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#303122 - 15/10/2007 19:02 Portal
Roger
carpal tunnel

Registered: 18/01/2000
Posts: 5680
Loc: London, UK
Just finished it. How's everyone else getting on?
_________________________
-- roger

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#303123 - 15/10/2007 19:10 Re: Portal [Re: Roger]
Dignan
carpal tunnel

Registered: 08/03/2000
Posts: 12318
Loc: Sterling, VA
Quote:
Just finished it. How's everyone else getting on?

I really want to play Portal. But seeing as how the normal Half Life 2 game makes me motion sick after five minutes, I think Portal would do horrible things to my stomach.

Is it as good as it looks? I hear it's a fairly short playtime. Are there any particularly insane puzzles?
_________________________
Matt

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#303124 - 15/10/2007 19:20 Re: Portal [Re: Roger]
tfabris
carpal tunnel

Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31565
Loc: Seattle, WA
Quote:
Just finished it. How's everyone else getting on?


I finished the normal game the first night (the 10th).

I went through the game with commentary on, the following two nights. Which, by the way, is AWESOME. I totally want to meet Ellen McLain. Vixy and I also spent quite a bit of time playing with GCFscape and listening to the GLaDOS audio files, especially the ones at the end. "It also says you're adopted."

Oh, and the ending song is already extracted, tagged, and in the Jonathan Coulton playlist on my Empeg.

I finished the "Advanced" maps (which get unlocked when you finish the normal maps) last night, including a failure-space solution to one particularly nasty room on the very last map (i.e., a solution that they didn't intend and didn't prevent me from doing, but which seems logical and consistent within the game world).

I have already learned, practiced, and charted out the ending song so that Vixy and I can perform it at the convention in Vancouver we're doing this weekend. We'll probably rehearse the song some tonight. Vixy has been quoting GLaDOS all week and can do the voice perfectly. We've even been analyzing the song, noting why it's such a quintessential Coulton piece in terms of the key changes, the song structure, and the chord theory. There's a particular note interval that's so VERY coulton, and it's painfully catchy. I wish I could write like that.

Somewhere in there, I also managed to finish Episode 2. Which was also AWESOME.
_________________________
Tony Fabris

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#303125 - 15/10/2007 19:25 Re: Portal [Re: Dignan]
tfabris
carpal tunnel

Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31565
Loc: Seattle, WA
Quote:
But seeing as how the normal Half Life 2 game makes me motion sick after five minutes, I think Portal would do horrible things to my stomach.


It's funny, but for me, motion sickness is a bad headache rather than stomach upset. Oddly, the game that made me motion sick the worst recently was BioShock, whereas Halo3 and the Valve games don't cause that so much.

Anyway, yeah, if HL2 makes you hurl, Portal would probably do so in much quicker fashion due to the constant shifting of gravity reference frame.

Have you ever tried taking motion sickness drugs? Do they help? This game is worth going to all that trouble for.

Quote:
Is it as good as it looks? I hear it's a fairly short playtime. Are there any particularly insane puzzles?


Yes, yes, and yes.

The short playtime is fine for me because the core game is just SO AWESOME in so many ways. There is some replay value as I mentioned above, though.

I think the best part was having Vixy nearby while I was playing. She was totally cracking up (along with me) over everything GLaDOS said.
_________________________
Tony Fabris

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#303126 - 15/10/2007 19:26 Re: Portal [Re: Dignan]
Roger
carpal tunnel

Registered: 18/01/2000
Posts: 5680
Loc: London, UK
Quote:
normal Half Life 2 game makes me motion sick after five minutes, I think Portal would do horrible things to my stomach.


That's fairly likely, then, because there's some extremely freaky physics going on in some of the levels.

Quote:
Is it as good as it looks?


I'm not sure. I enjoyed it, and I think I'll play it through again, but...

Quote:
I hear it's a fairly short playtime.


...it didn't take that long to finish. I played it for about three hours on Thursday, and probably a couple more hours over the weekend, and finished the last bit in about 20 minutes this evening.

