New Half-Life 2 mission "The Lost Coast" coming soon

[Pluvious]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

From G4 Attack of the Show - formally The Screen Savers:
-------------------

Valve’s Doug Lombardi gave an exclusive demonstration of the
previously unseen “The Lost Coast,” an upcoming expansion that
utilizes a brand-new technology that Valve is implementing into the
Source engine. Called “high-dynamic range lighting,” this new
technology enables a leap in lighting realism from even the current
high benchmark set by Half-Life 2 and the existing Source engine.

Will this technology demand huge system requirements?

“Absolutely, no bones about it,” Doug said. “This is for early
adopters of the latest and greatest hardware.”

The Lost Coast will be available free to Half-Life 2 owners via Steam
very soon.
--------------------------



Doug said ON AIR in the segment expect it in about 2 weeks. The demo
he showed looked pretty damn impressive. Its only for the HIGH end
ubber gamers though.. most other rigs will choke on it. Oh.. its free
through STEAM..

ps.. he also said the upcoming patch will allow some of this lighting
in the full game as well.


Pluvious

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

On Thu, 31 Mar 2005 08:33:56 -0800, Pluvious <Pluvious@knowhere.com> wrote:

>
>From G4 Attack of the Show - formally The Screen Savers:
>-------------------
>
>Valve’s Doug Lombardi gave an exclusive demonstration of the
>previously unseen “The Lost Coast,” an upcoming expansion that
>utilizes a brand-new technology that Valve is implementing into the
>Source engine. Called “high-dynamic range lighting,” this new
>technology enables a leap in lighting realism from even the current
>high benchmark set by Half-Life 2 and the existing Source engine.
>
>Will this technology demand huge system requirements?
>
>“Absolutely, no bones about it,” Doug said. “This is for early
>adopters of the latest and greatest hardware.”
>
>The Lost Coast will be available free to Half-Life 2 owners via Steam
>very soon.
>--------------------------
>
>
>
>Doug said ON AIR in the segment expect it in about 2 weeks. The demo
>he showed looked pretty damn impressive. Its only for the HIGH end
>ubber gamers though.. most other rigs will choke on it. Oh.. its free
>through STEAM..
>
>ps.. he also said the upcoming patch will allow some of this lighting
>in the full game as well.

I've read some about HDR recently after seeing the News through Steam a few
weeks ago and it sounds interesting. One site I visited mentioned that the
differences will only be apparent to users of CRTs as most TFTs don't offer
the same dynamic range, unless you happen to have one of the more expensive
TFTs that offer a full 8 bits. Have a look here:

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,1745071,00.asp

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

"Memnoch" <memnoch@nospampleaseimbritish.ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:4jao41lcmnvg1hi067pgrkpsbu1mbhgcna@4ax.com...
> On Thu, 31 Mar 2005 08:33:56 -0800, Pluvious <Pluvious@knowhere.com>
> wrote:

> I've read some about HDR recently after seeing the News through Steam a
> few
> weeks ago and it sounds interesting. One site I visited mentioned that the
> differences will only be apparent to users of CRTs as most TFTs don't
> offer
> the same dynamic range, unless you happen to have one of the more
> expensive
> TFTs that offer a full 8 bits.

Hmm, and yet we keep hearing that LCD screens are
good enough for gamers. Another reason to be
sceptical.

P.

 

[BillL]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

"Paul Moloney" <paul_moloney@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:3b2ue4F6edovfU1@individual.net...
> "Memnoch" <memnoch@nospampleaseimbritish.ntlworld.com> wrote in message
> news:4jao41lcmnvg1hi067pgrkpsbu1mbhgcna@4ax.com...
>> On Thu, 31 Mar 2005 08:33:56 -0800, Pluvious <Pluvious@knowhere.com>
>> wrote:
>
>> I've read some about HDR recently after seeing the News through Steam a
>> few
>> weeks ago and it sounds interesting. One site I visited mentioned that
>> the
>> differences will only be apparent to users of CRTs as most TFTs don't
>> offer
>> the same dynamic range, unless you happen to have one of the more
>> expensive
>> TFTs that offer a full 8 bits.
>
> Hmm, and yet we keep hearing that LCD screens are
> good enough for gamers. Another reason to be
> sceptical.
>
> P.
>

Well LCD is good enough for me I guess ... what are the other HW
requirements and, more importantly, any significant improvements in game
play?

