Counter-Strikers: where you at?

November 12, 2004 6:47 AM

Counter-Strike: Source MeFites! (more inside)
posted by Pretty_Generic to MetaFilter-Related at 6:47 AM (34 comments total)

Put your Steam usernames here. Fun shall ensue.
posted by Pretty_Generic at 6:47 AM on November 12, 2004

I'm [e-mail] - although I can't seem to connect to the Friends server at the moment.
posted by Pretty_Generic at 6:53 AM on November 12, 2004

I've been known to play Counter-Strike. I have no idea what you mean by "Source" though.
posted by ODiV at 7:46 AM on November 12, 2004

Source is teh new slang for ruining tk'ing and cheating and raging people.
posted by eddydamascene at 8:23 AM on November 12, 2004

evstar
posted by Evstar at 8:34 AM on November 12, 2004

[e-mail] - I'll keep my eye out for you folks.
posted by LukeyBoy at 9:53 AM on November 12, 2004

Er... so what does Source mean? I haven't played in awhile, but can I just fire up Steam and find you guys? Or does "source" require that I buy something or...?
posted by ODiV at 10:02 AM on November 12, 2004

source means CS with the new HL2 engine. it is much prettier. and you have to buy it. BUT! if you purchase HL2 via steam, it comes with CS:Source.

I am slackymcnugget at hotmail dot com
posted by Hackworth at 10:15 AM on November 12, 2004

i should add that you can play CS:Source now, and HL2 will pre-load, but not be playable until Nov 16th.

also: I am usually on the HardFought servers.
posted by Hackworth at 10:17 AM on November 12, 2004

how much does it cost?
posted by angry modem at 10:47 AM on November 12, 2004

I bought the silver package for $59.95 which has
? Half-Life 2*
? Counter-Strike: Source
? Half-Life 1: Source*
? Day of Defeat™: Source*
? PLUS: Valve's back catalog available on Steam!

* not available for play til 16th

I have no money, but I couldn't resist.
posted by Pretty_Generic at 11:09 AM on November 12, 2004

OMG AWP WALLHACK
posted by neckro23 at 12:06 PM on November 12, 2004

To play half-life 2 you need a computer faster than a PIII 800. I'm playing Halo 2, thanks.

My Halo 2 screen name is SexualChocula, if anybody wants to be my friend
posted by Hildago at 12:16 PM on November 12, 2004

As long as MeFi gamers are reading this thread, rather than starting a new thread on AskMe, a quick tech question:

When I'm running more-recent 3D games (Halo PC, Need For Speed:HP2, Call of Duty, UT2003, whathaveyou), the game will run smooth at any detail setting and then lock up for several (dozen) seconds. This happens with the same frequency even at very low resolution and detail settings, though it does vary from game-to-game (Halo locks up my entire system, while NFS hangs for about 10 seconds and UT2003 hangs for 30-40). Everyone I've asked before has suggested that my system is overheating and I should play with my box open -- but no dice. Anyone know what it could be, or how I could fix it? I'm running a Pentium 4 2.4GHz with 512 MB ram and a GeForce 4 Ti4600.

I'm itchin' to buy that HL2 silver pack in time to preload before release, but I'm scared that it just won't be worth the investment if I can't play it well.
posted by rafter at 3:26 PM on November 12, 2004

rafter - could it be some other process in the background? Maybe try ending all other processes running (like anti-virus programs, firewalls, etc.) in the background before you start the game.
posted by pitchblende at 3:38 PM on November 12, 2004

I tried quitting out of my virus scanner and IM programs and so forth, but still gets the freeze-ups.