It's got some bonus game modes that I'll be investigating at some point.

Quote:
Are there any particularly insane puzzles?


They get more insane as you go on, and they're all pretty good.

Spoiler:
Gurer'f bar jurer va beqre gb whzc npebff n irel jvqr ubevmbagny tnc, lbh unir gb chg n ubyr va gur prvyvat naq va gur sybbe, naq ybbc guebhtu n pbhcyr bs gvzrf gb ohvyq hc rabhtu irybpvgl, naq gura cynpr na rkvg va gur jnyy, nf lbh tb cnfg, va beqre gb syvat lbhefrys npebff gur tnc.
_________________________
-- roger

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#303127 - 15/10/2007 19:28 Re: Portal [Re: tfabris]
tfabris
carpal tunnel

Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31565
Loc: Seattle, WA
By the way, if anyone wants HL2 and Episode 1, I can gift 'em.
_________________________
Tony Fabris

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#303128 - 15/10/2007 19:38 Re: Portal [Re: Roger]
RobotCaleb
pooh-bah

Registered: 15/01/2002
Posts: 1866
Loc: Austin
I found the puzzles lacking, actually.

Only a couple of them took longer than a couple glances to figure out what to do. The doing did take the most effort, but that's to be expected.

It was a great game, though.

I'd like to see more momentum based puzzles. I'm hoping the community maps take off soon. I've only seen a couple of user maps so far and they all suck. It won't be long before they get better, though. [/hope]

I'm loving TF2, though.

TF2
Portal
HL2:EP2
I missed 11 grubs.
The Gordon Propelled Rocket was cool, but kind of a misnomer, I think. Maybe Grenade Propelled Gordon
I have to work more at killing a hunter with its flechettes. I tried just a couple times, but it didn't appear that I could pick them up with the Zero Point Energy Manipulator. *shrug*

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#303129 - 15/10/2007 19:39 Re: Portal [Re: tfabris]
frog51
pooh-bah

Registered: 09/08/2000
Posts: 2091
Loc: Edinburgh, Scotland
Just discovered this was out yesterday -awesome!
Spoiler:
Tbg cnfg yriry 19 naq nz fghpx va gung svany punzore jvgu TynQBF. Nsgre qebccvat gur onyy qbja gur qvfcbfny puhgr V unir gevrq rirelguvat gb qrfgebl vg, ohg ab wbl. Zl nffhzcgvba jnf gung V trg gur ebpxrg ynhapure gb gnetrg zr, qbqtr naq yrg gur ebpxrg tb guebhtu n cbegny gb xvyy vg - ohg gung xrrcf ba abg jbexvat.

Am I on the right lines? All hints accepted...

oh, and did someone say HL2 Episode 2 is out? I must have been out of touch too long. Gah!

Edit: De-spoiled
--_l0ser


Edited by l0ser (15/10/2007 19:45)

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#303130 - 15/10/2007 19:42 Re: Portal [Re: frog51]
Roger
carpal tunnel

Registered: 18/01/2000
Posts: 5680
Loc: London, UK
Quote:
Am I on the right lines? All hints accepted...


Yes, you're on the right lines:

Spoiler:
Lbh trg gur ebpxrg ynhapure gb uvg TYnQBF (ol bcravat na rkvg ng gur hccre yriry, naq na ragenapr ng gur ybjre yriry -- fgnaq va sebag bs gur ragenapr naq gura qbqtr), naq na beo snyyf bss. Lbh gura chg vg va gur sheanpr. Lbh unir gb ercrng guvf sbe rnpu bs frireny beof.
_________________________
-- roger

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#303131 - 15/10/2007 19:46 Re: Portal [Re: tfabris]
Roger
carpal tunnel

Registered: 18/01/2000
Posts: 5680
Loc: London, UK
Quote:
By the way, if anyone wants HL2 and Episode 1, I can gift 'em.


