Riiighhtt................

Errm Okaaay

hm, works the

Half-Life 2 v1.0 OFFLINE ACTIVATION PATCH

on the gcw site that was posting by ownage ?

I just tried that and it gives me some message in french saying "You can not brush" or something like that :mad:

hm, the exe on the gcw site is thus a fake ?

It sure is, it says "Patch hl2.exe", but there is no hl2.exe. Half Life 2 is started via the steam.exe

And the text in french means as much as "You can **ck yourself!"

I hope there'll be a crack soon, 'cause I'm a student and I've got no I-net connection in my flat, so even if I bought HL² I could not play it. I'm very unhappy about VALVes or should I better say Vivendis' new policies...

Hey all, Well I bought HL2 lastnight and installed it. 5 CD's are a little much IMO, but I did it anyway. It took over an hour and 20 min to install and then figure out how to play the single player mode because the Game package I bought didnt even come with install instructions!!! Anyway I have the game working now and it's great.
Does anyone know of away to burn CD1 so I can play off the burned CD instead of the store bought one? I don't like to use the store bought CD's in my drives incase of damage. I tried to burn it and use it , but it tells me I have the wrong CD in the drive. :confused: I don't mind putting a CD in the drive to play until a No CD File is made, but I don't want to use the CD I bolught.

Anyone have any luck with this yet???

Thanks

hl2.exe
 

There is an hl2.exe it resides in
C:\Program Files\Valve\Steam\SteamApps\[STEAMID REMOVED FROM POST]\half-life 2\hl2.exe (if you installed to the default locations)
hl2.exe is protected by SecuROM.

I've got a valid steam login with a regged copy, but I cant get backups to run because of the damn securerom check. I've heard of several people downloading directly from steam and they dont even have cd's so I tried that, but it still wants the damn cd in there. Hopefully someone who got the game that way could post thier hl2.exe to gcw or something. I assume the emporio release includes either that version of the exe or a fixed one at least.

It has not taken much time!
There is a warez release out with a crack !!!

see this NFO: http://www.nforce.nl/index.php?m=nfo&id=79184

GLH - that release has been nuked already. it was available 24 hours ago and immediately people were complaining about glitches and crashes.
there have been a couple of fixes released for it, but they have been nuked as well (that could be either because they dont work, or because theres not much point in getting a broken release and fixing it when a new release will be made)

so at the moment it seems confusing whether its been succesfully hacked or not, but i guess its only a matter of time anyway. some determined hacker will manage to get it activated. and i guess that will be useful for those without internet connections on the PC they want to play HL2 on

As I have already managed to actvate the game, my only interest right now is in a noCD/DVD patch.

Whoever made the decision to use SecuROM protection on a game that already requires activation should be slowly tortured to death.

Perhaps someone with the Steam-downloaded version could look into the issue, since there's no disc requirement there.

Since I don't need to be an admin to play the game, I'd even settle for a small virtual image.

Ok so my question -

Is there a way to remove the cd-rom check but not the Steam updating etc. I own a copy, I don't mind having Steam keep me up to date - I don't like having to have the cd in the drive. I think that sucks.

Now obviously those who bought the game directly from Steam wouldn't have to have a cd in the drive (they don't even have one!) so there must be an .exe which runs HL2, updates by Steam, but *doesn't* do a cd check.

Any ideas if this is possible?

If the offline activation patch is a fake, you are kindly asked to remove it.
I think people are sufficient annoyed by steam, so please dont be kidding.

I have the download version. The icon to run the game is in the Steam program so you need to log onto Steam to click on it. I sent a shortcut to my desktop so I don't click the Steam icon and log on and go that way but when I click the icon on my desktop it logs me into Steam. The icon shortcut is "C:\Program Files\Steam\Steam.exe" -applaunch 220

It will not run at all if I do not have internet access. So I have to be online every time I play the game which is not a problem for me because I have Cable but if I had dialup that would so suck.

P.S. Does the stupid air boat level ever end??? Graphics are great but gameplay sucks so far. You can still only jump about an inch high and if your not perfectly lined up with a doorway and you hit the side you just stay there until you move yourself over instead of pushing you over and through the door. If I paid for this game I would be dissapointed.

