Update on Delay of Half Life 2

Dyre Straits · Oct 7, 2003, 04:16 PM

Theft of code source delays introduction of new Vivendi computer game

PARIS (AFP) - Vivendi Universal Games, a subsidiary of French media group Vivendi Universal, said it would be unable to launch its new computer game Half Life 2 in time for the end-of-the-year holidays following the theft of part of its code source.

"Vivendi Universal Games is only the distributor of the product, which is produced by the US studio Valve and so it will up to them to make an announcement," the head of Vivendi Universal Games International Christophe Ramboz told AFP.

"But it is true that the launch has been delayed by a theft of a part of the game."

He added however that it will be impossible for those who committed the theft to take advantage of it since they now possess only a third of the code.

The launch of Half Life 2, planned for this year, is now expected to boost sales next year, Ramboz said.

More Here

Source: Yahoo! New/AFP

Chaos · Oct 7, 2003, 04:37 PM

just curious why this exact post is 3 different places???

Dyre Straits · Oct 7, 2003, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Chaos
just curious why this exact post is 3 different places???

We're trying to get it sorted now. I'm aware of it. Was getting DNS errors while trying to post this bit of news.

Warpy · Oct 7, 2003, 04:44 PM

Excuse the question - it may be lacking in knowledge here!!!

But how does a multi million dollar company like Valve allow an outsider or insider for that matter, gain access to files on a PC and steal parts of the games source code?

I would have thought that with all the hype and public readiness for HLF2's release the source code would have been encrypted with something like PGP and a nice AES or 256bit twofish cipher.

That way if someone did end up stealing it, it would take ermmmm.....assuming that one could build a machine that could recover a DES key in a second (i.e., try 255 keys per second), then it would take that machine approximately 149 thousand-billion (149 trillion) years to crack a 128-bit AES key. To put that into perspective, the universe is believed to be less than 20 billion years old.

All i know is all my docos on my PC and email are encrypted, so if this kinda thing happens to me (which it could since the U.S Defence system have been intruded upon) it wouldn't matter coz it all is encrypted.

That’s why hackers, are paid lots of $$ by governments and syndicate corps to steal info - coz the chance of the source being secure is minimal.

Let’s hope its a lesson to others.

tazdevl · Oct 7, 2003, 05:51 PM

I'm sure they assumed the network admin and sys admin knew what they were doing and didn't think about it further. They were more worried about coding the game than looking over the support folks' shoulder.

I've heard conflicting reports and while someone "might" have the scoop @ Vivendi France, I think we should wait to hear it from the proverbial horse's mouth before anyone flies off thinking this is reliable.

If they catch them, I'm all for putting together a fund so we can send some large men to the hackers prison cell and be sure he knows how much we appreciate all his efforts.

Warpy · Oct 8, 2003, 01:44 AM

I've already got it arranged bud.

I have some ball busting skinheads with blow torches and pliars waiting for a green light

Oct 7, 2003, 04:16 PM	#1
Dyre Straits HH Old Fuddy Duddy Join Date: May 2002 Location: Georgia, USA Posts: 14,205 Rep Power: 216 System Specs	Update on Delay of Half Life 2 Theft of code source delays introduction of new Vivendi computer game PARIS (AFP) - Vivendi Universal Games, a subsidiary of French media group Vivendi Universal, said it would be unable to launch its new computer game Half Life 2 in time for the end-of-the-year holidays following the theft of part of its code source. "Vivendi Universal Games is only the distributor of the product, which is produced by the US studio Valve and so it will up to them to make an announcement," the head of Vivendi Universal Games International Christophe Ramboz told AFP. "But it is true that the launch has been delayed by a theft of a part of the game." He added however that it will be impossible for those who committed the theft to take advantage of it since they now possess only a third of the code. The launch of Half Life 2, planned for this year, is now expected to boost sales next year, Ramboz said. More Here Source: Yahoo! New/AFP Last edited by Dyre Straits; Oct 7, 2003 at 04:23 PM.

Oct 7, 2003, 04:37 PM	#2
Chaos Number Nine Join Date: May 2002 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 5,268 Rep Power: 167 System Specs	just curious why this exact post is 3 different places??? __________________

Oct 7, 2003, 04:44 PM	#4
Warpy DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: USA Posts: 2,761 Rep Power: 0	Excuse the question - it may be lacking in knowledge here!!! But how does a multi million dollar company like Valve allow an outsider or insider for that matter, gain access to files on a PC and steal parts of the games source code? I would have thought that with all the hype and public readiness for HLF2's release the source code would have been encrypted with something like PGP and a nice AES or 256bit twofish cipher. That way if someone did end up stealing it, it would take ermmmm.....assuming that one could build a machine that could recover a DES key in a second (i.e., try 255 keys per second), then it would take that machine approximately 149 thousand-billion (149 trillion) years to crack a 128-bit AES key. To put that into perspective, the universe is believed to be less than 20 billion years old. All i know is all my docos on my PC and email are encrypted, so if this kinda thing happens to me (which it could since the U.S Defence system have been intruded upon) it wouldn't matter coz it all is encrypted. That’s why hackers, are paid lots of $$ by governments and syndicate corps to steal info - coz the chance of the source being secure is minimal. Let’s hope its a lesson to others. __________________ The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, "I'm from the government and I'm here to help."

Oct 7, 2003, 05:51 PM	#5
tazdevl DriverHeaven Addict Join Date: May 2002 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 310 Rep Power: 0	I'm sure they assumed the network admin and sys admin knew what they were doing and didn't think about it further. They were more worried about coding the game than looking over the support folks' shoulder. I've heard conflicting reports and while someone "might" have the scoop @ Vivendi France, I think we should wait to hear it from the proverbial horse's mouth before anyone flies off thinking this is reliable. If they catch them, I'm all for putting together a fund so we can send some large men to the hackers prison cell and be sure he knows how much we appreciate all his efforts. __________________ RIG: P4 2.6C, Thermalright SP94/Panaflo 92MM M1A, IC7 Max3, Swifty MCX159, 1GB Geil PC4000 Ultra Plat, Modded Radeon 8500, Audigy 2, 2X WD Raptor RAID 0, WD 250GB SE, Plex 708A, 166SDVD, LianLi PC75, WinXP Pro SP1, Z680's. Last edited by tazdevl; Oct 7, 2003 at 05:59 PM.

Oct 8, 2003, 01:44 AM	#6
Warpy DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: USA Posts: 2,761 Rep Power: 0	I've already got it arranged bud. I have some ball busting skinheads with blow torches and pliars waiting for a green light __________________ The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, "I'm from the government and I'm here to help."