…by different I mean it looks exactly the same as the famous robot from Portal 2. An achingly short video of the replica was posted at Valve’s Facebook account, with no further details provided other than an acknowledgement from the Valve Store Facebook account, which said “Hello friend.”
The turret – which seems like a life-sized replica, or if not has to be at least 3 feet tall – has the customary glowing red light, blurts out sound bites and best of all, has machine guns that protract from its shiny body. But since the turret doesn’t hate you, the guns have been replaced with blinking lights paired with gunfire sound effects.
I’m not sure if Valve – or anyone for that matter – will be selling the replica, but I am sure that there are thousands of people out there who would buy it in an instant.
A Holy Grail of gamer memorabilia is the Portal turret replica — as much a tech toy as proof that you can sing “Want You Gone” from memory. It’s already been coveted when made in small batches by fans, so you can imagine the hysteria when Valve Software itself posts a teaser video (found after the break) at its store’s Facebook page showing what looks to be a near life-size, computer-linked version of Aperture Science’s typical sentry from Portal 2, minus the laser targeting and live machine guns. After that, however, we’re left to guess whether or not it’s just a decoration for Valve’s offices or a commercial product to buy alongside a Companion Cube plushie. We’ve asked Valve about providing more details in the near future and will let you know if the developer is any more talkative than its robot guards.
Today the gaming world was reintroduced to one of their most beloved places to do battle with a total conversion remaking of Half-Life 2 by development group Valve Software. After seven full years in development, this release has been not just given away for free on its own, but given away with a full soundtrack as well. This is the fulfilled promise of the Source engine port of Half-Life as made by the developers all those years ago – if you thought Half-Life: Source was awesome, you’re going to have a heart attack today.
This download was made available earlier today through several portals, the most official of these being the [Black Mesa Source Download Page] as provided by Valve. This page will be your one and only location where tried and true – and trusted – sources for the build can be found. As the game modification is given away for free, you will see some advertisements here and there on the webpage, but the final product will be just as ad-free as your original game was and always has been.
That same page shows you the Black Mesa Trailer that you see here above. This trailer was released earlier this month for those that’ve been following the project for several years – and it’s gotten rave reviews in and of itself. Here with this new product, you’ll see above as well, the game mechanics have remained largely the same (to gamers’ glee) while the storyline and overall scale of the game have been exploded with greatness.
You’ll now be playing as Doctor Gordon Freeman right alongside the original cast of environments and characters you’ve grown fond of from the original Half-Life. What you’ve got here instead of the same product is one made much more visually fantastic and immersive. This full reconstruction of Half-Life uses Source to what the developers describe as its “fullest potential” with enlarged level sizes, art detail, and code features galore.
You’ve also got new maps entirely, new models, new voice actors – save some key heroes, and textures. And again, there’s a whole new soundtrack as well that you can also download for free – be sure to donate to the team though if you’re feeling especially appreciative.
The download of this game does have some requirements, those being:
• Minimum System Requirements Software : Windows XP, Vista, or 7 Processor : Pentium 4 3.0 GHz, or AMD processor. RAM : 1GB (1024 MB) Graphics Card : Shader Model 2.0 capable, ATI 9600, NVidia 6600 or better. Sound : DirectX 8.1 compatible. HDD : 8 GB (Not including the Free Source SDK, installed separately)
• Ideal System Requirements Software : Windows XP, Vista, or 7 Processor : Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz or AMD equivalent. RAM : 1 GB (1024 MB) Graphics Card : Shader Model 3.0 capable, ATI X1600, NVidia 7600 or better. Sound : DirectX 9.0c compatible. HDD : 8 GB (Not including the Free Source SDK, installed separately)
Fun Fact: the Xbox360 controller is supported for this game – use it!
If you have a Mac, you’re out of luck. It’s not likely that any builds other than what’s listed above will be supported, but we’ll certainly keep you up to date on any developments in the future regarding furtherances of this build. They’ve got Portal on the Mac, maybe we can dream!
Yesterday marked the launch of a new service from Valve with the beta of Big Picture mode for Steam. Big Picture mode is a version of the Steam digital delivery platform designed to operate on big HDTVs rather than smaller computer monitors. The new mode will allow users with high-end media PCs connected to the TV to get higher quality graphics in the living room than they can with their consoles.
Despite numerous rumors to the contrary, Valve does not intend to launch its own game console any time soon. Rather the goal was apparently to make PC gaming more accessible and convenient in the living room. I’d love to have some of my PC games on my massive projector screen and this new Big Picture mode will make that easier than ever.