If the theory that my computer is overheating is indeed correct, what would I have to do to mitigate this? Buy a new fan?
posted by rafter at 7:29 PM on November 12, 2004

If it really just happens when you're running 3D games, it sounds like the graphics card (or its fan) is faulty. If it's under guarantee get it replaced, or pick up a second hand one. I have the same card but a slower processor and less RAM, and I'm running Counter-Strike: Source silky smooth.
posted by Pretty_Generic at 8:02 PM on November 12, 2004

I'm Ryvar on Steam - six months of straight WOW beta have shot my skills to hell, though, so don't expect much.
posted by Ryvar at 10:03 PM on November 12, 2004

Jesus. Who knew there were so many nerds on this internet message board?
posted by jonson at 10:13 PM on November 12, 2004

I'm joshmillard. Further proof of my restless creativity.
posted by cortex at 11:02 PM on November 12, 2004

GHOSTHUNT
posted by luckyclone at 2:01 PM on November 13, 2004

falconred

(suprise!)
posted by falconred at 2:31 PM on November 13, 2004

rafter - I had exactly the same problem with Far Cry - turns out that the geniuses at Compaq had mounted another card snugly adjacent to the graphics card in my machine, which was impeding the airflow somewhat.
posted by chrid at 2:48 PM on November 13, 2004

pitchblende and P_G, thanks.

Haven't gotten the problem sorted out, but I did preorder HL2.

For what it's worth, the stress test in CS Source gives me 30fps at Valve's recommended settings at 1280x1024, and 56fps at Valve's recommended settings at 1024x768. Yet the game still hangs. When it does the models often disappear and sometimes surfaces (i.e. walls).

chrid, thanks as well. I'll have to open up my case and see if there's someplace else to move the card.
posted by rafter at 4:23 PM on November 13, 2004

chrid, I opened my case and lo, Dell had put my network card basically right up against my video card. I swapped some things around, but it didn't seem to help.

I guess it probably is just overheating, though. While leaving the case open alone isn't enough, I dragged my room fan over and pointed it directly at the case and put it on full.

It let me play quite smoothly (40fps, even, at the highest detail settings) but isn't very practical (not to mention noisy).

Is my only recourse to replace the card?
posted by rafter at 5:50 PM on November 13, 2004

rafter: Look for a replacement "VGA Cooler" or so. Zalman do a few nice silent ones, one of which I used to replace the one on my Ti4200 (purely for noise reasons), but there are a few others about which will probably be cheaper.

If it's still under warranty you should be able to get it replaced by the manufacturer, but it might be easier just to do it yourself.
posted by Freaky at 7:24 PM on November 13, 2004

You know, I added everyone here to my "Friends" list and have seen no one online yet. Are we sure that it works?
posted by LukeyBoy at 2:26 PM on November 14, 2004

Yeah, I've played with hackworth several times
posted by Pretty_Generic at 2:48 PM on November 14, 2004

I'm zsazs on steam. My email's ian at polpo dot org. I'm still downloading from Steam, but it'll be done in time for me to be up late tonight getting my ass handed to me. I've never played CS before, so I'll be at a disadvantage. A newbies-only server would be nice...
posted by zsazsa at 4:02 PM on November 14, 2004

Thanks, Freaky. I tried to weasel a replacement card out of Dell, but they wouldn't hear anything of it, so I ordered one of the heatsinks you linked to. I really would have had no idea what I was doing without your guidance —
posted by rafter at 7:36 PM on November 14, 2004

Hey, I can actually sign into the Friends network thing tonight. Consider yourselves added.
posted by cortex at 9:34 PM on November 14, 2004

Does nobody here play NS? It' s not going Source any time soon, and perhaps not as pretty as CS : S or HL2. But it's all about the gameplay gosh dang it!
posted by eurasian at 12:29 PM on November 15, 2004

Gameplay shmameplay. I just want to shoot at barrels!

Or, really, I think NS is quite cool but I've never spent the time to acclimate myself properly, and the very things that make it a great game make it very, very hard to play on a public server full of strangers. Teamwork is hard without, y'know, teamwork.
posted by cortex at 12:46 PM on November 15, 2004

th3ph17, or Duncan Idaho
posted by th3ph17 at 2:53 PM on November 16, 2004