Q: What is a mod?

[Hugo.B]

Being rather ignorant about HL mods. and suchlike, I'd love to know whether this mod requires HL1/2 to play it...

(I have just revealed my total lack of knowledge about HL & HL mods. with the above sentence.)

H.B.

[Archon]

it will require hl2 to play

[Ginger Lord]

And you will need to download the SourceSDK Base from the Tools section in Steam.

Infact, I think Hl2DM may be enough, as long as you can download SourceSDK base you should be fine.

Don't quote me on that though.

[fess]

I think HL2DM will be enough, I remember having this discussion on another mod forums and most came to the conclusion that HL2DM will make most HL2 mods playable.

[Jed]

We'll eventually be using the SourceSDK Base which, I'm told, gets downloaded automatically if you don't have it and a mod needs it.

SourceSDK Base gives us the latest current Source engine tech for mods without having dependancy on another game like CS:S, EP1 or HL2DM.

[Hugo.B]

Sorry about long reply time, but I could not access the site for a long time recently.
I should not say this here, but as I have a strictly limited budget, this will probably mean firing up azureus (http://sourceforge.net/projects/azureus/)...

H.B.

[Jed]

It would probably cost you more in terms of electricity waiting for what you need to download than actually spending the $20 for HL2 on Steam.

That said, don't expect to be able to play HaJ. Getting a warezed version of HL2 isn't going to give you access to the files you need to play it.

[Hugo.B]

That said, don't expect to be able to play HaJ. Getting a warezed version of HL2 isn't going to give you access to the files you need to play it.

I'm afraid I really don't get it, I don't quite understand, but I presume there will be full instructions when it is released.

H.B.

[Ginger Lord]

You will need to buy the game to play the mod. The warez versions of HL2 floating around are either incomplete, modified "source leak" versions or ones released by Valve with trackers in them. If you get one of the last ones Valve gets your SteamID and everynow and then they blacklist a few thousand illegal accounts.

So, buy it.

No more talk of warez either, else the ban hammer gets used.

[Hugo.B]

So, buy it.
No more talk of warez either, else the ban hammer gets used.

Thank you for the warning, I appreciate it. I spotted "hl2" in GAME (http://www.game.co.uk/lowdown.aspx?lid=6630&cm_sp=guitarhero-_-topnav-_-thetour) (a game retailer) for £15 recently...
I'm glad you keep to your policy of one warning then ban. :)

What kind of graphics card do you use in your pc? {Question is to devs.}

H.B.

[Jed]

I had a AGP 6600GT for the longest time, just upgraded to a PCI-E 7950GT.

[Ginger Lord]

I used to have a 6600GT and now a 6800GT OC.

[mXed]

7900gtx

[Hugo.B]

Thanks for the info, I have an overclocked GeForce FX 5500. I was interested to see if it was any indication of what I'll need for HaJ. Question now open to anybody.

H.B

[Jed]

Well put it this way, we appreciate that Valve aimed to make HL2 accessible for anyone, even with old hardware, at the cost of dumbing down the graphics, etc.

However, as we're just a small mod and will probably only have a small user base it doesn't make sense for us to expend all the effort on making it work with the oldest available hardware.

Hence, you'll probably need a reasonably spec'd machine for it. To give you an example the machine I was originally developing/playing it on was an old P4 2.6Ghz with 1Gb RAM and a AGP 6600GT graphic card. That ran it adequately but obviously I couldn't have the graphics up to max. I could run it at 1152x768 though at an average of about 30-40fps.

That said, a DX8.1 compatible graphics card or higher is probably a must or you'll be missing out on a lot.

[Hugo.B]

Ok, thanks for info.
My setup is:
CPU: AMD @1.6GHZ
RAM: anon@1GB
VGA: Core clock frequency: 302mhz
Memory clock frequency: 427mhz
I run screen and games @ 1024x768

H.B.

[fess]

I had a AGP 6600GT for the longest time, just upgraded to a PCI-E 7950GT.

Oh Jed, you should have just spent your life savings on and 8800 GTX >:|

..and Hugo, you may find you need to upgrade your hardware for better performance, I struggle to run Source on anything above minimum detail on a 3ghz p4 ht, pci-e 6800 oc and 1gb ddr2 ram.

[Hugo.B]

Source
What does that mean? I am not very well up on matters like valve and steam etc. (No, I have not been living on the moon.)
...you may find you need to upgrade your hardware
Well, I am receiving a 19" widescreen TFT as a gift soon, but I guess that's not what you are referring to... :)

[Ginger Lord]

Source is the engine that HL2 runs on.

I don't hold out much hope for you trying to run games at anything above low detail on a 19" widescreen at 1440*900.

[Hugo.B]

I guess this means I need to start saving then... :O
Yes, I really want to play HaJ that much:biggrin: no, actually, I think there are a lot of games that could benefit from the extra firepower.
Any recommendations for a new (or second-hand) AGP card , under £50.00, and
available in britain?

[fess]

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Graphics_Cards.html
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/store/2/cat/Graphics-Cards-ATI
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/store/2/cat/Graphics-Cards-Nvidia

You might want to invest in a new CPU as well, but you may also find that in the long run it could be better to save up for a whole new system.

[Ginger Lord]

Yeah, your PC is below minimum spec or hovering around it in most cases.

I'd hazard a guess that if you can run DoD:S at a decent frame rate, HaJ should be the same. Whilst DoDS is shiny and detailed, its levels are small whereas ours are much much larger.

