Since HL2 will be/is 20 yrs. old and we're all getting nostalgia! Let's
talk about those days!

IIRC during the first week of its release, I bought its retail from a
local Best Buy with a $10/10% sale or something back then. According to
my detailed https://zimage.com/~ant/antfarm/about/toys.html history, I
recently upgraded my Windows gaming PC with these parts: "... an AMD
Athlon 64 3200+ 2.2GHz 512KB Socket 754 single core CPU, ASUS K8V SE
Deluxe (VIA K8T800 Socket 754 ATX; VIA VT8237 South Bridge; Revision 2;
onboard sound disabled; onboard NIC not used/connected (using 3COM NIC
for network) and can't be disabled or else Promise Raid won't be
activate), a 3 fan HDD Peeze cooler, 1 GB of PC3200 Kingston RAM (CAS
3), and Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS." :) I think I also got
Windows XP OS too.

Anyways, I remember playing this game over my Thanksgiving weekend. It
was amazing! Very smooth, pretty, and fun! I don't remember how long it
took me to finish it. It was a great sequel. Of course years later,
episodes 1 and 2 (The Orange Box -- will talk about that in three
years). I don't have and want a VR to play Alyx. :(

What about the rest of you?
--
"And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light." --2 Corinthians 11:14. Go away Devil, sins, etc. Quiet TGIF & weekend? I should mv 2.
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On 11/15/2024 7:31 PM, Ant wrote:
> Since HL2 will be/is 20 yrs. old and we're all getting nostalgia! Let's
> talk about those days!
>
> IIRC during the first week of its release, I bought its retail from a
> local Best Buy with a $10/10% sale or something back then. According to
> my detailed https://zimage.com/~ant/antfarm/about/toys.html history, I
> recently upgraded my Windows gaming PC with these parts: "... an AMD
> Athlon 64 3200+ 2.2GHz 512KB Socket 754 single core CPU, ASUS K8V SE
> Deluxe (VIA K8T800 Socket 754 ATX; VIA VT8237 South Bridge; Revision 2;
> onboard sound disabled; onboard NIC not used/connected (using 3COM NIC
> for network) and can't be disabled or else Promise Raid won't be
> activate), a 3 fan HDD Peeze cooler, 1 GB of PC3200 Kingston RAM (CAS
> 3), and Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS." :) I think I also got
> Windows XP OS too.
>
> Anyways, I remember playing this game over my Thanksgiving weekend. It
> was amazing! Very smooth, pretty, and fun! I don't remember how long it
> took me to finish it. It was a great sequel. Of course years later,
> episodes 1 and 2 (The Orange Box -- will talk about that in three
> years). I don't have and want a VR to play Alyx. :(
>
> What about the rest of you?

I remember playing it, headcrabs, ships in the air, the guy and his
daughter. I didn't particularly care for it either, though I did finish
it. I've never had any inclination to replay it. That's about it.

I hadn't discovered the comp. anything yet so I don't have any thoughts
recorded. The first comment I had about was in 2006 replying in a
thread about your favorite games, including of each category in .rpg to
Knight37 & tussock. (even back then we weren't too focused on keeping
it to rpgs in that group)

"
> > 4. Half-Life 2 - best single-player first person shooter
>
> Too many puzzles and platforms for a shooter, not enough action.
> Nothing beats Doom II single player, not yet.

Single player FPS, tough one. Bloodrayne. I liked that much better.
Multiplayer is Counterstrike.
"

No idea what computer it was on either, but had upgraded to XP around
that year, and was on 98 previously, so I must've been running it on a
Windows 98 computer.

--
-Justisaur

ø-ø
(\_/)\
`-'\ `--.___,
¶¬'\( ,_.-'
\\
^'

On Sat, 16 Nov 2024 06:11:34 -0800, Justisaur <justisaur@gmail.com>
wrote:

>On 11/15/2024 7:31 PM, Ant wrote:
>> Since HL2 will be/is 20 yrs. old and we're all getting nostalgia! Let's
>> talk about those days!

I was anti-Steam back in the day; the idea that I was obligated to
install DRM software just to get permission to play the game was
anathema to me (I still find it distasteful). So for years I avoided
buying games on Steam and just didn't play them on my PC. It was only
after it became obvious that the Market had spoken and Steam was,
unfortunately, going to be permanent part of the hobby that I finally
relented.

But just because I didn't want Steam on my PC didn't mean I didn't
play the games. I still did that. I just found myself a loophole (and
no, it wasn't piracy).

Notice I said, 'my' PC. I wasn't going to give Valve my money or allow
their software on my hardware... but if somebody else --say a close
friend who lived nearby and loved video games as much as I did-- was
less ethically constrained... well, it was always fun visiting friends
and if we just HAPPENED to turn on the computer and play some game
that just happened to use Steam, well... these things happen. ;-)

I can't remember the specs of their PC at the time (it was less
powerful than mine, but not much). It played the game well enough and
I don't remember much in the way of bugs or slowdowns.

