Half Life 2 ::: The Lost Coast ::: Are You Ready?
G4TV's "Attack of The Show" guest last night was Valve's Doug Lombardi. He showed off a glimpse of the much anticipated new Half-Life 2 level, "The Lost Coast", which is due for release sometime in the next few weeks. It will be the first Half Life 2 map to feature the new HDR (high dynamic range lighting) technology.
While "The Lost Cost" will be free via Steam to Half Life 2 owners, many people will disappointed when they realize their computer is not capable of running this map. Running this map will require a "high end" system. When Doug Lombardi was asked if The Lost Coast would require a high end system he responded with:
"Absolutely, no bones about it. This is targeted at the super hardcore early adopter guy, or gal, who's got the latest and greatest stuff, and really the horsepower to haul the new API's and new lighting tricks."
It will be interesting to see exactly what's required, from a systems point of view, to play The Lost Coast. My primary gaming machine is AMD Athlon 64 3400+ with an Abit AV8 motherboard. I have 3GB of Kingston PC3200 ram and use a somewhat dated but still acceptable video card, the Radeon 9800 Pro 128. While the rest of my system should be ok, I'm wondering if my video card will provide the performance I'll need....we shall see I guess.
HDR will be a general upgrade to Half-Life 2 along with the new level, and an update to the Source SDK will allow modders to use the new tech in their games. It should be interesting to see how the mod community incorporates HDR in their future releases.
I for one hope we get a chance to see The Lost Coast in action before the end of April.
While "The Lost Cost" will be free via Steam to Half Life 2 owners, many people will disappointed when they realize their computer is not capable of running this map. Running this map will require a "high end" system. When Doug Lombardi was asked if The Lost Coast would require a high end system he responded with:
"Absolutely, no bones about it. This is targeted at the super hardcore early adopter guy, or gal, who's got the latest and greatest stuff, and really the horsepower to haul the new API's and new lighting tricks."
It will be interesting to see exactly what's required, from a systems point of view, to play The Lost Coast. My primary gaming machine is AMD Athlon 64 3400+ with an Abit AV8 motherboard. I have 3GB of Kingston PC3200 ram and use a somewhat dated but still acceptable video card, the Radeon 9800 Pro 128. While the rest of my system should be ok, I'm wondering if my video card will provide the performance I'll need....we shall see I guess.
HDR will be a general upgrade to Half-Life 2 along with the new level, and an update to the Source SDK will allow modders to use the new tech in their games. It should be interesting to see how the mod community incorporates HDR in their future releases.
I for one hope we get a chance to see The Lost Coast in action before the end of April.
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