BillL

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

On Thu, 31 Mar 2005 19:38:59 +0100, "Paul Moloney" <paul_moloney@hotmail.com>
wrote:

>"Memnoch" <memnoch@nospampleaseimbritish.ntlworld.com> wrote in message
>news:4jao41lcmnvg1hi067pgrkpsbu1mbhgcna@4ax.com...
>> On Thu, 31 Mar 2005 08:33:56 -0800, Pluvious <Pluvious@knowhere.com>
>> wrote:
>
>> I've read some about HDR recently after seeing the News through Steam a
>> few
>> weeks ago and it sounds interesting. One site I visited mentioned that the
>> differences will only be apparent to users of CRTs as most TFTs don't
>> offer
>> the same dynamic range, unless you happen to have one of the more
>> expensive
>> TFTs that offer a full 8 bits.
>
>Hmm, and yet we keep hearing that LCD screens are
>good enough for gamers. Another reason to be
>sceptical.

As more and more games start to use HDR technology in their renderers if your
display device can only show 64:1 or worse 32:1 brightness levels then you are
going to be missing out I guess. Hopefully by then more TFT screens will offer
256:1.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

On Thu, 31 Mar 2005 20:19:38 GMT, "BillL" <billc1@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:

>
>"Paul Moloney" <paul_moloney@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>news:3b2ue4F6edovfU1@individual.net...
>> "Memnoch" <memnoch@nospampleaseimbritish.ntlworld.com> wrote in message
>> news:4jao41lcmnvg1hi067pgrkpsbu1mbhgcna@4ax.com...
>>> On Thu, 31 Mar 2005 08:33:56 -0800, Pluvious <Pluvious@knowhere.com>
>>> wrote:
>>
>>> I've read some about HDR recently after seeing the News through Steam a
>>> few
>>> weeks ago and it sounds interesting. One site I visited mentioned that
>>> the
>>> differences will only be apparent to users of CRTs as most TFTs don't
>>> offer
>>> the same dynamic range, unless you happen to have one of the more
>>> expensive
>>> TFTs that offer a full 8 bits.
>>
>> Hmm, and yet we keep hearing that LCD screens are
>> good enough for gamers. Another reason to be
>> sceptical.
>>
>> P.
>>
>
>Well LCD is good enough for me I guess ... what are the other HW
>requirements and, more importantly, any significant improvements in game
>play?

Processing power seems to be about it. As long as you are using a CRT or a TFT
model that does use all 8 bits for brightness then you are good to go.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

Thusly Pluvious <Pluvious@knowhere.com> Spake Unto All:

>
>Will this technology demand huge system requirements?
>
>“Absolutely, no bones about it,” Doug said. “This is for early
>adopters of the latest and greatest hardware.”
>
>The Lost Coast will be available free to Half-Life 2 owners via Steam
>very soon.

ALL RIGHT!

GO VALVE!

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

In article <3b2ue4F6edovfU1@individual.net>, paul_moloney@hotmail.com
(Paul Moloney) wrote:

> Hmm, and yet we keep hearing that LCD screens are
> good enough for gamers. Another reason to be
> sceptical.

FWIW I still love my LCD for desktop work but prefer my CRT for gaming. If
I had to sacrifice my big desk then the CRT would go, but only because I
spend more time in desktop use than games.

I still itch for an excuse to buy a 22" CRT though. And a 24" widescreen
LCD purely to balance the desk aesthetics, obviously.

Andrew McP

 

[shawk]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

Andrew MacPherson wrote:
> In article <3b2ue4F6edovfU1@individual.net>, paul_moloney@hotmail.com
> (Paul Moloney) wrote:
>
>
>>Hmm, and yet we keep hearing that LCD screens are
>>good enough for gamers. Another reason to be
>>sceptical.
>
>
> FWIW I still love my LCD for desktop work but prefer my CRT for gaming. If
> I had to sacrifice my big desk then the CRT would go, but only because I
> spend more time in desktop use than games.
>
> I still itch for an excuse to buy a 22" CRT though. And a 24" widescreen
> LCD purely to balance the desk aesthetics, obviously.
>
> Andrew McP

Obviously

Using a 17" LCD for work (I like the portrait mode for my reports) and
next to it a 21" Dell CRT for gaming. 21" was an £85+VAT class A refurb
from Aria 0 for that kind of money it's great

--
It's a bit of a jump isn't it? I mean, er, chartered accountancy to lion
taming in one go.
You don't think it might be better if you worked your way toward lion
taming, say, via banking...