But my overall impression was one of boredom. Oh sure, there were
moments of excitement. Seeing the G-Man at the start of the game was
_really_ impressive; the facial animation and sharpness of the
graphics was amazing. At a time when a lot of PC games were still
using mouth-flaps to indicate dialogue, that opening hearkened to an
era when our PCs might rival movies with their ability to render CGI.

There were other bits that were quite neat too; leaving the train
station at the start and seeing City 19 spread out in front of us.
There was this bit when you're in the car and come to a dried out
harbor and the scale of everything -not to mention the water effects-
made me stop and go, 'wow'. Robot Dog's animation was really cool.
When you're in the pod getting taken up the alien tower at the end and
see the baddie's army spread out before you: neat!

But the gameplay? Tolerable, at best. From the start, there was this
sense of ennui. 'Oh, they're doing the whole train-ride thing again.'
The levels were so narrow and linear. There was too little dialogue,
too little explanation of what was going on. The weapons -yes, even
the bloody gravity gun- just weren't exciting. Personally, I found all
those 'look, we got physics!' puzzles to be ill-fitting and not that
impressive. I got _so_ tired of fighting the same guards and
headcrabs. And those interminable boat- and car-rides; argh!

It wasn't a terrible game, Half Life 2. Not at all. But it was so
bloody average. 'THIS is what we've been waiting years for?' It was
such a characterless, drab experience (literally; the game was far too
brown!) that there were points were I had to keep myself playing.
'This is Half Life; it's gonna get good. Just keep going,' I'd tell
myself (mostly during those bits with the boat... but there were other
areas too. Ravenholm and the prison. And the mines. And the bridge.
And...)

I wasn't unhappy that I'd played "Half Life 2" by the end... but I
wasn't really impressed either. Sure, the graphics were top-notch, but
that was only for today. The game reminded me a lot of "Unreal 2" (a
game almost nobody remembers); also a sequel to an amazing legacy
game, it also had amazing graphics, some neat new gameplay ideas, some
interesting maps... but was a fairly lackluster experience overall.

I earnestly believe that if "Half Life 2" came out under a different
name it wouldn't be remembered half as well as it is. It's not really
that good.

But I played it and -years later when I finally, grudgingly accepted
Steam into my life- bought it and replayed it. I've gone back a few
times since then. But it's more because it's a Half Life game than out
of any fondness for the title. I play it because it's _still_ so hyped
up, and I tell myself that surely THIS time I'll see why people love
it so much.

It never happens.

But kudos to Valve. They persevered and by the time Episode Two came
out, I actually was invested in the series again. Valve had found its
magic once more! I was sure the next game was going to prove all those
fans right; that Half Life really was a series worth playing.

Any day now...

>>On 11/15/2024 7:31 PM, Ant wrote:
>>> Since HL2 will be/is 20 yrs. old and we're all getting nostalgia! Let's
>>> talk about those days!

I decided to see what I wrote about the game back 'in the day'. TODAY
I remember not being that impressed, but was that really the case in
2004? Am I just looking back at it with dung-colored glasses? I had to
find out.

Because "Half Life 2" came out before we started our traditional 'what
have you been playing' threads, I don't really have a review for it
the same way I have for many later games.

[In fact, the controversy about Steam is what prompted the
creation of that endless thread, as a break from people
constantly bickering about it. But even so, it was _years_
before I tormented people with my novel-length essays about
each games, so even had I written an end-of-month review
about Half Life 2 at the time, it probably only would have
been a sentence or two. Oh, how times have changed!]

Still, I did dig out my initial thoughts of the game when I finally
did play it in March 2005:

Well, enough. Half Life 2 eventually installed. For all that
trouble, I can't say I'm THAT impressed. Oh, so far it's nice
and all, but hardly revolutionary. The physics gun is neat,
but c'mon, we've seen similar stuff before (hell, its basically
just an evolution of Trespasser's jiggly arm!). The graphics
are nice, but not exceptional (except for the G-Man in the
intro; now THAT blew me away. Awesome facial animation). Lots
of atmosphere, not much substance so far. Linear levels. Very
good game, but heads 'n' shoulder above the rest? Not so far.
Oh well, maybe the good stuff happens later on.

A month later, having finished the game, I also commented:

Having said all that, while Half Life 2 has an interesting
backstory, the actual drama you play through is very weak;
it's about at the same level as Doom (the original!)
level as Doom (the original!), practically

So it's not just me being curmudgeonly today; I didn't think much of
the game when it was new either. Which just goes to prove that I've
been a grump for a long, long time ;-)

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
> >>On 11/15/2024 7:31 PM, Ant wrote:
> >>> Since HL2 will be/is 20 yrs. old and we're all getting nostalgia! Let's
> >>> talk about those days!

