Originally Posted by GLH

So now i found out, there is a "Backup files" option in the Steam-Menu (right-click on the game title).
But when i do that, Steam tells me "Half-Life 2 kann erst gesichert werden, wenn die Aktualisierung abgeschlossen wurde."
(english: Half-Life 2 cannot be backed up until it has finished updating.)

Which actualization/update?
When will it be ready?
I can play the game without problems!
How can i tell Steam "update now"?

PS: It's a very cool game!

Originally Posted by dalver

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!

Originally Posted by ente

I open the site with mozilla firefox

and loaded the side, my virusscanner says there where a trojan/browser hijacker on this site

Originally Posted by cdkiller

i bet the 2 first questions will be:

1.) can some1 please make a crack for this game

Originally Posted by steveo6269

Hijack's crack is used to eliminate the use of a dvd, but you still need to connect to Steam. How long will we have to wait before a patch comes out that gets rid of having to go online all together? Earlier in these Forums, someone mentioned EMPORIO. They have posted a patch (Half-Life 2 (c) Valve *PROPER* *STEAMRIP* *DVD*) http://www.nforce.nl/index.php?m=nfo&id=79344 Does anyone know if this patch eliminates the Steam Actvation? And if it does, will Hijack's patch be good to use along side of this? I bought the game and im also one of the people that doesnt have the internet on my computer. I just want to play Single Player and not connect to Steam.