My english isn't very well, but do i understand this right:
You have the Download-via-Steam-Version, but you don't have paid for it ???

LOL
You still ask ikke? ^^

It came free with something I purchased on ebay. I almost threw it out because I didn't think the game was ever going to be released. It was just a card that you scratch off to reveal a number to download the game.

this is extremely upsetting
 

Move my post if you need to. I just hope someone notices this...

Apart from the game itself I notice that nobody picks up the issue of the internet activation. There is a big world out there that is not USA, UK, Germany or France (this is probably a shock to the developers) but "unfortunately" true. And this big world out there filled with people and gamers don't have a superfast connection to the net, many of them don't have an internet connection at all. Many of them don't know that PC stands for "Internet Machine". It would seem to me that the developer-thought behind this is: "if you don't have an internet connection then you probably can't afford the legal copy anyway, so you don't get to play" or "you have a code on your games box and with it you can download a decryption key from us, if you can't do that, then you are a thief and we will have nothing to do with you". Spit in the face to poor people and people not residing in the beforementioned countries, by the developers.

Valve/Steam/VU Games basically say: This game can only be played by people with access to internet. I ask you: Where will this lead? Will games in the future be made specifically for countries with a certain BMP? For people of a certain sexual preference? Certain skin colour? Religion?

Am I going to far and off topic? Maybe, maybe not.

By all means, copy protection, yes. Invest and make a disc that can't be copied. Do whatever but don't make the internet a requirement for a singleplayer game.

What an internet-online-account-copy-protection means to me is that the pirates and hackers and crack programs will need to change direction and also become better and more specialised, meaning the internet security will drastically drop. As it is now hackers are hacking cd-s and copy-protection-specific programs not online databases, at least not to crack a mere game for a no-cd crack - which will need to be done in order to crack this sort of “future” protection.

Games for me are meant to be – p l a y e d - and enjoyed, for relaxation or recreation, not to be bartered like an economical investment... a pity that commercialisation kills yet another form of relaxation/entertainment. A low down, dirty, pity!

Man I could not have said that better myself. Amen to that!

Not that it needed to be quoted, but that was a damn fine post from dalver. Personally, I think even more developers will follow VALVe into this Online Activiation/Distribution system. But thats just my 2 pence.

@dalvar
I will agree with the 'Joyboy' and would like to say mighty fine post!
Have you thought about entering Politics? You would probably win as there would be many gamers that would vote for you. ;)

I don't really think it was a fine post..

dalver goes on and on about how unfair it is to places other than USA, UK, Germany etc. Needing an internet connection is a "spit in the face to poor people and people not residing in the beforementioned countries, by the developers." Well how come you aren't whining about the other requirements? Is it a spit in the face to have to have a geForce3+? How many of these "poor people" have a geforce, or 256 MB RAM, or an 1100 mhz processor (can't remember exactly what the min specs are)? Why do you focus on one requirement? It's just discrimination to expect poor people to have a fast PC! How dare Valve! :rolleyes:

Do you bitch and moan that Star Wars Galaxies requires an internet connection? No? Well so does Half Life 2. Get over it.

Do you complain that people like me who use Linux can't play Half Life 2? I doubt it. I cannot fathom why you have latched onto this one requirement and worked yourself into a lather over it.

Sure Valve could remove the internet requirement. They could also make the graphics look like crap so you can play without a 3d accelerator! Let's all lobby them to do that, so everyone can play! It's only fair!

Fark's sake, it's not as though Valve is depriving anyone of air. My computer doesn't meet the requirements (cause of my OS) and I am going to live. Valve made the game, and for them it made sense to make it like they did. No one ever pretends that everyone can run the latest and greatest tech. Get over it and stop being a whiny spoilsport.

WOW! Let's stand up and protect big business!!!!
 

