DH Article: Lost Coast: Inside Valve

Zardon · Sep 19, 2005, 01:18 AM

Driverheaven USA Hardware Editor Steve "WxChaser" Carmel spent some time recently as a special guest with Valve at their HQ.

Steve has done a great job, and we have a very full article with information on the graphically amazing "Lost Coast" with High-Dynamic Range (HDR) lighting. We also take a look at the upcoming Day of Defeat Source due for release on September 26th, 2005.

Valve answered YOUR questions, we have tons of pictures with downloadable video footage alongside pictures of Valve HQ and yes we even got invited in after hours to chat with the man himself Gabe Newell who was playing games in his office on a rather swanky looking 30" inch Apple monitor.

For all this and more, read it over here

Gabe Newell playing on his 30inch Apple screen

[hobo]eclipse · Sep 19, 2005, 01:21 AM

Nice guys, i've been waiting to dive into this!! TY DH

Ev!L-aLphA · Sep 19, 2005, 01:33 AM

top notch review! great job guys

tastyweat · Sep 19, 2005, 01:38 AM

Impressive article... nice work

on a side note... I soooo want one of those monitors lol

Chaos · Sep 19, 2005, 01:50 AM

Nice job and I want one of those monitors too

pr0digal jenius · Sep 19, 2005, 02:03 AM

great job to both Steve and Allan

and yes, Gabe has the sexxxiest monitor concieved by mankind

WxChaser · Sep 19, 2005, 03:07 AM

Thanks guys, the trip to Valve was an eye opener, to say the least. I'm happy they granted me as much internal access and support as they did.

Steve

No_Style · Sep 19, 2005, 03:29 AM

Bit-Tech had a similar article up. (Although not as extensive as the one we have at DH

) Did everybody get a chance to watch him play or what?

Great work, must have been a blast there.

And how come you didn't take a picture of the beloved gold crowbar!?

WxChaser · Sep 19, 2005, 04:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by No_Style

Bit-Tech had a similar article up. (Although not as extensive as the one we have at DH

) Did everybody get a chance to watch him play or what?

Great work, must have been a blast there.

And how come you didn't take a picture of the beloved gold crowbar!?

Geoff Richards and I became pretty good friends on the trip to Valve, he's a good guy and a great young writer. We hung out, went to the Apple store across from the hotel and checked out the new Nano's, did dinner, etc, and collaborated. He'll be around a long time in this business, he does hard research, good graphics, and is a cool dude. I focused on everything besides the golden crowbar

swimtech · Sep 19, 2005, 04:20 AM

Great article Steve! Especially interesting is their attention to the research involving perceptual analysis and developing code to render realistic environments for the games they produce. Slowly but surely we are approaching the threshold of realism, digitally, for rendered environments (for many purposes...) in the home!

BWX · Sep 19, 2005, 05:55 AM

Great write-up.

Sweet:

Quote:

#6. What is the estimated cost of Aftermath? Is it going to have multiplayer functionality? Is the voice at the end of the video teaser Gman's? "Aftermath will be available in single player mode only at an estimated cost of $12.95. Yes, the voice is from Gman on the video". - Gabe Newell

SFOSOK · Sep 19, 2005, 07:09 AM

HDR on HL-2 and CS:S would be nice, and it would seem to be fair as an update of some sort.

studbagel9 · Sep 19, 2005, 11:53 AM

12.95 for an expansion pack? Alright Valve! I wish other companies could afford to release products such as expansions for this price.

WxChaser · Sep 19, 2005, 12:21 PM

My response exactly at the meeting when I asked about the price...very fair and it will provide great gameplay too.

BWX · Sep 19, 2005, 12:23 PM

Yeah that isa good deal. Even if I stutter all the way through I will buy it and play it for that price.

The_Neon_Cowboy · Sep 19, 2005, 01:15 PM

NICE!