> I decided to see what I wrote about the game back 'in the day'. TODAY
> I remember not being that impressed, but was that really the case in
> 2004? Am I just looking back at it with dung-colored glasses? I had to
> find out.

> Because "Half Life 2" came out before we started our traditional 'what
> have you been playing' threads, I don't really have a review for it
> the same way I have for many later games.

> [In fact, the controversy about Steam is what prompted the
> creation of that endless thread, as a break from people
> constantly bickering about it. But even so, it was _years_
> before I tormented people with my novel-length essays about
> each games, so even had I written an end-of-month review
> about Half Life 2 at the time, it probably only would have
> been a sentence or two. Oh, how times have changed!]

> Still, I did dig out my initial thoughts of the game when I finally
> did play it in March 2005:

> Well, enough. Half Life 2 eventually installed. For all that
> trouble, I can't say I'm THAT impressed. Oh, so far it's nice
> and all, but hardly revolutionary. The physics gun is neat,
> but c'mon, we've seen similar stuff before (hell, its basically
> just an evolution of Trespasser's jiggly arm!). The graphics
> are nice, but not exceptional (except for the G-Man in the
> intro; now THAT blew me away. Awesome facial animation). Lots
> of atmosphere, not much substance so far. Linear levels. Very
> good game, but heads 'n' shoulder above the rest? Not so far.
> Oh well, maybe the good stuff happens later on.

> A month later, having finished the game, I also commented:

>
> Having said all that, while Half Life 2 has an interesting
> backstory, the actual drama you play through is very weak;
> it's about at the same level as Doom (the original!)
> level as Doom (the original!), practically

> So it's not just me being curmudgeonly today; I didn't think much of
> the game when it was new either. Which just goes to prove that I've
> been a grump for a long, long time ;-)

Are you looking at your saved local posts?! Or are those online? I miss DejaNews! :(
--
"Instead, they were longing for a better country--a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." --Hebrews 11:16. I wanna move 2 there. "Rise & shine, Mr. Freeman..." HL2 is 20 yrs. old!
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On 16/11/2024 14:11, Justisaur wrote:
>> Anyways, I remember playing this game over my Thanksgiving weekend. It
>> was amazing! Very smooth, pretty, and fun! I don't remember how long it
>> took me to finish it. It was a great sequel. Of course years later,
>> episodes 1 and 2 (The Orange Box -- will talk about that in three
>> years). I don't have and want a VR to play Alyx. 🙁
>>
>> What about the rest of you?
>
>
> I remember playing it, headcrabs, ships in the air, the guy and his
> daughter.  I didn't particularly care for it either, though I did finish
> it.  I've never had any inclination to replay it.  That's about it.
>
> I hadn't discovered the comp. anything yet so I don't have any thoughts
> recorded.  The first comment I had about was in 2006 replying in a
> thread about your favorite games, including of each category in .rpg to
> Knight37 & tussock.  (even back then we weren't too focused on keeping
> it to rpgs in that group)

Obviously not as groundbreaking as HL:1 but I still feel it's a very
good game but doesn't meet the bar of my all time classics, HL:1 does
though. One thing I think it does really well is that levels have their
own feel both in terms of gameplay and environment. That means it's one
of the few games that I played to the end and wasn't already in the
territory of not enjoying it that much but just playing on to see the end.

I still have my bouts every few years of replaying it and both episodes.
See also HL:1, Blueshift and Opposing Forces!

On 16/11/2024 14:11, Justisaur wrote:
>> Anyways, I remember playing this game over my Thanksgiving weekend. It
>> was amazing! Very smooth, pretty, and fun! I don't remember how long it
>> took me to finish it. It was a great sequel. Of course years later,
>> episodes 1 and 2 (The Orange Box -- will talk about that in three
>> years). I don't have and want a VR to play Alyx. 🙁
>>
>> What about the rest of you?
>
>
> I remember playing it, headcrabs, ships in the air, the guy and his
> daughter.  I didn't particularly care for it either, though I did finish
> it.  I've never had any inclination to replay it.  That's about it.
>
> I hadn't discovered the comp. anything yet so I don't have any thoughts
> recorded.  The first comment I had about was in 2006 replying in a
> thread about your favorite games, including of each category in .rpg to
> Knight37 & tussock.  (even back then we weren't too focused on keeping
> it to rpgs in that group)

Obviously not as groundbreaking as HL:1 but I still feel it's a very
good game but doesn't meet the bar of my all time classics, HL:1 does
though. One thing I think it does really well is that levels have their
own feel both in terms of gameplay and environment. That means it's one
of the few games that I played to the end and wasn't already in the
territory of not enjoying it that much but just playing on to see the end.

I still have my bouts every few years of replaying it and both episodes.
See also HL:1, Blueshift and Opposing Forces!