The recent poster here must be on the Sierra/Valve payroll.
Just because there are other gripes that could be spewn all around the room, does not mean this internet thing should not be talked about. Shheesshhh. ALL programs have system requirements. That can be a problem. If PC computers were more designed like a console gaming system, some of our problems with Video Cards and stuff would be far less complicated. But, once again, ALL games have system requirements. As it is, this is the FIRST game to implement a protection that FAILED just mere minutes after starting. Stranding myself ,and i am sure MANY thousands of others, from being able to 'activate' and 'play' the game i 'paid' for. So, in the end, is it more important to stray off subject and whine about the things we cannot change, or would it be better to 'Bitch' and 'Moan' about something we stand a shot at changing? Oh, well. I guess I'll go back to my shi**y computer and play Half-Life at 15 Fps. Wow.............these............graphics......... ..are..............cool.

BAN ONLINE REGISTRATION. DRIVE OUT THE NAZI FIGUREHEADS THAT ARE DRIVING DOWN OUR FAVORITE PASTTIME WITH OVERLY COMPLICATED AND HORRIBLY IMPLEMENTED STYLES OF COPY PROTECTION! STAND UP AND FIGHT THE POWERS THAT SERVE ONLY TO LOCK UP OUR COMPUTERS AND F*CK OUR HARD DRIVES! I WANT MY FIFTY BUCKS BACK. I AM PISSED. :D :D :D

@ dalver: 100% agree. i will not purchase a copy of hl2 until someone got this activation-thing "adressed". the whole product-activation is nothing but a dumb idea. its not meant to be used as a copy protection....i think its more like spying out users. i don't know about you, but i certainly do not pay to be watched by some "nazi-big brother"-company.

i waited for this game probably as long as you guys did......but that what valve pulls off is simply ridiculous....

Please don't be lame. That is the gayest ad hominem I've ever seen.

I hate the activation. Because of the activation, I wouldn't buy it even if I ran windows. I am also pretty pissed that it is windows only, but I understand that it is their decision, as is the activation.

The activation sucks, but I still think it is stupid to whine about it as though it was some form of discrimination against poor people. Maybe you didn't read the post I responded to.. Requiring an internet connection is no more discrimination against poor people than requiring a 3d graphics card and good computer.

Go ahead and say how much it sucks and I'll agree. But when someone starts talking about how it's "spitting in poor peoples' face" I call bull****. There's already plenty of things making it hard for poor people to get the game, starting with the 60-120 dollar price tag.

Claiming that activation discriminates against poor people is just stupid. It distracts people from the real reasons that activation sucks and makes one sound like a hysterical tin foil hat wearing nincompoop.

Oh yeah, Valve paid me to write that. haha you are so clever.

@ManiyaOtaro
Its all about choices I guess and your choice is to obviously use Linux? So what are you actually saying? You wont use windows or you cant afford to use windows? You seem to be whining more than 'dalver'! :confused:

And for those that cant find the 'hl2.exe' it obviously only installs after the game has been activated online! As I have more than one system in the house (Geez those poorer people arent gonna like that :D) I have been doin some testing and the other machine doesnt have the hl2.exe as it hasnt been activated on that machine. ;)
And just to rub some more salt into those poorer wounds I also have another system used to check my CD2DVD conversions on! :D

Yeah, yeah.

"Spit in poor peoples eye" is an exaggerrated-phrase used by me to spark a reaction, which I got. So don't do as I do and get hung up on that one thing, there are more points in there, to be considered than that.

Nevertheless, I choose to view this internet verification, as discrimination because it is presumed by steam/valve that anyone without an internet-connection is a thief, otherwise they would have used a system allowing even those without one to play.

As to the high system spec argument I will respond that in order for a computer to function it needs certain components. A graphics card is among those things. True that a computer can run with a 2MB graphic-card, but it still needs it. Internet on the other hand, is an optional device. Many use it from school or work and so they don't have it at home. And as I've heard many of the ports used by steam/valve for verification, or whatever, are closed on many such networks... and as I've further understood every computer with an installed copy of the game needs to have a connection to steam/valve to be "decoded". And - most - people play games at home.

Requiring a good/fast/expensive computer, to make the game-engine work is one thing. Requiring an internet connection to certify that you are not a thief is another.

Don't bring up SW Galaxies as it is a MMORPG, meant to be played online - at all times.

whereas hl2 doens't even come with a multiplayer-part....
;) :cool:

Why does it say on the box "Game Experience May Change During Online Play"?