[Pierog]

With hdr and the like I might go on a limb and say H&J is a little more hardware intense...

then again we haven't really been focusing on any optimisation to this point so I don't think we can truly judge how itll run until close to release time.

[Hugo.B]

Thanks for the replies, great help.
About the graphics card, it was a rip-off having cost me £60.00 in april.
I not knowing enough about building computers, nor about graphics cards at the time to make a "cool and calculated" decision. :(
I have since noticed however, that AGP is nearing obseleteness, and that for an equivalent card in pci-e, it's half the price. That is an observation that should have influenced my choice of gfx card.

As there is nothing to be done about that however, I'll now try to decide 'tween getting a new AGP card, or upgrading Mboard and getting pci-e. :)
(I'll bet that you were bored stiff by all of that.) Fess, what do you think of eclipse computers (http://www.eclipsecomputers.com) pricewise?
That is where I have got all my stuff from so far.

H.B.

[Jed]

Get a new system, its not worth the hassle of trying to find an AGP card. Their getting obsolete and harder to find.

[Hugo.B]

I apologise: General chat about Ham And Jam. Nothing Else.

I cannot get new system, as I just built this one, so my family would not accept me buying a new one, but probably wouldn't mind a parts upgrade.
I think it might be a motherboard/graphics card and maybe processor upgrade.

H.B.

[fess]

About that site, whenever I buy offline, I never rely on just one site, if I see something I like, I always go check a few other sites to get an idea of the best price I could get. If you see something you like, have a look on other sites and sources, and check reviews, they're always very useful.

[Hugo.B]

www.froogle.google.co.uk (http://www.froogle.google.co.uk)

Thats all for now no time goodnight,

H.B.

[Trp.Werewolf]

I'm still using my 7-year-old ATI Radeon 8500 and I seem to do quite well play-testing on HaJ (when I remember to show up, that is...).

AMD Athlon XP2600+ (2.14GHz) 266 FSB
1 GB 2100DDR RAM
Soundblaster Audigy Gamer

[Hugo.B]

Since the above posts, I upgraded to:

PCI-E Gigabyte mobo with 3 slots for RAM,
I have 1Gb of RAM now, and am hoping to get another(or two) in a couple of months(my B-day),
skt754 sempron OC@1.85Ghz,
Palit Geforce7300,
Video7 19"widescreen.

Plays True Combat: Elite @85(lowest)-110(highest)fps.

EDIT:A terrible pair of Sony walkman headphones. Walkman=casette player not mp3.

H.B.

[Sam]

Don't put 3 gigs of ram in your compy, 2 gigs is the best, putting in 3 gigs will slow your computers start up, it'll crash more and your computer will be slugish.

[fess]

And be sure to get matched pairs for best performance.

[Hugo.B]

Don't put 3 gigs of ram in your compy, 2 gigs is the best, putting in 3 gigs will slow your computers start up, it'll crash more and your computer will be slugish.
I know you're probably correct, but I had this idea that the mobo's the limit.
Any scientific backing for or against?

And be sure to get matched pairs for best performance.
As in 2xDDR400 etc?

[fess]

Yes, and it's best to get exactly the same ones, ie. the same manufacturer and model.

[Jed]

You can usually buy them as matched pairs if you go to somewhere like Komplett. Thats what I did.

[Hugo.B]

Yes, and it's best to get exactly the same ones, ie. the same manufacturer and model.
That's what they say about SLI for Gfx cards.
My current stick of RAM is off ebay, and it's generic, no markings, so practically impossible to match that! :) However, I'll make an effort to make certain the next lot are matched.
Anything in favour/disfavour of 3 gigabytes of RAM yet?

H.B.

[Ginger Lord]

If your Mobo has four slots, most won't boot with 3 filled. Or something like that.

[fess]

I think that is true.

Completely off topic, but I thought it wasn't worth creating a new thread for, ChanServ has left the #hamandjam channel, I guess because the channel owner[s] haven't been on enough ;) I think we should try and populate the channel more, I'm always there whenever I'm only along with 2 or 3 other people who never chat...

[Ginger Lord]

I don't know who set that up, the team never really uses IRC at all so we never needed to have one.

[mXed]

on what network is it hosted ?

[Ginger Lord]

Fixed and re-registered

[zone trooper]

Well i get around 20fps on my Geforce 6200 LE and 512mb ram. I'm gonna start saving up for a new graphics card and 1GB of ram to make it 1.5GB ram. I got a PCI-E 16x so i think i might get a Geforce 7600GT or Geforce 7900GT, though, i might need to buy a new power supply so i don't blow the fuse and break my computer. I would laugh if i fry my Geforce 6200 LE.

[Hugo.B]

That reminds me... I fried the PSU that came with my case by plugging the cable in the wall-socket, switching it on, and then plugging the live cable into the back of my pc...:icon_wtf:
Most impressive, I lived up to my highest expectations:biggrin:
There was a huge bang, and a bright blue flash.
Fortunately, only my PSU was broken.

H.B.

[zone trooper]

That reminds me... I fried the PSU that came with my case by plugging the cable in the wall-socket, switching it on, and then plugging the live cable into the back of my pc...:icon_wtf:
Most impressive, I lived up to my highest expectations:biggrin:
There was a huge bang, and a bright blue flash.
Fortunately, only my PSU was broken.

H.B.

Lol well that sucks so how much did your new PSU cost?