Quote:

Originally Posted by SFOSOK

HDR on HL-2 and CS:S would be nice, and it would seem to be fair as an update of some sort.

not really it wold take alot of time money and effort to "redo" everything
were as the game tha will have it wer made from the get go to feathure HDR

deekey777 · Sep 19, 2005, 01:34 PM

I'm not sure, but this article is atm the best article about Lost Toast and especially VALVe's HDR.

OT:
"We're also planning a release for next week that will update the Source engine to the same version used for Day of Defeat: Source. ..."
http://www.steampowered.com/Steam/Ma...005/?l=english
After this update of the Source Engine it's not impossible that old timedemos will not work with the updated engine/games. I hope, I'm wrong.

brutusmaximus · Sep 19, 2005, 03:27 PM

What an absolutely cracking article - I think this site in 2005 has been putting out some consistently high articles and reviews thanks to veridian3 and the gang (I like Asmodays case reviews too).

Great writing, and wonderful presentation, informative and fun, also good to see big high powered businessmen like Gabe sitting and playing some games like the rest of us.

Good work on the HDR aspect too, just enough information without going into overload mode.

Good job guys and welcome aboard WX, i liked your articles on Xresources, nice to see you over here, I think this is more viable and diverse outlet for you.

WxChaser · Sep 19, 2005, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brutusmaximus

What an absolutely cracking article - I think this site in 2005 has been putting out some consistently high articles and reviews thanks to veridian3 and the gang (I like Asmodays case reviews too).

Great writing, and wonderful presentation, informative and fun, also good to see big high powered businessmen like Gabe sitting and playing some games like the rest of us.

Good work on the HDR aspect too, just enough information without going into overload mode.

Good job guys and welcome aboard WX, i liked your articles on Xresources, nice to see you over here, I think this is more viable and diverse outlet for you.

Thanks a lot, I appreciate the fact you read thru the piece and enjoyed it. I agree totally with your last comment as well, this is a better place for me to be and I'm enjoying it immensely already.

eva2000 · Sep 19, 2005, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WxChaser

Thanks guys, the trip to Valve was an eye opener, to say the least. I'm happy they granted me as much internal access and support as they did.

Steve

nice detailed write up.... i didn't even know Steve reviewed for driveheaven LOL

Vikingod · Sep 19, 2005, 06:01 PM

Great job guys, thanks for asking my question about low end video cards. I can't wait for this to be released. I can't believe the expansion is going to be that cheap, that is just great.

Zardon · Sep 19, 2005, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eva2000

nice detailed write up.... i didn't even know Steve reviewed for driveheaven LOL

He is heading up our USA side.

WxChaser · Sep 19, 2005, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eva2000

nice detailed write up.... i didn't even know Steve reviewed for driveheaven LOL

Hey George, should have known I'd see you here, you're everywhere

Yes I'm here at Driverheaven now, but you'll still see me on the beta forums and @ I4memory.com also my friend.

eva2000 · Sep 19, 2005, 07:02 PM

Guess being hardware geeks, there's only so far we can roam forum wise before we bump into folks

grecco_julio · Sep 19, 2005, 09:59 PM

Please, if they are still opened for questions from DH, ask about Counter Strike 2!

WxChaser · Sep 19, 2005, 10:11 PM

I only had limited time opportunities for questions during this past trip due to Valve being so busy trying to make new product releases quite soon. I would like to set up a private interview with their staff at some point in the future where all our questions and concerns can be addressed, along with hearing more from Valve itself.

IvanV · Sep 20, 2005, 11:57 AM

A question for the author:
You mentioned having played this on a Radeon Mobility 9700 and a 6600GT, how did it perform? What settings did you use?

EDIT: I just read the last slide (I'm on a ridiculously slow dial-up so I mostly skip the pictures). It sounds promissing!

deekey777 · Nov 3, 2005, 01:38 PM

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/articles...es/Slide28.JPG

Am I blind or does VALVe's HDRR implentation #3 not require FP filtering?

[conspiracy mode]
ATi's X1000 series do not support FP filtering.
[/conspiracy mode]

Mazuko · Nov 3, 2005, 02:29 PM

Great article!