On Sun, 17 Nov 2024 01:03:45 +0000, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:

>Are you looking at your saved local posts?! Or are those online? I miss DejaNews! :(

It's all local. (I have a spreadsheet!* ;-)

I mean, you can probably find them on narkive.com too if you dig
deeply enough. AFAIK it doesn't have a search feature though, so
you'll just have to keep adding older posts until you get to 2005. It
may take a few hours (days) but for something so important, I'm sure
you have the time ;-)

More realistically, you can still search Google's Usenet archives too,
on Google Groups. They aren't /updated/ past Feb 22 2024, but all the
older content is still there. It's useless for browsing though, since
Google didn't filter out any of the spam. But if you have an idea of
what you're looking for, it's probably findable.

* not actually a spreadsheet

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Sun, 17 Nov 2024 01:03:45 +0000, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:

> >Are you looking at your saved local posts?! Or are those online? I miss DejaNews! :(

> It's all local. (I have a spreadsheet!* ;-)

Wow. You keep track of everything locally, don't you? ;-)

> I mean, you can probably find them on narkive.com too if you dig
> deeply enough. AFAIK it doesn't have a search feature though, so
> you'll just have to keep adding older posts until you get to 2005. It
> may take a few hours (days) but for something so important, I'm sure
> you have the time ;-)

> More realistically, you can still search Google's Usenet archives too,
> on Google Groups. They aren't /updated/ past Feb 22 2024, but all the
> older content is still there. It's useless for browsing though, since
> Google didn't filter out any of the spam. But if you have an idea of
> what you're looking for, it's probably findable.

Ugh. See, this is why I miss DejaNews. Heck, Google Groups could in its
early days before it got worse. And why does https://groups.google.com
require me to log in? Frak that.

> * not actually a spreadsheet

Oh, you pecker. :P
--
"[The Lord said] 'Woe to the worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May the sword strike his arm and his right eye! May his arm be completely withered, his right eye totally blinded!'" --Zechariah 11:17. Winter nights with a missing favorite chicken! "The spice must flow."
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/ /\ /\ \ Please nuke ANT if replying by e-mail.
| |o o| |
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On Mon, 18 Nov 2024 01:06:32 +0000, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:
>Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Sun, 17 Nov 2024 01:03:45 +0000, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:

>> >Are you looking at your saved local posts?! Or are those online? I miss DejaNews! :(

>> It's all local. (I have a spreadsheet!* ;-)

>Wow. You keep track of everything locally, don't you? ;-)

>
>Ugh. See, this is why I miss DejaNews. Heck, Google Groups could in its
>early days before it got worse. And why does https://groups.google.com
>require me to log in? Frak that.

Google was always awful in comparison to Deja News, and only got worse
as the years rolled on. But it got terrible once they rolled Usenet
into their whole Groups interface; it polluted both streams and I
don't think it made users of either platform happier for the
intersection.

Still, I was surprised to see how much spam was on c.s.i.p.g.action,
according to Google. Almost all of that got filtered server-side for
me and it was rare that any snuck through so it actually ended up on
my client. Of course, Google could have filtered it too, but I guess
since most of it was /coming/ from Google groups users, that might
have been a conflict of interest.

Narkive is pretty good, although I do wish they had the ability to
better locate articles. The lack is forgivable though, since that
would likely require a lot more CPU and bandwidth, and I suspect the
site is already run on a shoestring.

>> * not actually a spreadsheet

>Oh, you pecker. :P

Would it make you feel better if I told you it was a five-gigabyte MS
Access database?* ;-)

* I don't actually use a database either. If you must know, it's all
just a bunch of plain text files stored in a ZIP** archive.

** okay, it's a 7Z archive ;-)

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Mon, 18 Nov 2024 01:06:32 +0000, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:
> >Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> On Sun, 17 Nov 2024 01:03:45 +0000, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:

> >> >Are you looking at your saved local posts?! Or are those online? I miss DejaNews! :(

> >> It's all local. (I have a spreadsheet!* ;-)

> >Wow. You keep track of everything locally, don't you? ;-)

> >
> >Ugh. See, this is why I miss DejaNews. Heck, Google Groups could in its
> >early days before it got worse. And why does https://groups.google.com
> >require me to log in? Frak that.

> Google was always awful in comparison to Deja News, and only got worse
> as the years rolled on. But it got terrible once they rolled Usenet
> into their whole Groups interface; it polluted both streams and I
> don't think it made users of either platform happier for the
> intersection.

> Still, I was surprised to see how much spam was on c.s.i.p.g.action,
> according to Google. Almost all of that got filtered server-side for
> me and it was rare that any snuck through so it actually ended up on
> my client. Of course, Google could have filtered it too, but I guess
> since most of it was /coming/ from Google groups users, that might
> have been a conflict of interest.

