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It's nice to see the huge size decrease but it makes me wonder why the hell did they ship it with the duplicated data in the first place. Is it some kind of HDD read speed optimization they used to do on old consoles..

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Followup to above: PC gamers are so concerned with kernel-level anticheat, but yet nobody seems to care that they are already wearing the ultimate digital handcuffs in the form of hardware rootkits from yours truly Intel and AMD. Think like ring -10.

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Quoting: 3zekielPoor x86, why so much hate ?

It is justified. The x86 duopoly have universally deployed what I would consider to be rogue silicon in the form of Intel ME and AMD Platform "Security" Processor, effectively extinguishing owner control and true device ownership under x86.

It used to be that you could have stuck with AMD, but then they followed suit and did their own "Intel ME".

It was once within reach to use me_cleaner script but Intel have continually pushed the feasibility of this out of sight.

Remaining on old, pre-ME/PSP CPUs was viable for high end gaming only a few years beyond the implementation of these anti-features.

Intel bought out VIA, eliminating any hope of real competition. VIA's last foray into performant x86 died with Isaiah II.

It is as though some force is railroading everyone into computers which ultimately answer to somebody other than the user.

A savior couldn't come soon enough. I'd lived on Open POWER for several years and am dabbling in the emerging RISC-V gear. The real shame is that projects like FEX and Hangover (who once supported truly free ISAs such as POWER) had dropped ppc64 support and currently no support for RISC-V.

The interim "solution" is to take a leap of faith that BIOS vendors of AMD boards are being honest in their PSP disable switches actually doing what they claim to do. Just a "trust us, bro. Communication with the PSP has been severed". And ARM is no panacea as they have their own "Trust"Zone rogue silicon. It is truly a dismal situation.

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These can probably be adapted into privoxy filters to sidestep the need for in-browser/in-client extensions.

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Throwback to my childhood, when I wandered multiplayer maps in Half-Life and AvP2 alone, because I had no internet. Always wanted to play them online. Seemed fun. And damn: Some of these maps were just scary because "What just made that sound?! I am alone ... right?"

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Quoting: ExplosiveDiarrheaGood, x86 has to go away.

Poor x86, why so much hate ?

Jokes aside, I think that having choice is very good, and I am all for translation layers being well funded / developed (it's also magical to be able to dev for ARM/RV32 from my workstation with just a container).
X86 does have its nice sides when you have to go down to ASM though. I am "fluent" in rv32 too, but x86 is just well... better, easier to write, and more importantly, to read. I know not many of us have to go that low, but for those who have to, x86 is nice.
For pure perf/efficiency, there is really not much difference on the ISA. x86 has a bit of crust, but it is very well designed, so the decoder is really not bad. CISC decoding made some insane progress since the 80's. And the N-wide issue engine, with reordering and friends takes wayyy more space (and timing depth) anyway.
ARM m1 and co dominate more because they have integrated the memory on die. x86 can do it too (Intel did it on last gen).
And x86 could also do in-order if needed, albeit for embedded indeed, the CISC decoder tax might become relevant again (if you have a dual issue, in-order core, yeah the decoder might hurt a bit).

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Quoting: The_Real_BittermanHm, Steam Deck 2 might be ARM based I guess. 🤔

I wouldn't count on it. Valve has a very good relationship with AMD and I don't see another vendor provide an ARM chip with similar gaming performance. But maybe for a Steam Deck 3?

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I started with HL2, I found it easy to get into, the narrative is excellent, supports the action well and keeps things moving along. After that you have the two episodes that give you more of that world.

HL1 was harder for me to get immersed in, I haven't gone back and finished it yet. Technically there are no issues, Valve is still maintaining it well.

But you could also start with the original, and skip ahead to HL2 if the original doesn't work for you.

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I’ll add it to my wishlist for a while just to help with visibility, even though I’m not personally interested in the game. Fuck current copyright laws.

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I've always thought many of these 100gb+ games were absurdly bloated. Seems in the modern era increased performance and storage has led to less optimization and efficiency.

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Hm, Steam Deck 2 might be ARM based I guess. 🤔

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Started and funded 7 years ago ?

They're two steps ahead.

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Good, x86 has to go away.

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Thanks for clearing that up! ;)

No, seriously: Thanks both for your opinions!

It honestly comes down to how you view these things, if you consider them as a work of art or as mass produced fastfood-tier entertainment.

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"deduplicating files" did they re-pack every asset again and again with their map files and ship themin huge chunks?

Maaan glad Linux has CoW file systems. Well doesn't help with downloading but at least storing these chunky games is better.

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Steam Phone? You mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, Steam Tablet or Steam Car.

Or even a Steam Locomotive!

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I wonder how many of these other games with massive file sizes have duplicate data

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Steam Phone? You mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, Steam Tablet or Steam Car.

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Interesting. So I guess all future Steam hardware will be arm based? Deck 2, etc...? I guess does that mean I need to be thinking about an arm chip for my next desktop? Wild to think that after decades of x86 this computer I'm typing on might be the last?

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Please make that browser plugin for Epic Games Store as well!

Oh, wait. Tim Sweeney says that it's not necessary

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Is NTsync stable now or is Fsync still the way to go?

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Quoting: StellaI don't really get how this is different from Black Mesa?

It seems Legacy is way closer to the original (be that good or bad...).

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Still waiting for the fix for DX12 games on Linux, as I'm currently using a 4080 on my computer.

But glad to see they beginning to fix some of the long standing issues with Nivida drivers.

And then I can get off Windows for the 4080 and basically use Linux for all the computers I own.

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Quoting: LoudTechieIs that still true

Yes, that's still true.
https://youtu.be/fqIjUddUSo0?si=We_GE1-Eavr22OI-&t=386
https://youtu.be/ovOx4_8ajZ8?si=L45cXDFCPpKWpM5l&t=1207

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Quoting: EikeLet me take this opportunity...
Now, I want to get a Steam Frame next year, and I want to play HL Alyx.

Might I suggest the NoVR mod for HL Alyx. So, no VR equipment necessary. I used it to play thru the entire game, and it was fantastic!
https://github.com/HLANoVR/HLA-NoVR

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We will add native Linux support as soon as we can but this issue is not easy to solve. If you're confident with vague debugger errors and complicated issues, feel free to reach out to us via our Discord or a comment on this post, but I do warn you - it's not easy.

How about you bug Valve about their engine?

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Quoting: EikeWould that be Black Mesa then?

Quoting: EhvisBlack Mesa is definitely a good choice.

Quoting: PyrateBlack Mesa is a terrible choice for a first time player.

Thanks for clearing that up! ;)

No, seriously: Thanks both for your opinions!

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Your move, Ubuntu.

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Quoting: EikeLet me take this opportunity...
What would be the best way to get into HL nowadays?

First, you need to possess the ability to count.
Afterwards, you play Half-Life, then Half-Life 2.

Quoting: EikeWould that be Black Mesa then?

Absolutely not. Black Mesa is a terrible choice for a first time player. Playing Black Mesa ruins at least half of the experience of Half-Life 2 when you get to it, since it uses the same engine to remake the first game. It breaks the fundamental ways Half-Life and Half-Life 2 were meant to be played.

Black Mesa is for fans who have already experienced the games for what they are.

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Quoting: EikeWould that be Black Mesa then?

There are arguments to be made for both the original and Black Mesa, so if graphics are appreciated then Black Mesa is definitely a good choice. HL2 still holds up by itself. I'd definitely recommend doing those before HL:Alyx though.

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