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

In article <1112313369.21332.0@sabbath.news.uk.clara.net>,
shawk@clara.co.uk.3guesses (Shawk) wrote:

> £85+VAT class A refurb from Aria 0 for that kind
> of money it's great

Can't argue with that price, certainly! I've been reluctant to buy second
hand because of the risk of it dying in the post apart from anything else.
But a refurb from someone offering a limited warranty would be good.

Andrew McP

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

Pluvious wrote:

>
> From G4 Attack of the Show - formally The Screen Savers:
> -------------------
>
> Valve’s Doug Lombardi gave an exclusive demonstration of the
> previously unseen “The Lost Coast,” an upcoming expansion that
> utilizes a brand-new technology that Valve is implementing into the
> Source engine. Called “high-dynamic range lighting,” this new
> technology enables a leap in lighting realism from even the current
> high benchmark set by Half-Life 2 and the existing Source engine.
>
> Will this technology demand huge system requirements?
>
> “Absolutely, no bones about it,” Doug said. “This is for early
> adopters of the latest and greatest hardware.”
>
> The Lost Coast will be available free to Half-Life 2 owners via Steam
> very soon.
> --------------------------
>
>
>
> Doug said ON AIR in the segment expect it in about 2 weeks. The demo
> he showed looked pretty damn impressive. Its only for the HIGH end
> ubber gamers though.. most other rigs will choke on it. Oh.. its free
> through STEAM..
>
> ps.. he also said the upcoming patch will allow some of this lighting
> in the full game as well.
>
>
> Pluvious

gr8, as if my poor video card was'nt struggling enough already...

--
DalienX

 

[Toby]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

On 2005-03-31, Andrew MacPherson <andrew.mcp@DELETETHISdsl.pipex.com> wrote:
> In article <3b2ue4F6edovfU1@individual.net>, paul_moloney@hotmail.com
> (Paul Moloney) wrote:
>
>> Hmm, and yet we keep hearing that LCD screens are
>> good enough for gamers. Another reason to be
>> sceptical.
>
> FWIW I still love my LCD for desktop work but prefer my CRT for gaming. If
> I had to sacrifice my big desk then the CRT would go, but only because I
> spend more time in desktop use than games.
>
> I still itch for an excuse to buy a 22" CRT though. And a 24" widescreen
> LCD purely to balance the desk aesthetics, obviously.

This must be an Emperor's New Clothes thing, I mean, if you can look at
a digital photo on your LCD and it looks pretty darned realistic, then
what's the problem?

--
Toby.
Add the word afiduluminag to the subject
field to circumvent my email filters.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

On Thu, 31 Mar 2005, Pluvious wrote:

> Valve's Doug Lombardi gave an exclusive demonstration of the
> previously unseen "The Lost Coast," an upcoming expansion that
> utilizes a brand-new technology that Valve is implementing into the
> Source engine. Called "high-dynamic range lighting," this new
^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^
I really don't care about any special lighting effects, when there are no
dynamic lights from muzzle flashes or burning objects in HL2, which we had
since Quake and whose absence is more obvious and unrealistic to me than
anything else! Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines has them, why not HL2?

--
Werner Spahl (spahl@cup.uni-muenchen.de) Freedom for
"The meaning of my life is to make me crazy" Vorlonships

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

> This must be an Emperor's New Clothes thing

I can honestly say, having run the same games side by side on my desk,
that to my eyes no matter how I tweak my (Iiyama E431s) LCD, the CRT's
higher contrast ratio wins every time. Honestly.

I'd really much rather it wasn't true! LCDs are undoubtedly superb for
desktop use, and many pictures look great when displayed on them. But if
you were able to view the same image side by side with a good CRT you
might be surprised in many cases.

