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HL2 is free?
Soldat Forums - Misc - The Bash Pit
enjoyincubus
January 17, 2005, 3:42 pm
I was lacking in things to do over the Christmas break, so I decided to find a way to get myself a free copy of HL2. I'm sorry if this offends any Steam/Valve employees or Puritans.

Now, if you've the intuition for a free copy of HL2, go to the store and buy retail. Carefully open the top of the box. Slide a blade under the seal, if you must. Be careful not to tear or warp. There will be 5 CD's in unsealed white paper cases. Go ahead and create a Steam account. Install the game. Type in the CD Key if/when the prompt asks for it. At this point, to play, you'll need the CD. Go ahead and give it a test run. When you're satisfied...

Uninstall the game. Pack up the CD's and seal the box, much as when you bought it. I wiped the bottom of the seal with a touch of rubber cement and a tad bit of water. Run a razor blade over the seal. Dandy as ever. Return it to the store.

Then go home and look at your games list on Steam. Since Steam has already acknowledged your ownership of HL2, you'll be able to download it. Double-click the HL2 icon to do just that. Strangely enough, it runs without the CD, as it should have in the first place.

You'll be able to play without the CD, and you'll have your $60.

And you'll have some topic to post on another forum, until Steam finds you and bans you.

b00stA
January 17, 2005, 4:16 pm
quote:Originally posted by enjoyincubusAnd you'll have some topic to post on another forum, until Steam finds you and bans you.
/ as soon as someone else buys the same copy you got.

enjoyincubus
January 17, 2005, 4:20 pm
I thought about this, as well. My store of preference has a wide collection of games, but rarely sells much. I'm banking on the copy not being sold. Or if it is, the steampowered forum doods just sending the innocent a new CD key, to end confrontation.

Liber_Lupus
January 17, 2005, 5:48 pm
I think it would be so easy here. They will not take games back so easily and I don't know how the box looks like over here. Games are usually wrapped in membrane(is that the word?).

Meandor
January 17, 2005, 6:19 pm
While you were dealing with your HL2 business, i broke into your house and stole all of your pants and slipped them in random HL2 boxes.

SuperKill
January 17, 2005, 6:27 pm
or you can just like, get the fastest crack availble today in about 2 minutes googling or asking people around, and be able to download the entire valve pack availble. (CS, CS:S, HL2, HL2:DM, and the 3rd party mods)

but come on you noobs,
cant you download the dvd version and crack it via registry to make it work online ?
its not like there's anything hard with making a shortcut and adding "-steam" to the command line ;P

enjoyincubus
January 17, 2005, 6:28 pm
i like my boxers better anyway. the material is a lot thinner and allows more airflow.

IDF-RIPsta
January 17, 2005, 8:02 pm
Before I begin, I have to tell you that this actually worked...

Buy the game, open the box, write down what you need, return it the next day and say that it requires you to remove other programs you cannot remove (Sims 2 requires you to shutdown your anti-virus, NFSU2 requires you to remove CloneCD). Tell them that you were not aware of it when you bought the game, and that nothing of that was mentioned on the box.

Make a bit of a fuzz and watch them give you your money back. After that, place your purchased box in a hidden area of the store, and walk out happier than ever because you managed to save a few more bucks being the cheapass that you are...

Since you're still left with no original copy, why not download it on e-mule and update your crack upon the release of any newer version... there will always be newer cracks. You know that, don't you? Deviance is doing a great job with that...

Are we allowed to discuss thievery on this forum?

Vijchtidoodah
January 17, 2005, 8:08 pm
Liber, I think you mean plastic wrap.

Somehow, pirating a game from people who already had to deal with a stolen source code seems wrong. In fact, it's wrong no matter what...it's downright stealing.