> Narkive is pretty good, although I do wish they had the ability to
> better locate articles. The lack is forgivable though, since that
> would likely require a lot more CPU and bandwidth, and I suspect the
> site is already run on a shoestring.

> >> * not actually a spreadsheet

> >Oh, you pecker. :P

> Would it make you feel better if I told you it was a five-gigabyte MS
> Access database?* ;-)

Geez. Big.

> * I don't actually use a database either. If you must know, it's all
> just a bunch of plain text files stored in a ZIP** archive.

5 GB of text files? Impressive. I am also an old school basic text files
too.

> ** okay, it's a 7Z archive ;-)

How big in total decompressed?
--
"When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, 'So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.'" --Acts 11:18. Chicken & King R 2 far!
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/ /\ /\ \ Please nuke ANT if replying by e-mail.
| |o o| |
\ _ /
( )

On 11/18/2024 6:42 PM, Ant wrote:
> Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Mon, 18 Nov 2024 01:06:32 +0000, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:
>>> Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> On Sun, 17 Nov 2024 01:03:45 +0000, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:
>
>
>>>>> Are you looking at your saved local posts?! Or are those online? I miss DejaNews! :(
>
>>>> It's all local. (I have a spreadsheet!* ;-)
>
>>> Wow. You keep track of everything locally, don't you? ;-)
>
>>>
>>> Ugh. See, this is why I miss DejaNews. Heck, Google Groups could in its
>>> early days before it got worse. And why does https://groups.google.com
>>> require me to log in? Frak that.
>
>> Google was always awful in comparison to Deja News, and only got worse
>> as the years rolled on. But it got terrible once they rolled Usenet
>> into their whole Groups interface; it polluted both streams and I
>> don't think it made users of either platform happier for the
>> intersection.
>
>> Still, I was surprised to see how much spam was on c.s.i.p.g.action,
>> according to Google. Almost all of that got filtered server-side for
>> me and it was rare that any snuck through so it actually ended up on
>> my client. Of course, Google could have filtered it too, but I guess
>> since most of it was /coming/ from Google groups users, that might
>> have been a conflict of interest.
>
>> Narkive is pretty good, although I do wish they had the ability to
>> better locate articles. The lack is forgivable though, since that
>> would likely require a lot more CPU and bandwidth, and I suspect the
>> site is already run on a shoestring.
>
>
>>>> * not actually a spreadsheet
>
>>> Oh, you pecker. :P
>
>> Would it make you feel better if I told you it was a five-gigabyte MS
>> Access database?* ;-)
>
> Geez. Big.
>
>
>> * I don't actually use a database either. If you must know, it's all
>> just a bunch of plain text files stored in a ZIP** archive.
>
> 5 GB of text files? Impressive. I am also an old school basic text files
> too.
>
>
>> ** okay, it's a 7Z archive ;-)
>
> How big in total decompressed?

3 bytes.

--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

On Tue, 19 Nov 2024 02:42:30 +0000, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:
>Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

>> * I don't actually use a database either. If you must know, it's all
>> just a bunch of plain text files stored in a ZIP** archive.

>5 GB of text files? Impressive. I am also an old school basic text files
>too.

No, it's 5GB in imaginary MS Access database files. ;-)

>> ** okay, it's a 7Z archive ;-)

>How big in total decompressed?

Even compressed, it's significantly less, by several magnitudes. Plain
text compresses really well and the whole archive is only around 60mb.
Uncompressed, the old posts are probably ~50MB (the archive contains a
bunch of text from a variety of sources and I'm too lazy to select
just the csipga stuff and extract to see for sure). It's a combination
of my posts and other posts I thought interesting enough to save.

But I'm sure if I put it into MS Access I could bloat it to 5GB ;-)

Ant <ant@zimage.comANT> wrote at 03:31 this Saturday (GMT):
> Since HL2 will be/is 20 yrs. old and we're all getting nostalgia! Let's
> talk about those days!
>
> IIRC during the first week of its release, I bought its retail from a
> local Best Buy with a $10/10% sale or something back then. According to
> my detailed https://zimage.com/~ant/antfarm/about/toys.html history, I
> recently upgraded my Windows gaming PC with these parts: "... an AMD
> Athlon 64 3200+ 2.2GHz 512KB Socket 754 single core CPU, ASUS K8V SE
> Deluxe (VIA K8T800 Socket 754 ATX; VIA VT8237 South Bridge; Revision 2;
> onboard sound disabled; onboard NIC not used/connected (using 3COM NIC
> for network) and can't be disabled or else Promise Raid won't be
> activate), a 3 fan HDD Peeze cooler, 1 GB of PC3200 Kingston RAM (CAS
> 3), and Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS." :) I think I also got
> Windows XP OS too.
>
> Anyways, I remember playing this game over my Thanksgiving weekend. It
> was amazing! Very smooth, pretty, and fun! I don't remember how long it
> took me to finish it. It was a great sequel. Of course years later,
> episodes 1 and 2 (The Orange Box -- will talk about that in three
> years). I don't have and want a VR to play Alyx. :(
>
> What about the rest of you?