Of course there's also the environmental hit to take into consideration.
Over its lifespan an LCD display saves a whole heap of CO2. Ultimately
that may be the factor that means I never buy a CRT again. Or maybe I'll
turn the heating down and huddle round a 22" screen

Andrew McP

 

[shawk]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

Andrew MacPherson wrote:
> In article <1112313369.21332.0@sabbath.news.uk.clara.net>,
> shawk@clara.co.uk.3guesses (Shawk) wrote:
>
>
>>£85+VAT class A refurb from Aria 0 for that kind
>>of money it's great
>
>
> Can't argue with that price, certainly! I've been reluctant to buy second
> hand because of the risk of it dying in the post apart from anything else.
> But a refurb from someone offering a limited warranty would be good.
>
> Andrew McP
>

Yeah - my first time with refurb - very nervous. It does have a 12month
RTB warranty though so I thought 'what the hell'. Had it a couple of
months now and so far - so great.

--
It's a bit of a jump isn't it? I mean, er, chartered accountancy to lion
taming in one go.
You don't think it might be better if you worked your way toward lion
taming, say, via banking...

 

[shawk]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

Toby wrote:
> On 2005-03-31, Andrew MacPherson <andrew.mcp@DELETETHISdsl.pipex.com> wrote:
>
>>In article <3b2ue4F6edovfU1@individual.net>, paul_moloney@hotmail.com
>>(Paul Moloney) wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Hmm, and yet we keep hearing that LCD screens are
>>>good enough for gamers. Another reason to be
>>>sceptical.
>>
>>FWIW I still love my LCD for desktop work but prefer my CRT for gaming. If
>>I had to sacrifice my big desk then the CRT would go, but only because I
>>spend more time in desktop use than games.
>>
>>I still itch for an excuse to buy a 22" CRT though. And a 24" widescreen
>>LCD purely to balance the desk aesthetics, obviously.
>
>
> This must be an Emperor's New Clothes thing, I mean, if you can look at
> a digital photo on your LCD and it looks pretty darned realistic, then
> what's the problem?
>

I dont have a high-end LCD and while it is fast enough for no ghosting
on games (14ms) there just isn't the contrast. On the CRT I have no
probs with Doom3 for example - plenty of black - grey range and I can
see into the shadows - see if anything is moving in there. On the LCD
however the shadows are just black, shiny black - no contrasts.

BTW - I can get the same with a digi photo. I'm sure that top end LCD's
have better contrast ratio's but they are out of my reach at the moment.


--
It's a bit of a jump isn't it? I mean, er, chartered accountancy to lion
taming in one go.
You don't think it might be better if you worked your way toward lion
taming, say, via banking...

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

On Fri, 01 Apr 2005 12:07:41 +0100, Shawk <shawk@clara.co.uk.3guesses> wrote:

>Toby wrote:
>> On 2005-03-31, Andrew MacPherson <andrew.mcp@DELETETHISdsl.pipex.com> wrote:
>>
>>>In article <3b2ue4F6edovfU1@individual.net>, paul_moloney@hotmail.com
>>>(Paul Moloney) wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>Hmm, and yet we keep hearing that LCD screens are
>>>>good enough for gamers. Another reason to be
>>>>sceptical.
>>>
>>>FWIW I still love my LCD for desktop work but prefer my CRT for gaming. If
>>>I had to sacrifice my big desk then the CRT would go, but only because I
>>>spend more time in desktop use than games.
>>>
>>>I still itch for an excuse to buy a 22" CRT though. And a 24" widescreen
>>>LCD purely to balance the desk aesthetics, obviously.
>>
>>
>> This must be an Emperor's New Clothes thing, I mean, if you can look at
>> a digital photo on your LCD and it looks pretty darned realistic, then
>> what's the problem?
>>
>
>I dont have a high-end LCD and while it is fast enough for no ghosting
>on games (14ms) there just isn't the contrast. On the CRT I have no
>probs with Doom3 for example - plenty of black - grey range and I can
>see into the shadows - see if anything is moving in there. On the LCD
>however the shadows are just black, shiny black - no contrasts.

Yep. And that's why HDR will be a lost cause for users with these types of
panel unfortunately.

>BTW - I can get the same with a digi photo. I'm sure that top end LCD's
>have better contrast ratio's but they are out of my reach at the moment.