Liber_Lupus
January 17, 2005, 9:45 pm
I made a typo. I meant it WONT be so easy to do that here. Yeah..plastic wrap, but think of the people who will buy the game? WTF will they feel when they discover their cd-key is invalid. [IMAGE]ers.

enjoyincubus
January 17, 2005, 10:46 pm
quote: Or if it is, the steampowered forum doods just sending the innocent a new CD key, to end confrontation.

mar77a
January 18, 2005, 12:39 am
*cough* Kazaa *cough*

The Geologist
January 18, 2005, 1:26 am
Kazaa blows.

frogboy
January 18, 2005, 1:35 am
*cough* BUY THE [IMAGE]ING GAME *cough*

enjoyincubus
January 18, 2005, 1:43 am
*cough* BUY THE GAME, WITH INTENTION TO RETURN *cough* :P

it's only stealing if you allow yourself to believe so.

along with money, stealing is a concept. sure is widely used.

i guess i could argue the point that we've all stolen (indirectly) from the Sumerians, who arguably developed the first written language. i mean, we're using written words to communicate, are we not? the Sumerians did it before us. therefore, we're stealing the idea.

the coding behind Half Life 2 is an idea. they are strands of logic intertwined into one larger puzzle. you cannot put a price on logic and algorithms that are present in all walks of life. well, you can. you can throw me in jail or flame me for not agreeing that i'm stealing, as is the usual case throughout history. at the end of the day, it's still just an idea.

one way to look at it.

Unlucky 13
January 18, 2005, 1:58 am
Someone already stole the HL2 code from Valve remember? And that was during prodution, and I find that worse, only because the game was delayed!!!

The Geologist
January 18, 2005, 2:03 am
quote:Originally posted by enjoyincubus

i guess i could argue the point that we've all stolen (indirectly) from the Sumerians, who arguably developed the first written language. i mean, we're using written words to communicate, are we not? the Sumerians did it before us. therefore, we're stealing the idea.



The Sumerians didn't produce their language with the intent of distributing/selling it to make a profit. Copyrighted concepts and ideas are quite capable of being stolen, which is what you're doing. You're taking the product without paying for it. Even if it is "just an idea" at the end of the day, it's an idea under the protection of the law. Thanks for giving the shaft to the companies that make/distribute the games you enjoy. I'm sure they appreciate it.

mar77a
January 18, 2005, 2:32 am
Owned/Pwned.

NightCabbage
January 18, 2005, 3:17 am
wahahahah enjoy that's teh evul :P

enjoyincubus
January 18, 2005, 4:22 am
Would you not agree, however, that a copyright is a concept?

I've no real opinion. I just offer different viewpoints. Whatever conclusion the reader draws is satisfactual.

The Geologist
January 18, 2005, 5:25 am
quote:Originally posted by enjoyincubus*cough* BUY THE GAME, WITH INTENTION TO RETURN *cough* :P
it's only stealing if you allow yourself to believe so.
along with money, stealing is a concept. sure is widely used.



Drop the act Mr. Philosophy major. I have yet to see any viewpoint other than if you feed yourself enough b.s. about how you're not stealing that it's actually the case. Congrats...but you're a moron. Not only did you come onto a public forum to talk about how to steal this game (which in my opinion makes you no better than the people who spread reg keys for soldat and other various games), but you can't even create a valid arguement to support yourself. All you can do is make up an assanign analogy about the Sumerian culture (which wasn't even correct or apt, btw), and then all you can say is that "a copyright is a concept"?

The company that made HL2 made a product, and that product did indeed come from a concept. They made it anticipating sales and a return of the time and effort they put into that product in cash form. You stole that product by buying a game, which by the way you have plenty of money to buy so you have no need to steal, and then returning it with some b.s. excuse after taking what you need. You want to talk about things human beings have been doing for thousands of years, in ancient cultures? Let's talk about trade and people getting their hands cut off for stealing goods and. Sometimes a good removal of ones hands might be just what kids like you need to cut this crap out.