Big Picture mode looks sort of like the dashboard on an Xbox 360 or on other set-top boxes. You can use it to purchase games, surf the Internet, and chat with friends using the standard in-game overlay. Naturally, Big Picture mode has fonts, icons, and menus optimized for viewing on a big screen. The mode is also designed with prompts that can be used via a game controller from across the room, and even has a special keyboard mode optimized for game controllers. As a matter of fact, they recommend the Xbox 360 Controller for Windows, or the Logitech Gamepad F710 for gameplay and controlling the interface.
PC users can opt into the Big Picture beta now. There’s no word yet on when the Mac version will be available, though Valve says it’s “coming soon.”
Been keeping up with Steam’s Big Picture interface? Then you probably know it’s already in beta. The 10-foot UI hopes to help Valve’s content distribution portal get comfortable in front of your couch, offering gamers access to their favorite PC titles from a gamepad-friendly interface. We piped the beta out to our own living room to take a look, and weren’t surprised to find a sleek attractive UI with a heap of polish. That said, we were glad we didn’t leave our mouse and keyboard at the office.
When you say “Electronic Arts” and “Valve” in the same sentence, most gamers will likely point to the digital distribution tussle currently going on between the two. Electronic Arts wants its platform, Origin, to become one of Steam‘s biggest competitors, and Origin has garnered a lot of negative comments in the past couple of years because of that. Valve and Electronic Arts have always had a seemingly close relationship though, and it might surprise some to hear that at one point, Electronic Arts was considering purchasing Valve, as The New York Times is reporting today.
The New York Times doesn’t give a specific timeline for the proposed buyout, but says that at the time, Valve would have been valued at “well over $1 billion” if talks between the two companies had actually progressed that far. It seems that talks didn’t really go anywhere, and there’s a pretty good reason for that, as Gabe Newell says that Valve isn’t a studio we can expect to see bought out by a larger company anytime soon.
Instead, we should expect Valve to “disintegrate” before its ever bought out, with its workers going their separate ways. “It’s way more likely we would head in that direction than say, ‘Let’s find some giant company that wants to cash us out and wait two or three years to have our employment agreements terminate,” Newell said. So no, you don’t have to worry about another company buying out Valve and forcing the studio to change.
For the record, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter says that Valve is likely worth in the area of $2.5 billion. That number seems a little closer to the mark than EA’s $1 billion valuation, and it may even be a bit a higher than Pachter estimates, given the immense success of Steam and Valve’s library of incredibly popular game series. So, how about it – do you think Valve would be any different today if it had been bought out by Electronic Arts?
Big Picture is Steam’s user interface (UI) that is designed to work well on big displays/televisions. It is a format that has challenged many other apps, but Valve is determined to get it right. The demo looks really nice and Big Picture seems really well thought-out for typical things that people bump into when using large displays. (more…)
This morning we’re heading into iPhone 5 week with a collection of smaller updates before the storm – expect this essentially throughout the week throughout the tech news reporting universe: and things are going to get creative, without a doubt. Google Fiber is ramping up with 180+ Fiberhoods already on the map – coming soon! The Samsung Galaxy Note II had its 13 megapixel camera plans cut down by LG’s Optimus G if tips are true. If you’re a fan of Steam, you’re going to flip out over Valve’s Big Picture Mode starting today!
If you’re a fan of The Fifth Element you’ll enjoy the remote-controlled cockroach that’s suddenly become a reality – for real! The crew at HTC have a large collection of LTE patents that they’ll be arming against Apple soon and very soon. Meanwhile the iPhone 5 4G LTE is right around the corner – but who will be working with it on their network?
The FCC will not be taxing the internet, thank goodness. The folks at UltraViolet have announced that they’re getting better sound than ever with Dolby Digital Plus. Fashion Week is working with Google Glass via FVF Diane von Furstenberg. There’s a full-frame sensor-toting Sony RX1 digital camera out there in the wild. HP has released several products overnight, including the rather iMac-looking HP SpectreONE all-in-one PC.
Mark your calendars down, for today is the day where Valve launches the Big Picture mode beta. Just what is Big Picture mode? Well, this is actually a version of Steam that was specially designed to work within the realms of your TV in the living room. Those who have given it a go have nothing but praises for Big Picture, touting some qualities such as it being sleek, intuitive, and groundbreaking.
Of course, it makes perfect sense for Valve not to position nor market “Steam TV” as a video game console replacement, that would just be suicide for a company like them. What Big Picture does is to enlarge the scope of PC gaming to an even wider audience, making it more convenient and suitable for living rooms than in the past.
When Big Picture goes live, all you need to do is push a button, and check out a whole new Steam interface that is said to resemble the Xbox 360’s dashboard sans advertisements and clutter, letting you do just about anything and everything you want on the standard issue Steam, including purchasing games, surf the Internet, and even rely on Steam’s standard in-game overlay to strike up a conversation with your gaming buddies. Do you think Valve’s Big Picture will take off?
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
Mark your calendars down, for today is the day where 