I got it in the modern day, and I remember enjoying it but not fully
seeing why people adore it so much?
--
user <candycane> is generated from /dev/urandom

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote at 15:43 this Monday (GMT):
> On Mon, 18 Nov 2024 01:06:32 +0000, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:
>>Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> On Sun, 17 Nov 2024 01:03:45 +0000, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:
>
>
>>> >Are you looking at your saved local posts?! Or are those online? I miss DejaNews! :(
>
>>> It's all local. (I have a spreadsheet!* ;-)
>
>>Wow. You keep track of everything locally, don't you? ;-)
>
>>
>>Ugh. See, this is why I miss DejaNews. Heck, Google Groups could in its
>>early days before it got worse. And why does https://groups.google.com
>>require me to log in? Frak that.
>
> Google was always awful in comparison to Deja News, and only got worse
> as the years rolled on. But it got terrible once they rolled Usenet
> into their whole Groups interface; it polluted both streams and I
> don't think it made users of either platform happier for the
> intersection.
>
> Still, I was surprised to see how much spam was on c.s.i.p.g.action,
> according to Google. Almost all of that got filtered server-side for
> me and it was rare that any snuck through so it actually ended up on
> my client. Of course, Google could have filtered it too, but I guess
> since most of it was /coming/ from Google groups users, that might
> have been a conflict of interest.
>
> Narkive is pretty good, although I do wish they had the ability to
> better locate articles. The lack is forgivable though, since that
> would likely require a lot more CPU and bandwidth, and I suspect the
> site is already run on a shoestring.
>
>
>>> * not actually a spreadsheet
>
>>Oh, you pecker. :P
>
> Would it make you feel better if I told you it was a five-gigabyte MS
> Access database?* ;-)
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> * I don't actually use a database either. If you must know, it's all
> just a bunch of plain text files stored in a ZIP** archive.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ** okay, it's a 7Z archive ;-)

That's a lot of data!
Also, I think https://newsgrouper.org.uk/ has some historic archives
too.
--
user <candycane> is generated from /dev/urandom

On Wed, 20 Nov 2024 17:50:06 -0000 (UTC), candycanearter07
<candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> wrote:

>Also, I think https://newsgrouper.org.uk/ has some historic archives
>too.

Good catch.
Newsgrouper at least has a search functionality, even if it is very
limited.

On Wed, 20 Nov 2024 17:50:05 -0000 (UTC), candycanearter07
<candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> wrote:
>Ant <ant@zimage.comANT> wrote at 03:31 this Saturday (GMT):

>> Since HL2 will be/is 20 yrs. old and we're all getting nostalgia! Let's
>> talk about those days!

>I got it in the modern day, and I remember enjoying it but not fully
>seeing why people adore it so much?

If the comments here are anything to go on, most people --even the
ones who bought it back in 2004-- feel the same way.

The original "Half Life" really was revolutionary; its success
transformed the FPS genre. "Half Life 2"? It was an okay game but
hardly a match for its predecessor.

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote at 18:38 this Wednesday (GMT):
> On Wed, 20 Nov 2024 17:50:05 -0000 (UTC), candycanearter07
><candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> wrote:
>>Ant <ant@zimage.comANT> wrote at 03:31 this Saturday (GMT):
>
>>> Since HL2 will be/is 20 yrs. old and we're all getting nostalgia! Let's
>>> talk about those days!
>
>>I got it in the modern day, and I remember enjoying it but not fully
>>seeing why people adore it so much?
>
> If the comments here are anything to go on, most people --even the
> ones who bought it back in 2004-- feel the same way.
>
> The original "Half Life" really was revolutionary; its success
> transformed the FPS genre. "Half Life 2"? It was an okay game but
> hardly a match for its predecessor.

It's definitely a pretty good game tho.
--
user <candycane> is generated from /dev/urandom

candycanearter07 wrote:
> Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote at 18:38 this Wednesday (GMT):
>> On Wed, 20 Nov 2024 17:50:05 -0000 (UTC), candycanearter07
>> <candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> wrote:
>>> Ant <ant@zimage.comANT> wrote at 03:31 this Saturday (GMT):
>>
>>>> Since HL2 will be/is 20 yrs. old and we're all getting nostalgia! Let's
>>>> talk about those days!
>>
>>> I got it in the modern day, and I remember enjoying it but not fully
>>> seeing why people adore it so much?
>>
>> If the comments here are anything to go on, most people --even the
>> ones who bought it back in 2004-- feel the same way.
>>
>> The original "Half Life" really was revolutionary; its success
>> transformed the FPS genre. "Half Life 2"? It was an okay game but
>> hardly a match for its predecessor.