Er, me too, if somebody uses Tony's gifts. Er.
_________________________
-- roger

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#303132 - 15/10/2007 19:47 Re: Portal [Re: Roger]
Waterman981
old hand

Registered: 14/02/2002
Posts: 804
Loc: Salt Lake City, UT
I just finished going through with commentary mode on. I loved it! I put "Still Alive" on my empeg on Friday and have listened to it far to many times. I really can't wait to see how they integrate Portal with Half-Life in the future.

Here's my Portal stats. Has anyone gotten the Long Jump? If so how?



MAJOR HL2:EP2 SPOILER!
Spoiler:
Qvq nalbar ryfr trg zvfgl rlrq jvgu gur fubpxvat raqvat gb RC2? Ubj nobhg jura Nylk tbg uheg?
_________________________
-Michael

#040103696 on a shelf
Mk2a - 90 GB - Red - Illuminated buttons

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#303133 - 15/10/2007 19:50 Re: Portal [Re: Roger]
tfabris
carpal tunnel

Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31565
Loc: Seattle, WA
Spoiler:
Gurl npghnyyl jrag gb terng cnvaf gb znxr fher gung lbh xarj ubj gb qb gur ebpxrg-erqverpgvba zrpunavp fubegyl orsber ernpuvat gur svany obff. Lbh pna'g ernpu gur svany obff yriry jvgubhg univat unq gb erqverpg ng yrnfg bar ebpxrg guebhtu n cbegny, fb V'z fhecevfrq gung nalbar unf gebhoyr jvgu gung bar.

Jung tbg zr jnf gung bar bs gur fcurerf raqf hc va n uneq-gb-frr cynpr. Gur bar gung raqf hc ba gur furys nobir TYnQBF. Va snpg, jura gur fcurer jrag gurer, V jngpurq vg tb sylvat bss va n pbzcyrgryl qvssrerag qverpgvba, naq vg arire ybbxrq yvxr vg jrag hc gurer. Va snpg, vg ybbxrq yvxr vg tyvgpurq bhg bs gur yriry trbzrgel naq qvfnccrnerq.

V xabj gurer vf n snvag ivfhny phr cbvagvat gb vg, ohg V qvqa'g abgvpr gung phr ba gur cevbe fcurer, fb vg qvqa'g uryc zr. Vg gbbx zr n ybat gvzr gb svaq gur fcurer. Fb ybat, va snpg, gung V ena bhg bs arhebgbkva gvzr, naq unq gb erybnq sebz na rneyvre fnirq tnzr gb or noyr gb pbzcyrgr gur svany obff.
_________________________
Tony Fabris

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#303134 - 15/10/2007 19:54 Re: Portal [Re: tfabris]
Roger
carpal tunnel

Registered: 18/01/2000
Posts: 5680
Loc: London, UK
Quote:
Spoiler:
Jung tbg zr jnf gung bar bs gur fcurerf raqf hc va n uneq-gb-frr cynpr. Gur bar gung raqf hc ba gur furys nobir TYnQBF.


Yeah, I had the same problem. One of the guys at work finished it over the weekend, and he told me how to do that part today.
_________________________
-- roger

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#303135 - 15/10/2007 19:55 Re: Portal [Re: tfabris]
drakino
carpal tunnel

Registered: 08/06/1999
Posts: 7868
Quote:
It's funny, but for me, motion sickness is a bad headache rather than stomach upset. Oddly, the game that made me motion sick the worst recently was BioShock, whereas Halo3 and the Valve games don't cause that so much.


This is the same reaction I have, and I had to stop in the middle of Portal due to the headache. The FOV tends to be what triggers it quicker, and Valve keeps the FOV at 90 on 4:3 screens and expands it higher on widescreen. Where as Bioshock I think did 75 at all view points, 16:9, 16:10 and 4:3, resulting in the big backlash about improper widescreen support.

I liked Portal quite a bit, and hope they expand it. From what I gather from interviews and the commentary, Valve put it out there to test the reactions of it first, and will expand on the concept if it proves to be popular. I'm not sure how much value it will add to have additional maps added after the fact, since for me at least a big part of the game wasn't just the puzzles, but also how the environment and story were done. Portal 2 would be a definite buy for me if they made another complete adventure in a similar way.