I got news for ya. Rape is a concept, ya gonna tell me it's not rape if I don't believe I'm actually doing it to some girl? Murder is a concept, but certainly you won't get mad if I kill your family. 'cause I'm sitting here telling myself I didn't do it, it's just a concept. And of course you can't get the law involved...just a concept. Want to get revenge? Another concept.

quote:Originally posted by enjoyincubus
the coding behind Half Life 2 is an idea. they are strands of logic intertwined into one larger puzzle. you cannot put a price on logic and algorithms that are present in all walks of life. well, you can . you can throw me in jail or flame me for not agreeing that i'm stealing, as is the usual case throughout history. at the end of the day, it's still just an idea.

one way to look at it.


If you're going to make a thread about how to steal a game and talk how correct you are, try not to contradict yourself. You're stealing any way you slice it. There are laws against theft because there are people like you. You have a few more years of growing up to do.

On a side note, I'm glad you agree with me (?) that whatever conclusion one draws is satisfactual, seeing as how I draw the conclusion that you're little more than a thief.


NightCabbage
January 18, 2005, 6:44 am
The object that people are buying is, in this case, the cd key. The liscence to play the game, and the ability to play it online. All you need for Half-Life 2 is the cd key, hence, Half-Life 2's only object of value is the cd key. It would seem that games these days are becoming increasingly less tangible :P And so, in this case (unfortunately) what you are doing is the equivilant of "buying" the game, taking the cd out of the case, and returning the empty box to the vendor.

bb_vb
January 18, 2005, 10:19 am
Imagine how would one feel if they were to have a job, and work really hard, for a long time, only to find out that they aren't getting paid, because someone stole their product.

Alot like Valve...

TG: Very well said
NC: And a very interesting comment :)

I should also add that I find it very strange that this topic is still unlocked :S

Unlucky 13
January 18, 2005, 10:33 am
BEE BOO BEE BOO *Police sirens*

SuperKill
January 18, 2005, 11:04 am
quote:Originally posted by bb_vbImagine how would one feel if they were to have a job, and work really hard, for a long time, only to find out that they aren't getting paid, because someone stole their product.

arent getting paid, because a bunch of people stole their product?
rotflmao, get your facts straight before you speak.

bb_vb
January 18, 2005, 11:14 am
It wasn't sposed to be an exact example :\

Perhaps you would rather accept a story where a lone game maker makes an awesome little game, and asks only a very small fee, but ends up getting nothing for all his hard work after people make cracks and use it for free... (it even rhymes :)

As you should have noticed, there's no difference between stealing HL2 and stealing Soldat. Only thing is, this topic hasn't been deleted, indicating some people don't see it that way.

SuperKill
January 18, 2005, 11:19 am
yes there is a diffrence. ;P
soldat wasnt made for profit, hl2 was.
well my point is that even with all the hacking, cracking and stealing, valve made a huge profit out of hl2.

Hektik Sniper
January 18, 2005, 11:24 am
doesnt mean its legal to steal just because they still make money.

IDF-RIPsta
January 18, 2005, 1:04 pm
A 14 year old frog told you all to buy the "[IMAGE]ing game".
Maybe we should ask his Dada to give us the money, just like he does everytime he wants a new PC game...


frogboy
January 18, 2005, 1:15 pm
quote:Originally posted by IDF-RIPstaA 14 year old frog told you all to buy the "[IMAGE]ing game".
Maybe we should ask his Dada to give us the money, just like he does everytime he wants a new PC game...




Half-Life 2 is the first game I had bought in about a year. I saved up for it. My "Dada" didn't just simply give me the money. So shut the [IMAGE] up next time before making more baseless accusations.

IDF-RIPsta
January 18, 2005, 1:22 pm
Watch out with those loose hormons...

Sure he didn't just give you the money. How could you learn to appreciate the value of money if he simply gave it to you?

