VALVE AND SIERRA STUDIOS DEBUT HALF-LIFE'S MULTIPLAYER FEATURES AT 1998 ELECTRONIC ENTERTAINMENT EXPO
Revolutionary multiplayer functionality for the mainstream gamer.
E3, Atlanta, GA. - Valve L.L.C. and Sierra Studios today unveiled a collection of innovative multiplayer features for Half-Life, the highly anticipated 3D first-person action game and debut release from Valve. The new features, intended to broaden the appeal of multiplayer action gaming to a wider gaming audience, are being showcased for the first time at the 1998 Electronic Entertainment Expo, held in Atlanta, GA May 27 through May 30.
"With the multiplayer functionality in Half-Life, we are going to make action gaming on the Internet a lot more fun and a lot less frustrating to the mainstream gamer," said Scott Lynch, Senior Vice President of Sierra Studios.
The multiplayer features of Half-Life that will be shown are:
One Button Play
Gamers will be able to be up and running in a multiplayer game with the press of a single button. There will be no configuration hassles, no IP addresses, and no need for additional utilities or patches. The Half-Life launcher will automatically connect to the Internet, locate the master server, select an appropriate low-ping game, download any resources necessary to play, and launch the game.
Find Your Friends
With Half-Life's integrated communications and searching facilities, gamers will be able to find their friends no matter where they are on the Internet, get together, talk to each other, and then jump into a game together. It's also easy to set up a private game that only you and your friends can play.
Be Yourself
Anonymity is a thing of the past with Half-Life. As part of customizing the appearance of their onscreen character, players can scan a picture of themselves onto their computer and have that appear as their character's face in the game (and on their opponents screen). Members of clans can spray paint their clan logo or other bitmap on the opposing teams territory to let them know who's really in charge. A master server keeps track of your accomplishments and standings versus all of the other Half-Life players.
Lag-friendly game design
For many players new to the Internet the amount of time it takes for information to travel back and forth across the Internet, known as lag, can make the fast pace of action gaming very frustrating. By the time the server has registered a fire command, the target has already moved. Half-Life addresses this by designing for lag. One example of this that will be shown at E3 is one of the weapons, the Snark, a fire-and-forget organic grenade that is completely independent of the player's ping time.
Cooperative and Competitive scenarios
Many mainstream gamers are interested in both the competitive and cooperative aspects of the multiplayer experience. Half-Life will contain both head-to-head and cooperative scenarios.
Auto Download and Configuration
Even experienced gamers can be frustrated by the complexities of downloading new maps, placing add-ons into the right directories, and knowing which of these should be used with which servers. Half-Life makes all of these operations automatic and completely transparent to the player. If a player connects to a server, and the server administrator is running a Half-Life game that requires new sounds, new models, new maps, or additional DLL's, all of these will be automatically downloaded and configured for the user.
24 by 7 Server Support
Players will no longer have to worry if their favorite Half-Life game or map is available. With free support from WON.Net, they will be guaranteed that all of the popular levels will be available at all time, with nothing more than a WON.Net registration. A master server will also keep track of all available servers running on the Internet, which games they are running, all standings and scores, and what servers offer players the lowest ping times.
Additional Features
In addition to the above, Half-Life features 32-player Internet and LAN multiplayer support. Servers are available via WON.net, Gamespy or user hosted servers. Half-Life's skeletal animation system lets players see which weapons opponents are using. Half-Life's dynamic environments add to the realism and chaotic fun: burn marks, bullet holes and blood marks appear on surfaces. Multiplayer levels include player-controlled trains and conveyer belts, which offer creative means of offense and defense.
Voted "Best Game at ECTS" by All Games Network and winner of "Best Action Game" and "Best Take on First-Person Action" in Gamepen's "Best of 1997 E3 Awards", Half-Life combines the most advanced, proprietary technology with genre-breaking gameplay elements to create the next revolution in computer gaming.
Half-Life, on PC CD-ROM, is scheduled to ship in Summer 1998 and will be available at most software retailers, as well as through Sierra Direct at (800) 757-7707.
Founded in 1996, Valve develops games software. Based in Kirkland, Washington, the company consists of more than 20 leading artists, game designers and programmers. More information about Valve is available through the company's web site at www.valvesoftware.com.
Sierra Studios, a member of the Sierra family and a brand division of parent company Cendant Software, is dedicated to bringing to market computer game entertainment software that reflects a commitment to established game brands, quality gameplay and represents a move to bring new and innovative experiences to gamers. Encompassing the creation, progress and advancement of the computer gaming industry, Sierra Studios embodies the new era of entertainment software excellence. Sierra is part of Cendant Software, one of the largest PC consumer software groups in the world, and a leader in entertainment and educational software. Cendant Software consolidates the sales, manufacturing, finance, accounting and management of Cendant Corporation's software divisions, including Sierra, Knowledge Adventure, Davidson & Associates, Inc. and Blizzard Entertainment. Cendant Corporation is the result of the December 1997 merger between CUC International and HFS Incorporated, creating a business and consumer services company focused on real estate, travel and membership.