Quote:
Vixy and I also spent quite a bit of time playing with GCFscape and listening to the GLaDOS audio files


Yeah, that was the first thing I did after beating it too. I have the soundtrack on my iPhone, and will be putting it on the CarPC and empeg at work soon. Did you by chance catch the name of the composer for the rest of the soundtrack? I'd like it to say something other then Valve.

Oh, and also, it looks like their audio engineer made a small mistake in one of the tracks. You can clearly make out the standard Outlook new mail sound. It's funny how that sound still triggers something in me, even though I haven't personally run Outlook for a while now. I had to rewind the track to see if that was indeed the source of the sound, as part of me just thought it was a phantom noise at first.

Quote:
By the way, if anyone wants HL2 and Episode 1, I can gift 'em.


I'm betting there are going to be a ton of people out there like this. While the bundle was cool for EP2, Portal and TF2, I don't see a lot of people making use of the gifting, since anyone interested in HL2 at this point will likely just go the Orange Box route themselves. Personally I held off on EP1 though, and still am waiting to play Half Life 2 until they are done with the episodic content. Once EP3 wraps it up, then I'll play the base game and the episodes in one go through.

I'm also not going to preorder again. While $45 seemed a decent deal, and was fun for the early TF2 access, Frys ended up having the Orange Box priced at $35 on release day. They also had EP1 cheeper then Steam as well when that came out.

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#303136 - 15/10/2007 19:56 Re: Portal [Re: tfabris]
RobotCaleb
pooh-bah

Registered: 15/01/2002
Posts: 1866
Loc: Austin
Quote:
"It also says you're adopted."


Spoiler:
V ybirq gur "Erzrzore jura V jnf nyy gelvat gb zheqre lbh" ovg. Pna'g erzrzore rknpgyl ubj vg jrag, ohg vg znqr zr yby.

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#303137 - 15/10/2007 19:57 Re: Portal [Re: Waterman981]
tfabris
carpal tunnel

Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31565
Loc: Seattle, WA
Quote:
MAJOR HL2:EP2 SPOILER!


Spoiler:
V qvqa'g trg zvfgl rlrq ng Nylk trggvat uheg. Gurl uvagrq vg jnf tbvat gb unccra va gur genvyre ynfg lrne, fb V jnfa'g fhecevfrq. V jnf n yvggyr rzbgvbanyyl pbaarpgrq gb ure sngure (naq ure eryngvbafuvc jvgu ure sngure), fb frrvat uvz qvr jnf n irel fyvtug ovg bs n thg-jerapure, ohg vg jnf sberfunqbjrq gbb zhpu, fb V xarj vg jnf pbzvat naq vg jnfa'g gung ovt bs n guvat gb zr.

Obgu bs gubfr vafgnaprf fhssrerq sebz gur ceboyrz bs arrqvat gb vzzbovyvmr Tbeqba fb gung ur jnf urycyrff. V qba'g yvxr vg jura Unys-yvsr qbrf gung. Vg gnxrf zr bhg bs gur tnzr naq znxrf zr fgbc fhfcraqvat qvforyvrs, guhf qvzvavfuvat gur birenyy vzcnpg. V'q engure unir n fvghngvba jurer vg frrzf yvxr V'z svtugvat jryy, ohg ab znggre ubj jryy V sbhtug, V pbhyqa'g fnir gurz.
_________________________
Tony Fabris

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#303138 - 15/10/2007 19:59 Re: Portal [Re: drakino]
RobotCaleb
pooh-bah

Registered: 15/01/2002
Posts: 1866
Loc: Austin
Quote:
I'm betting there are going to be a ton of people out there like this. While the bundle was cool for EP2, Portal and TF2, I don't see a lot of people making use of the gifting, since anyone interested in HL2 at this point will likely just go the Orange Box route themselves.


I have noone to gift it to because everyone I know that is interested already has Orange Box and has gifts to give themselves. JM is the only person I would have thought to give it to but she got such a kick out of watching me play TF2 that she made me buy Orange Box for her so she could play TF2 as well.