You saved up money that your Dada gave you as pocket money.
Anyway, did you learn how valuable money is?
You did? Good boy!

frogboy
January 18, 2005, 1:28 pm
Stop with the condescending bull[IMAGE], it makes you look more arrogant than you actually are. In fact, go back to ignoring my posts because I'm an oh-so-ignorant 14 year old.

b00stA
January 18, 2005, 1:53 pm
quote:Originally posted by Unlucky 13Someone already stole the HL2 code from Valve remember? And that was during prodution, and I find that worse, only because the game was delayed!!!

The game wasn't delayed because of the source leak.

LazehBoi
January 18, 2005, 2:37 pm
quote:Originally posted by IDF-RIPstaWatch out with those loose hormons...

Sure he didn't just give you the money. How could you learn to appreciate the value of money if he simply gave it to you?

You saved up money that your Dada gave you as pocket money.
Anyway, did you learn how valuable money is?
You did? Good boy!



Shut up now... Please. That's just too [IMAGE]ing moronic. I don't recall ages mattering about opinions. I remember another guy from your country thinking the same, i'm not mmeaning to be offensive, but does your country like, hate children?

SuperKill
January 18, 2005, 3:35 pm
quote:Originally posted by Hektik Sniperdoesnt mean its legal to steal just because they still make money.

shut up HEKTIK SNIPER THE FAT!
i didnt say its legal, but its just wrong to compare valve with a company \ author that doesnt gain profit.

The Geologist
January 18, 2005, 4:16 pm
quote:Originally posted by IDF-RIPsta
Sure he didn't just give you the money. How could you learn to appreciate the value of money if he simply gave it to you?

You saved up money that your Dada gave you as pocket money.
Anyway, did you learn how valuable money is?
You did? Good boy!


How could you learn to appreciate the value of money if you steal what you want? And you're looking down on someone who actually buys the game? That's rich...a bit backwards, but nice and rich.

Meandor
January 18, 2005, 4:49 pm
/me breaks into EI house
I'M NOT STEALING ANYTHING, YOU'RE COMMUNIST, I'M JUST GETTING MY SHARE OF STUFF.

enjoyincubus
January 18, 2005, 9:28 pm
if it makes you happy.

i did not feel the need to say this earlier, but within the past week, i've ordered the Silver Package on Steam. i created a new Steam account, using a new email address, and i've deleted all my old gcf files, as if they've any connection to me.

now, having said that, you might wonder why i'd conjure this story here. i'm merely interested in attaining different perspectives.

of course i've had an opinion the whole time. it was clear from the beginning. the strange thing is, written language allows for me to state my views one way, and 80% of the people will believe it.

i use the internet as my learning device. and what better way to learn than through contact with other living, breathing, thinking people. i can deviate as far as i'd like, without ever facing true consequences, such as death.

much love. thanks for all the lessons. surrrious yo.

m00`
January 18, 2005, 9:42 pm
quote:Originally posted by IDF-RIPstaA 14 year old frog told you all to buy the "[IMAGE]ing game".
Maybe we should ask his Dada to give us the money, just like he does everytime he wants a new PC game...


Atleast he/his dad can afford a game
btw wtf is a dada, is that what the children in your country call their dads? Because we dont call our dads "dada" in Australia

SuperKill
January 18, 2005, 9:53 pm
no we dont call our dads 'dada' in israel.

enjoyincubus
January 18, 2005, 10:32 pm
we wear our dada's in america. at least the 'african americans' do.

Chakra
January 19, 2005, 12:06 am
Stealing will in most cases be wrong. The only justification is whatever you've stolen is of benefit to you and has little effect to anyone else.