Maybe it's better if HL2 is the beginning of the series for you.
Stepping into HL2 with no prior experience it's who am I some kind of
celebrity or national hero; everybody knows my name.

It was enough to draw me in. I played until I was stuck and then went
back a few times (got a little further).

obgameExperience: Really like that pipe. I played Rainbow 6: Raven
Shield for 400 hours and never once scored a knife kill.

On 20/11/2024 18:38, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
> On Wed, 20 Nov 2024 17:50:05 -0000 (UTC), candycanearter07
> <candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> wrote:
>> Ant <ant@zimage.comANT> wrote at 03:31 this Saturday (GMT):
>
>>> Since HL2 will be/is 20 yrs. old and we're all getting nostalgia! Let's
>>> talk about those days!
>
>> I got it in the modern day, and I remember enjoying it but not fully
>> seeing why people adore it so much?
>
> If the comments here are anything to go on, most people --even the
> ones who bought it back in 2004-- feel the same way.
>
> The original "Half Life" really was revolutionary; its success
> transformed the FPS genre. "Half Life 2"? It was an okay game but
> hardly a match for its predecessor.
>

It's pretty rare that a sequel to a game* that was revolutionary, ground
breaking, daring to be different etc. is ever going to be matched by
it's sequel. You just can't replicate that feel of an original. BG:II I
think is objectively a better game that BG:1 but I still enjoyed the
latter more. HL:1 is definitely better though!

*Or a film come to think of it. Even with Blade Runner 2049 I thought
they did a really good job of creating a film with it's own identity but
still clearly Blade Runner but you still can't match scenes such as the
interview or the death speech. Then we have Das Boot (the mini-series).
I was looking forward to the reboot but managed two or so episodes
before thinking, the whole point is it's about the crew of the
submarine, their interactions and also how the mundane is punctuated by
the terrifying. How could you get that so wrong. I dread to think what
the later series turned into.

JAB wrote:
> On 20/11/2024 18:38, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>> On Wed, 20 Nov 2024 17:50:05 -0000 (UTC), candycanearter07
>> <candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> wrote:
>>> Ant <ant@zimage.comANT> wrote at 03:31 this Saturday (GMT):
>>
>>>> Since HL2 will be/is 20 yrs. old and we're all getting nostalgia! Let's
>>>> talk about those days!
>>
>>> I got it in the modern day, and I remember enjoying it but not fully
>>> seeing why people adore it so much?
>>
>> If the comments here are anything to go on, most people --even the
>> ones who bought it back in 2004-- feel the same way.
>>
>> The original "Half Life" really was revolutionary; its success
>> transformed the FPS genre. "Half Life 2"? It was an okay game but
>> hardly a match for its predecessor.
>>
>
> It's pretty rare that a sequel to a game* that was revolutionary, ground
> breaking, daring to be different etc. is ever going to be matched by
> it's sequel. You just can't replicate that feel of an original. BG:II I
> think is objectively a better game that BG:1 but I still enjoyed the
> latter more. HL:1 is definitely better though!
>
> *Or a film come to think of it. Even with Blade Runner 2049 I thought
> they did a really good job of creating a film with it's own identity but
> still clearly Blade Runner but you still can't match scenes such as the
> interview or the death speech. Then we have Das Boot (the mini-series).
> I was looking forward to the reboot but managed two or so episodes
> before thinking, the whole point is it's about the crew of the
> submarine, their interactions and also how the mundane is punctuated by
> the terrifying. How could you get that so wrong. I dread to think what
> the later series turned into.
>
It basicall-y became a watermelon-lime with 40 cal. a can.

Jhulian Waldby <wichitajayhawks@msn.com> wrote at 00:35 this Thursday (GMT):
> candycanearter07 wrote:
>> Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote at 18:38 this Wednesday (GMT):
>>> On Wed, 20 Nov 2024 17:50:05 -0000 (UTC), candycanearter07
>>> <candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> wrote:
>>>> Ant <ant@zimage.comANT> wrote at 03:31 this Saturday (GMT):
>>>
>>>>> Since HL2 will be/is 20 yrs. old and we're all getting nostalgia! Let's
>>>>> talk about those days!
>>>
>>>> I got it in the modern day, and I remember enjoying it but not fully
>>>> seeing why people adore it so much?
>>>
>>> If the comments here are anything to go on, most people --even the
>>> ones who bought it back in 2004-- feel the same way.
>>>
>>> The original "Half Life" really was revolutionary; its success
>>> transformed the FPS genre. "Half Life 2"? It was an okay game but
>>> hardly a match for its predecessor.
>
> Maybe it's better if HL2 is the beginning of the series for you.
> Stepping into HL2 with no prior experience it's who am I some kind of
> celebrity or national hero; everybody knows my name.
>
> It was enough to draw me in. I played until I was stuck and then went
> back a few times (got a little further).

