About The Half Life 2 Source Code...

[Jet Set Willy]

Okay, some of you are probably up to speed on this, but I'll tell the story for people who don't know.


Originally posted at PlanetHalfLife.com:
Thanks to some sad-ass hackers, Half-Life 2's source code was leaked. And now leaked game content and a crappy, partial, slightly playable version are out there.

The rumours (from reliable sources) state that the code was stolen by means of a specially written virus, from Gabe at Valve's personal development machine (he's been criticised for having a machine with secure code on it being connected to the Internet). The code was a snapshot from around 30th September, and included Havok and Steam code along with most of the HL2 engine itself.

This is bad news because
1) Cheaters now have a head start
2) Valve have stated that this is giving them a 4 month release lag, so now the game won't be out in time for Christmas

The source code is readily available on web-sites and torrents.

What are your thoughts?

[Lefteris_D]

One person stated that this will let mod makers make better mods, another one said that illegal client software will pop out. And finally the last one said: "I'd like to see how they handle Linux in their code".

Go figure...

[Jet Set Willy]

I think the 4 months delay is for the developers to drastically change a lot of stuff so that none of that can happen.

[Jay]

Yeah, I'd say they'll change a lot of things in the code before the release.

[The Hedgehog]

From our friend the 1337 h4xx0r
To all those saying HL2 was delayed because of the hacking action, ill just remind you that what was leaked is what Valve has, nothing more and nothing less, so its pretty good to understand it wasnt finished yet.
Also I'd like to point out the E3 [demo] was one big fake by Valve. Ever tried to kill that soldier in physicstown ? Notice the door will still get kicked ? No scripted sequences ?

To everyone saying this is no Beta: I'd like to point out that THIS is what you wanted Valve to release on 9/30/03, theres no such thing as a much better release in Valves network!

To Valve: I suggest you stop lying to your customers about how much was stolen/compromised, or I'll have to release everything just to prove my point. And you know what you got, as I do.

[Neko Koneko]

What an idiot. Let Valve do their bloody work their way.

[DanielW]

damn, i wonder if what's he's saying is true :unsure:

[onewecallgod]

heard that other little things like top secret future projects were with what was stolen

[donkeyknob]

wasnt the original HL source code given away so mods could be made anyways? why wouldnt they do the same for HL2?

[Danny]

I think they just released an SDK and not the whole source code, but I don't really know what I'm talking about. :o

[Jet Set Willy]

No, the SDK thing was just an idea that some people threw around to rationalise what happened. The game engine was leaked, not the SDK (or not JUST the SDK).

[Jay]

This made some sense to me.... although I ussually know little about what I'm saying. :D



The concern I've seen voiced about the stolen source code is that the game will be a non-stop carnival of cheating and hackery because of it, and I'm not any more worried about that now than I was before. Half-Life 2 will attract top-tier hacking talent because it's going to be a great market for their "services." Imagine a shadow market that exists as a reflection of trends in the actual one, total user base being the key figure - the work that these dark developers do has much greater potential to distort games and such in a context rich with players. Call me crazy, but I have a feeling HL2 will do alright at retail. Like the source code itself, the compiled game's online community will be an irresistible target for stupid, evil assholes. The best minds of the aforementioned shadow market will be hard at work trying to ruin our fun, and even a head start doesn't alter that fundamental principle. At least with this delay, there's a chance Valve can move the target a bit.

Full Article (http://www.penny-arcade.com/news.php3?date=2003-10-04)

EDIT: Check this out too (http://www.gamerswithjobs.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=665)

[<><>]

The downside:
HL2 is probably fucked for life
Steam will probably be a hotbed for viruses and information theft

The upside:
How to make a good 3D engine just got a whole lot cheaper
Crash course in game making... prior knowledge of coding required

[Danny]

Originally posted by Waz@Oct 9 2003, 02:48 AM
No, the SDK thing was just an idea that some people threw around to rationalise what happened. The game engine was leaked, not the SDK (or not JUST the SDK).
My post was referring to Beefs Post.




wasnt the original HL source code given away so mods could be made anyways? why wouldnt they do the same for HL2?

[Jet Set Willy]

Again, I wasn&#39;t reading properly. My mistake.

[Danny]

Have you gone soft again? I was hopeing for some abuse.

[Jet Set Willy]

Seems pointless to abuse you. You didn&#39;t annoy me, I annoyed me. Go see some replies to Neko&#39;s posts for abuse.

[Not-Spekkio]

Is that abuse option still open?

And now, for some ontopic chatter.
If what 1447 h4x0r, or whatever the hell he calls himself, speaks the truth, valve is really sucking some big-ass balls here and hl2 is going in the direction of doom3, big words, little actual work being done.

[Zach]

Steam is a piece of shit anyway.

That&#39;s my opinion.

I was looking forward to HL2, however. For the story more than anything

[El Fugitivo]

Oh, come on. Everyone is making such a big deal of it, but the fact the source code is out there is going to really just affect multiplayer play, not individual users in single player mode. I mean, yeah, it looks like a fucking amazing engine, but really I think the people who are most passionate about the game value the single-player story (or a co-op multiplayer story mode if there were one) over the engine itself and the possibilty of mods, etc. They could at least release a single-player only version for now and then use the next four months to focus on a multiplayer add-on patch or something. I mean, after all, most people who want multiplayer want it for the next Counter-Strike, not Team Fortress or built-in multiplay.

[Jet Set Willy]

Originally posted by El Fugitivo@Oct 15 2003, 07:05 PM
most people who want multiplayer want it for the next Counter-Strike, not Team Fortress or built-in multiplay.
Which will rely on the HL2 engine.
I think the delay is longer than it needs to be, and will only be justified if they change enough to make cheating from this leaked code base impossible.

[DanielW]

http://users.skynet.be/executer/hl2/
here&#39;s some hl2 leaked beta screenshots. note that they were taken in dx8 and not dx9

[El Fugitivo]

Originally posted by Waz+Oct 15 2003, 11:10 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Waz @ Oct 15 2003, 11:10 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-El Fugitivo@Oct 15 2003, 07:05 PM
most people who want multiplayer want it for the next Counter-Strike, not Team Fortress or built-in multiplay.
Which will rely on the HL2 engine.
I think the delay is longer than it needs to be, and will only be justified if they change enough to make cheating from this leaked code base impossible. [/b][/quote]
Fair enough, I guess what I meant was kind of unreasonable (a multiplayer add-on that relied on a different enough engine to prevent cheating). I guess it wouldn&#39;t be so much an add-on as a completely new game. Meh, in any case I&#39;m really not waiting for this game nearly as much as I am for Max Payne 2.

[Fenix282]

does anyone have the game working on their computers? i can get the game to load and thats about it. all i get is the main menu screen.
when i try to start a new game it does nothing. littlery.

[Jet Set Willy]

litrelly

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Zach]

:ph34r:


haha, that&#39;s great.