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#303139 - 15/10/2007 20:08 Re: Portal [Re: tfabris]
RobotCaleb
pooh-bah

Registered: 15/01/2002
Posts: 1866
Loc: Austin
Quote:
Quote:
MAJOR HL2:EP2 SPOILER!


Tony's spoiiled text should be here. it was screwing with the forum by having two spoilers in one post, for some reason.


Spoiler:
Gubfr Nqivfbef gung cvaarq Nylk naq Tbeqba naq Ryv ernyyl perrc zr bhg. V pna'g jnvg gb fgneg svtugvat gurz. Znlor jvgu fubgf sverq guebhtu cbegnyf?

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#303140 - 15/10/2007 20:11 Re: Portal [Re: Roger]
frog51
pooh-bah

Registered: 09/08/2000
Posts: 2091
Loc: Edinburgh, Scotland
thanks Roger - I had tried that many times but hadn't seen any results. I will try in different places.
_________________________
Rory
MkIIa, blue lit buttons, memory upgrade, 1Tb in Subaru Forester STi
MkII, 240Gb in Mark Lord dock
MkII, 80Gb SSD in dock

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#303141 - 15/10/2007 20:18 Re: Portal [Re: frog51]
tfabris
carpal tunnel

Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31565
Loc: Seattle, WA
Quote:
thanks Roger - I had tried that many times but hadn't seen any results. I will try in different places.

Spoiler:
Gur gevpx vf gung gur terra ynfre fubjf lbh jurer vg'f tbaan ynaq. Lbh zhfg cbfvgvba gur cbegnyf fb gur ynfre, naq guhf gur ebpxrg, fznpxf evtug vagb gur prageny TYnQBF nezngher jvgu nyy gur rlr fcurerf. Cneg bs gur gevpx vf abgvpvat gung gur ynfre gnxrf gvzr gb ybpx bagb lbh, fb lbh unir gb ubyq fgvyy ybat rabhtu, naq or fgnaqvat va gur evtug cbfvgvba, sbe gur ynfre gb or nvzrq pbeerpgyl. Snpvat NJNL sebz gur ebpxrg ynhapure naq ybbxvat vagb gur CBEGNY nf gur ebpxrg ynhapurf vf gur xrl urer. Lbh fubhyq or noyr gb frr gur ynfre genpx evtug bagb TYnQBF naq gura trg oybpxrq ol lbhe obql. Jura gur orrc bs gur ybpxba fbhaq unccraf, bayl GURA qb lbh zbir bhg bs gur jnl bs gur ebpxrg.
_________________________
Tony Fabris

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#303142 - 15/10/2007 20:20 Re: Portal [Re: RobotCaleb]
tfabris
carpal tunnel

Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31565
Loc: Seattle, WA
Yeah, there are some tantalizing hints that Aperture Science's products will somehow be involved in Episode 3...
_________________________
Tony Fabris

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#303143 - 15/10/2007 20:30 Re: Portal [Re: Roger]
Tim
veteran

Registered: 25/04/2000
Posts: 1522
Loc: Arizona
I am kind of stuck on 16. I think I know how to do it, I just haven't been able to execute my thoughts yet. TF2 (and a beta) are taking up waaaaay too much of my time. TF2 is amazing.

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#303144 - 15/10/2007 20:52 Re: Portal [Re: tfabris]
frog51
pooh-bah

Registered: 09/08/2000
Posts: 2091
Loc: Edinburgh, Scotland
Yeah - I was just aiming at all the wrong places. Once I knew how to do it it took just under 2 minutes... now for the challenges:-)
_________________________
Rory
MkIIa, blue lit buttons, memory upgrade, 1Tb in Subaru Forester STi
MkII, 240Gb in Mark Lord dock
MkII, 80Gb SSD in dock

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#303145 - 16/10/2007 01:08 Re: Portal [Re: Roger]
FireFox31
pooh-bah

Registered: 19/09/2002
Posts: 2494
Loc: East Coast, USA
Oh, they finally released Portal?! I was addicted to the team's original product, Narbacular Drop well over a year ago. Promised myself I'd buy a new computer just to play Portal.

