valve. L4D1 was a quality game, and is different from L4D2.

Gamers felt entitled because Valve had instilled the expectation of long life and post-launch support for their games. The release of L4D2 was breaking that expectation.

It didn't bother me that much since the price was worthwhile for the content I was getting, but I can understand that it would have bothered some people.

 

[Corky]

There is no one to blame but yourself if you got hyped up for a Friday, or even a weekend release, neither of which were even hinted at by Valve.

An early release was hinted.

 

[ZombieSupaStar]

so 19 out of 833 people bought MW2 that said they wouldnt?

 

[Rainier]

Please point out where Valve ever said that the game would be released early. Also, please show me where it has been confirmed that the game will NOT come out early.

I don't get it, are you trying to be funny?