The activation process is very hit or miss as its the first game to try such as thing, I mean to decrypt files online based on your Key which could take anything between 15 minutes to over an hours is a nightmare, plus you need to download and create an account with steam. Its like hello. Its a computer game!

A single player game should be just that and if online feature is available then you use your internet connection.

If you think about it games companies ship the decryption key with the game which allows you to install it on your machine. Here they are taking it away and moving it online. We've all seen key generators based on the cryption algorithm, once this algorithm has been identified and files that are encrypted have been exposed all it needs is someone to write a program that instead of using your web connection to decrypt your files it will do it locally based on your key, or someone elses.

In the hacking world of no-cd cracks and patches stuff like this will only bring out the hardcore code breakers to prove yet again nothing is safe.

you're referring to cs:s? no offense, but that excuse of a game is not a worthy mp-part for hl2. in fact it has nothing to do with hl2, except for the source-engine. i assume thats why they put that sticker on.

Your possibly right there! A closer look at the box and the game experience may change bit is just underneath the ad for CS! So yes I also assume now that its for CS. Its a bit misleading if you ask me! Had me thinkin it was for hl2!
Oh and definately No Offensive taken. ;) Thanks for puttin me straight on the matter. :)

How can i make of the dvd 2 5 cd's. Have anyone a no cd crack.

i wish hl2 had an own mp-part. i ask myself: whats the use of giving a new engine to a rusted old car? ;)

I was thinking i'm clever and waited two days, before download my version via Steam. But now it is downloading since 8:45 AM !!! Steam tells me there are "only" 80 minutes left. And this with DSL1000...

Can anyone tell me which files i have to store on a DVD+R, so i don't have to redownload it, when my PC crashs?

EDIT:
Now it's ready!
It has taken much much time, 6 hours and 35 minutes !!!
(from 08:45 am to 03:20 pm) !!!

@GLH
Wouldnt you just burn them all? Didnt they download into a seperate folder or something? Im also curious to know the price difference between the Retail version and the downloaded Steam version? Surely it would have to be a lot cheaper for the Steam version! And yeh thats a long download alright!
And one more thing to all, who else finds the 'blurred' startup screen so very annoying on the eyes?? :D

After a few problems with starting the game, i found out that the problems are caused by my old graphic driver (Notebook with ATi Radeon 9600 mobile). The available driver are from 01-09-2003 !!!

Now i was using the DH MobilityModder Tool V2.0b to make the ATi Catalyst 4.9 installable on my notebook. This tool don't work with Catalyst 4.10 and 4.11 !!!

Then i was able to play the game.

@Grumpy:
In the Steam directory on my hd is a subfolder "SteamApps" with some big files (~ 4,5 GB). I will burn the complete "SteamApps" folder to a DVD !

Oh, good Lord.
 

As for your last statement, i agree. It was clever of me to determine that you must be a Sierra/Valve flunky. Even if you're not paid to work for them, you are doing it fine for free. Keep supporting this crap and you may as well be a political voicebox for business. Oooohhhh, your tin-foil hat comment places you in a republican catagory too! That explains the arrogance and elitest attitude. Hey, screw the incompetence of the Softwear developers and publishers. Wait a minute.... wasn't there a day when softwear developers would actually give you a part of their game for FREE??!!?? Tell me it isn't so! How could they afford to give us that with 'piracy' no 'internet connections' no 'copying safeguards' AND the finished product was far less expensive than games are these days?!?!? I know they stopped doing that. The greed of the Gaming industry is coming to a head. And, people like you, who will not discriminate a particular point, are going to be the catalyst for this. Your point all along is, 'There are so many other things wrong, how dare you pick only one thing to talk about!' Ridiculous. That is called DISCUSSION. Not one sided drivel from a Nazi-conspirator. This is a FORUM for DISCUSSION about topics of interest. IF YOU ARE NOT INTERESTED, THEN GO AWAY. We are interested here. Find a place where your input is a topic of discussion. We have shown we are not interested in your views. Goodbye. :cool:

hm, when i backup the complete steam folder i dont need to decode a second time the files after a crash ?

Now, now, be nice. And remember - discussion.