If the game was easy, then don't worry. The Narbacular Drop forum regulars will surely create many challenging Portal maps for you all (if there's a Portal editor). Kim can't create them all herself.
_________________________
-
FireFox31
110gig MKIIa (30+80), Eutronix lights, 32 meg stacked RAM, Filener orange gel lens, Greenlights Lit Buttons green set

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#303146 - 16/10/2007 05:07 Re: Portal [Re: tfabris]
Roger
carpal tunnel

Registered: 18/01/2000
Posts: 5680
Loc: London, UK
Spoiler:
Vs lbh ybbx ng gur ebpxrg gheerg, gurer'f fbzr ungpuvat ba gur sybbe. Lbh pna hfr guvf nf n thvqr gb cynpr gur ragel cbegny ba gur jnyy ba gung fvqr bs gur unyy, fb gung vg'f svevat fgenvtug. Vs lbh cynpr gur rkvg cbegny rknpgyl prageny nobir gur qbbe lbh pnzr va guebhtu, vg fubhyq uvg gur nezngher rirel gvzr. Nf Gbal fnlf, ybbx guebhtu gur cbegny gb qbhoyr-purpx. Nyfb, qba'g fgnaq va sebag bs gur cbegny hagvy gur gheerg vf fpnaavat gbjneqf lbh, bgurejvfr vg'yy fcbg lbh guebhtu gur rkvg cbegny svefg, naq sver va gur jebat qverpgvba.
_________________________
-- roger

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#303147 - 16/10/2007 07:35 Re: Portal [Re: Roger]
Schido
enthusiast

Registered: 29/03/2005
Posts: 364
Loc: Probably lost somewhere in Wal...
I want to play both ep2 and portal, but i really don't like their prices.

Portal and ep2 separate just as expensive as that orange box, with hl2, and ep1? Which i paid top money for too? Is that a way too say thank you to the loyal fans or something?
[/rant mode off]

I wouldn't know anyone that i would give hl2 and ep1 too either.
_________________________
Empeg Mk1 #00177, 2.00 final, hijack 4.76

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#303148 - 16/10/2007 08:37 Re: Portal [Re: tfabris]
furtive
old hand

Registered: 14/08/2001
Posts: 886
Loc: London, UK
Quote:
By the way, if anyone wants HL2 and Episode 1, I can gift 'em.


I've got Ep1 but would love HL2.
_________________________
Mk2a RioCar 120Gb - now sold to the owner of my old car
Rio Karma - now on ebay...

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#303149 - 16/10/2007 10:37 Re: Portal [Re: tfabris]
Dignan
carpal tunnel

Registered: 08/03/2000
Posts: 12318
Loc: Sterling, VA
Quote:
By the way, if anyone wants HL2 and Episode 1, I can gift 'em.

Wait, so you're saying that you can give someone Half Life 2 and Episode 1 for free? If so, would someone be willing to send one my way? I'm not sure how it works, though. I wanted to give my best man Half Life 2, but I wasn't sure if my copy would transfer to him with all that steam stuff.

Does he need to sign up for a steam account before he could get the game from one of you?
_________________________
Matt

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#303150 - 16/10/2007 12:40 Re: Portal [Re: Dignan]
Roger
carpal tunnel

Registered: 18/01/2000
Posts: 5680
Loc: London, UK
Quote:
Wait, so you're saying that you can give someone Half Life 2 and Episode 1 for free?


Looks like it.

Quote:
Does he need to sign up for a steam account before he could get the game from one of you?


Yes. We'll need to know his SteamID to do so, most likely.
_________________________
-- roger

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#303151 - 16/10/2007 13:32 Re: Portal [Re: Roger]
tman
carpal tunnel

Registered: 24/12/2001
Posts: 5528
They need to be in your Steam friends list for you to gift it. It took a loooooooooong time but I actually found a friend who doesn't already have HL2 and would actually want it.

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