..works for me.

enjoyincubus
January 19, 2005, 4:03 am
if i were to steal...say...the entire source of a game, with the sole intention of keeping others from playing the game, i'd very well take all criticism. for sure, i'd be a prick/banished to hell.

the same goes for stealing an emotionally unstable teenager's favorite belonging, just to see what happens. or a blind man's cane. yes, you're a predisposed azzhole, in that case.

to quote/paraphrase meandor from two years back: "you need to realize the whole fecking world is not black and white!" meaning, there are stealing.

suppose i'm just devious/delirious when i say all that jibberish about concepts. would you agree that there are different levels of stealing? do i deserve to lose my hand for stealing a pair from a multinational clothing corporation that profits from overworked, underpaid overseas employees? i'm not one to point fingers, so i'll leave it to you to decide who's more at fault.

and my personal view on video game piracy/theft:

though illegal/immoral, if you've no problem emotionally with the taking, and if the producer of the product is well off (guys, don't act as if you've no idea that these video game companies are making money), then by all means, take!

you see, not only do you get their product, but you've also spurred the market. these large, dominating companies (EA, Nintendo, Sega) may soon lose their strangehold over the market. if you've ever played an EA Sports game, you'll know what i'm talking about when i say NOTHING HAS CHANGED.

as with microsoft. as with macromedia, to a smaller extent.

so, if we're to see the market progress in any form or fashion, we must prove to the big companies that we will stop at nothing to either find an alternative, or show we do not believe their current product to be worth buying.

believe me, i'd lay down money for games if i felt the makers left their heart on the table. you can tell, as soon as you play a game, if the makers are in it for the profit, or strictly for the love of the game. pay to play? what happened to buy one game, get another through the mail for free?

and, when the big companies start slowing in growth, the smaller ones will make huge gains, creating more competition, and help create further growth in the market. happened with the Photoshop/PSP battle. Mozilla's more or less slammed IE. blah blah, blah.

NightCabbage
January 19, 2005, 5:17 am
b00sty, actually it did delay it a little... they almost gave up LOL

enjoy :) hope my opinion helped

The Geologist
January 19, 2005, 5:23 am
Blah blah blah indeed...if you're done blowing smoke out your ass, I'd like to remind you that you're still stealing. It doesn't matter how devious/delirious you were when you talked about concepts...take some resonsibility will you? If you think you're doing anything to spur the market on it's just another example of you lulling yourself into a misinformed mindset. The only thing you do is provoke companies to expect people to steal their products and raise. Way to go.

No offense, but you're still kinda young...you're not an expert on the economy. Neither am I, but then again I'm not up here stating about how stealing a game will somehow prove anything to companies aside from the fact that you're a teenage thief. You obviously don't know what you're talking about if you expect a large corporation to "leave their heart on the table" for any reason whatsoever.

I'd like to ask you...why do you think these "concepts" like pay for play exist? You're so curious why the companies stopped sending out free games? You steal from the company that makes the game you enjoy and you have to ask things like this? You're not Robinhood...you're just stealing from the rich, for the benefit of yourself. You wouldn't understand even if you got the answer.





bb_vb
January 19, 2005, 5:40 am
quote:Originally posted by enjoyincubus
so, if we're to see the market progress in any form or fashion, we must prove to the big companies that we will stop at nothing to either find an alternative, or show we do not believe their current product to be worth buying.

and, when the big companies start slowing in growth, the smaller ones will make huge gains, creating more competition, and help create further growth in the market. happened with the Photoshop/PSP battle. Mozilla's more or less slammed IE. blah blah, blah.

If it's not worth buying, you should put up without it, not steal it. If you want to support smaller companies, then use their software instead, don't steal from the big ones.

quote:
believe me, i'd lay down money for games if i felt the makers left their heart on the table. you can tell, as soon as you play a game, if the makers are in it for the profit, or strictly for the love of the game. pay to play? what happened to buy one game, get another through the mail for free?


Surely, of all games, HL2 would be considered to satisfy that. And pay to play? I don't know many games like this (I'm not a big gamer), but things like mmorpgs need continuous money to keep their servers up.

enjoyincubus
January 19, 2005, 5:47 am
I'm well aware of companies not wanting to put their heart out on a silver platter. If they slip up, their competition will thrive on the opening. And I'm sorry if I missed the part where I stated I knew every last detail relating to the market, economy, and how things work in general.

I hope you did indeed read that I've recently bought a legal copy of Half Life 2, as I can see they put a lot of work into the game.