Same. Nova Prospekt really confused me.

> obgameExperience: Really like that pipe. I played Rainbow 6: Raven
> Shield for 400 hours and never once scored a knife kill.

What?
--
user <candycane> is generated from /dev/urandom

Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Wed, 20 Nov 2024 17:50:06 -0000 (UTC), candycanearter07
> <candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> wrote:

> >Also, I think https://newsgrouper.org.uk/ has some historic archives
> >too.

> Good catch.
> Newsgrouper at least has a search functionality, even if it is very
> limited.

Yeah. It needs a search for email address I used. :(
--
"The Lord detests those whose hearts are perverse, but he delights in those whose ways are blameless." --Proverbs 11:20. Quiet Th.? Annoying itchy body.
Note: A fixed width font (Courier, Monospace, etc.) is required to see this signature correctly.
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candycanearter07 wrote:
> Jhulian Waldby <wichitajayhawks@msn.com> wrote at 00:35 this Thursday (GMT):
>> candycanearter07 wrote:
>>> Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote at 18:38 this Wednesday (GMT):
>>>> On Wed, 20 Nov 2024 17:50:05 -0000 (UTC), candycanearter07
>>>> <candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> wrote:
>>>>> Ant <ant@zimage.comANT> wrote at 03:31 this Saturday (GMT):
>>>>
>>>>>> Since HL2 will be/is 20 yrs. old and we're all getting nostalgia! Let's
>>>>>> talk about those days!
>>>>
>>>>> I got it in the modern day, and I remember enjoying it but not fully
>>>>> seeing why people adore it so much?
>>>>
>>>> If the comments here are anything to go on, most people --even the
>>>> ones who bought it back in 2004-- feel the same way.
>>>>
>>>> The original "Half Life" really was revolutionary; its success
>>>> transformed the FPS genre. "Half Life 2"? It was an okay game but
>>>> hardly a match for its predecessor.
>>
>> Maybe it's better if HL2 is the beginning of the series for you.
>> Stepping into HL2 with no prior experience it's who am I some kind of
>> celebrity or national hero; everybody knows my name.
>>
>> It was enough to draw me in. I played until I was stuck and then went
>> back a few times (got a little further).
>
> Same. Nova Prospekt really confused me.
>
>> obgameExperience: Really like that pipe. I played Rainbow 6: Raven
>> Shield for 400 hours and never once scored a knife kill.
>
> What?
>

The HL2 melee weapon, a piece of pipe, has a good range that it reaches.
The Raven Shield knife covers an inappreciable distance. Same with
the Call of Duty knife. HL2 is more "Skyrim-like".

Jhulian Waldby <wichitajayhawks@msn.com> wrote at 07:06 this Friday (GMT):
> candycanearter07 wrote:
>> Jhulian Waldby <wichitajayhawks@msn.com> wrote at 00:35 this Thursday (GMT):
>>> candycanearter07 wrote:
>>>> Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote at 18:38 this Wednesday (GMT):
>>>>> On Wed, 20 Nov 2024 17:50:05 -0000 (UTC), candycanearter07
>>>>> <candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> wrote:
>>>>>> Ant <ant@zimage.comANT> wrote at 03:31 this Saturday (GMT):
>>>>>
>>>>>>> Since HL2 will be/is 20 yrs. old and we're all getting nostalgia! Let's
>>>>>>> talk about those days!
>>>>>
>>>>>> I got it in the modern day, and I remember enjoying it but not fully
>>>>>> seeing why people adore it so much?
>>>>>
>>>>> If the comments here are anything to go on, most people --even the
>>>>> ones who bought it back in 2004-- feel the same way.
>>>>>
>>>>> The original "Half Life" really was revolutionary; its success
>>>>> transformed the FPS genre. "Half Life 2"? It was an okay game but
>>>>> hardly a match for its predecessor.
>>>
>>> Maybe it's better if HL2 is the beginning of the series for you.
>>> Stepping into HL2 with no prior experience it's who am I some kind of
>>> celebrity or national hero; everybody knows my name.
>>>
>>> It was enough to draw me in. I played until I was stuck and then went
>>> back a few times (got a little further).
>>
>> Same. Nova Prospekt really confused me.
>>
>>> obgameExperience: Really like that pipe. I played Rainbow 6: Raven
>>> Shield for 400 hours and never once scored a knife kill.
>>
>> What?
>>
>
> The HL2 melee weapon, a piece of pipe, has a good range that it reaches.
> The Raven Shield knife covers an inappreciable distance. Same with
> the Call of Duty knife. HL2 is more "Skyrim-like".

Oh, I never noticed that. More invisible game design stuff.
--
user <candycane> is generated from /dev/urandom