Half-Life 2 preloading begins

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Julio Franco

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Half-Life 2 pre-loading begins to Steam account holders today. Over the coming days, those who have selected the pre-loading option will have encrypted Half-Life 2 files delivered to their PC. No purchase is required to pre-load HL2, but is required to activate the game. Purchase options will be released soon. Then, the moment the game is made available, those who have pre-loaded and purchased Half-Life 2 via Steam will be authenticated and ready to start playing. For more information, please visit www.steampowered.com.

This of course makes for a bold statement that the game is pretty much done. If you are one of those who won't want to wait for the game to become available in store shelves, you will appreciate the alternative Steam gives you.
 
Pre-loading as I write. I really want to see what this game is all about. Of course, I've got coupon in hand. :)
 
Originally posted by Masque
Pre-loading as I write. I really want to see what this game is all about. Of course, I've got coupon in hand. :)

Hmm..

Sounds tempting to test Steam now, even though I have no voucher...

But how does steam work? can you download the game an unlimited amount of times (harddrive crash & such), and do you have to be connected to Steam to be able to play the game?

The latter is the most important, as when I'm at lan parties we don't always use a net connection. And I wouldn't want to be at a lan without the ability to play HL2....

And what about manuals and such?
 
As far as I can tell the Steam software is an Accessory Tray program that gives you the ability to download an encrypted 'preload' copy of HL2 (as well as find game servers for all their games, buy other games, chat, get software updates and news). Once it goes public you will be able to pay for the game online through Steam, and will get the tool to extract HL2. Then you will be able to play it just as if you bought a copy in the store.

I've got my copy of HL2 preload sitting on my HD. Now I'm Jonesing for some info on when it's going to be released...

From Steam FAQ...

"Steam is is the fastest and most secure way to purchase a Game from Valve Software. When you purchase a game through Steam, the game is registered directly to your Steam Account.

You will not need to enter a CDKey to retrieve your game, you will only need your to login to your Steam Account to get access to your games. Games purchased through Steam do not expire and are a one-time charge (not a recurring fee).

Games purchased online do not include a CDKey, a physical CD or a manual.

When you sign up for Steam, you create an account that contains all of your Steam games. You can use your Steam account on any computer, which allows you to play your games at home, at work, or on a friend’s computer.

If you buy a new computer or need to re-format your old computer, you can keep using your old account—Steam will automatically download all of your information to the new computer.

Although you can use your account on any computer, it can only be used on one computer at a time.

CDKeys are special serial numbers printed on retail copies of Half-Life and other games in the Half-Life family. Before Steam, this key was used as an anti-piracy measure, and became the user’s unique ID code when playing the game online. With Steam, the CDKey can be used as a “proof of purchase” code that will grant your Steam account access to some of the games available through Steam.

Each CDKey may only be used with one Steam account. Once used, it is permanently bound to that account, and may not be used with another. Deleting the account will not free the CDKey to be used again.

A Steam Account may have more than one CDKey registered to it. For instance, if you have an account with a Counter-Strike CDKey registered to it, and you purchase Half-Life 2 in the store, you may use the HL2 CDKey on your Steam account to grant access to HL2.

If you purchase a game online through Steam you do not get a CDKey, instead you get a ProductKey. ProductKeys are registered immediately to your Steam Account so you can begin downloading the game right away. You do not get a CDKey number when you purchase a game online."
 
I'm 100% preloaded now, I wonder though if I'll choose Steam distro over the boxed version after all.
 
Originally posted by Julio
I'm 100% preloaded now, I wonder though if I'll choose Steam distro over the boxed version after all.

I understand both will be offered.

To answer our Unregistered guest, there is an option to put a shortcut on your desktop, so you don't need to used the Steam system to play. This is just the preload....most likely basic things that won't change (encrypted, of course). This will make it a bit easier on the rest of the load when it's released.
 
Thank you Masque :)

I didn't have time to browse the forums, so I posted as a guest.

But I'll create a new thread in the games section, as I do have a lot of Q's about Steam...
 
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