The game that brought the most enjoyment to my life was free. Aside from HL2/RTW, I spend most of my playing time on games from indie developers.

You do speak a lot of truth. I don't deem the personal attacks as necessary, and perhaps a bit childish. I would like to continue this semi-debate, if you've the intuition to drudge on with at least a sliver of open-mindedness. As I said, you have your points, but...there's something skewed. I can't pinpoint it. Ah, feck it. I could post the most reasonable and objective of substance on this forum, and people would find a way to drag my past into it. I've a propensity for drunken rambling. And CC is idolized for the same disposition.

The Geologist
January 19, 2005, 6:45 am
/offers a handshake

I enjoy a good debate with people...and I apologize if any of my comments came off as too harsh. If you can't tell I'm very stubborn, and some things set me off...but if you really enjoy the pleasure of a good 'round of debate then have no worries about dragging anyones past into the matter, at least on my part. I might sound like I'm really pissed...but it takes a hell of a lot more than a thread in an online forum for me to ever hate someone. I may not like the topic, and I'm glad you actually bought the game ;)...debate away.

Meandor
January 19, 2005, 3:58 pm
quote:Originally posted by enjoyincubusif it makes you happy.


Meh :P
No, not really. But you wouldn't say that if it was in real life, would you? :Q

Famine
January 19, 2005, 4:08 pm
I wonder how many of you download mp3's?

enjoyincubus
January 19, 2005, 4:19 pm
quote:No, not really. But you wouldn't say that if it was in real life, would you?

Hehe, no. I was just being irrational and looking at things from a different viewpoint. You're right in that...well...people looking at things in this way would have a field day robbing and taking as they pleased. Thank god for religion to scare people into conformity.

Famine
January 19, 2005, 4:28 pm
quote:Thank god for religion to scare people into conformity.


Or just thank god for morals.

enjoyincubus
January 19, 2005, 4:38 pm
May I ask, what type of influence is typically used on the general public to enforce morals?

Well, I believe it's just religion in general. I'd like to get the opinion of a Christian. Especially a Roman Catholic. I'm always amazed at how one's religious upbringing detriments their secular view of the world.

Famine
January 19, 2005, 6:44 pm
Does Religion create morals or do morals create religion?

Chakra
January 19, 2005, 7:26 pm
My god, where are you trying to take this convo famine ¬_¬ ... might as well ask if the chicken came before the egg.

religion 'teaches' morality. Morality is the distinction of good and evil. Without religion you have common sense and parental guidance to teach you morality ....which is probably whats wrong with the world for all I know.


And I fully understand your point of view EI. Stealing to the benefit of one's self at the ultimately minor cost of others can be mostly justified. They're rich, you're not. If I never stole, i'd never play most the games that have been released, or have any of the music I listen to.

Vangelis
January 25, 2005, 2:26 am
Eeek run away! A moral fist-fight is underway! Pretty sneaky little tactic, EI. If I were desperate for the game,I just might do that. However, the developers of the game worked long and hard,and who the hell are we to stand between them and their money? Your dada/momas' have probably already said this too you,but, "What would happen if everyone did that?" Ill tell you. Because they are not making the money that you ripped off of them,they have to raise the price of the game/software. And it screws the rest of us legit,deserving market consumers. Think about that.

BManx2000
January 25, 2005, 2:28 am
It also screws the people who actually make the game, and they're practically slaves as it is.

enjoyincubus
January 25, 2005, 2:37 am
I just wanted to elicit a momentary conversation, as my friends were too consumed to reply to my poetry and I was short on books to read.

But I don't believe the "underground tunnels" are large enough for the popular culture. Not to mention the notion that most mainstream individuals are short on brain cells. Therefore, they follow the majority, which will always pay.

Again, I went back and bought the game to clear my conscience. And so Steam can't sue me.

bb_vb
January 25, 2005, 2:43 am
You're pretty 'sophisticated' for a 16 yr old...