Finally lays to rest the idea that LC was supposed to be an expansion...it's a tech demo people..it always has been!

Sep 19, 2005, 01:18 AM	#1
Zardon DriverHeaven Founder Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 32,480 Rep Power: 179	DH Article: Lost Coast: Inside Valve Driverheaven USA Hardware Editor Steve "WxChaser" Carmel spent some time recently as a special guest with Valve at their HQ. Steve has done a great job, and we have a very full article with information on the graphically amazing "Lost Coast" with High-Dynamic Range (HDR) lighting. We also take a look at the upcoming Day of Defeat Source due for release on September 26th, 2005. Valve answered YOUR questions, we have tons of pictures with downloadable video footage alongside pictures of Valve HQ and yes we even got invited in after hours to chat with the man himself Gabe Newell who was playing games in his office on a rather swanky looking 30" inch Apple monitor. For all this and more, read it over here Gabe Newell playing on his 30inch Apple screen

Sep 19, 2005, 01:38 AM	#4
tastyweat Lurking Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: The void Posts: 4,794 Rep Power: 75 System Specs	Impressive article... nice work on a side note... I soooo want one of those monitors lol __________________

Sep 19, 2005, 01:50 AM	#5
Chaos Number Nine Join Date: May 2002 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 5,268 Rep Power: 167 System Specs	Nice job and I want one of those monitors too __________________

Sep 19, 2005, 03:29 AM	#8
No_Style Styleless Wonder Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Ottawa, Ontario Posts: 6,034 Rep Power: 0	Bit-Tech had a similar article up. (Although not as extensive as the one we have at DH ) Did everybody get a chance to watch him play or what? Great work, must have been a blast there. And how come you didn't take a picture of the beloved gold crowbar!? __________________ "The Best Style Is No Style" Specifications Here

Sep 19, 2005, 04:20 AM	#10
swimtech HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: North Carolina Posts: 4,040 Rep Power: 124 System Specs	Great article Steve! Especially interesting is their attention to the research involving perceptual analysis and developing code to render realistic environments for the games they produce. Slowly but surely we are approaching the threshold of realism, digitally, for rendered environments (for many purposes...) in the home! __________________ It's not so much getting your way that matters or not - what matters is how you go about getting it.

Sep 19, 2005, 01:21 AM	#2
[hobo]eclipse ...just bummin 'round Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 2,907 Rep Power: 112 System Specs	Nice guys, i've been waiting to dive into this!! TY DH

Sep 19, 2005, 01:33 AM	#3
Ev!L-aLphA \| n f e c t e D Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: California Posts: 4,111 Rep Power: 0	top notch review! great job guys __________________ R.I.P 8/8/04 4/21/08

Sep 19, 2005, 02:03 AM	#6
pr0digal jenius Delete Me Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 14,648 Rep Power: 0	great job to both Steve and Allan and yes, Gabe has the sexxxiest monitor concieved by mankind

Sep 19, 2005, 03:07 AM	#7
WxChaser Super Moderator Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 404 Rep Power: 0	Thanks guys, the trip to Valve was an eye opener, to say the least. I'm happy they granted me as much internal access and support as they did. Steve

Sep 19, 2005, 07:09 AM	#12
SFOSOK 939 Goin Strong Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Ontario Posts: 7,033 Rep Power: 90 System Specs	HDR on HL-2 and CS:S would be nice, and it would seem to be fair as an update of some sort. __________________ Warning - Explicit Content Preceeding METAL!!

Sep 19, 2005, 11:53 AM	#13
studbagel9 Rolling the Hard Six Join Date: May 2003 Location: Lock Haven, PA Posts: 767 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	12.95 for an expansion pack? Alright Valve! I wish other companies could afford to release products such as expansions for this price. __________________

Sep 19, 2005, 12:21 PM	#14
WxChaser Super Moderator Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 404 Rep Power: 0	My response exactly at the meeting when I asked about the price...very fair and it will provide great gameplay too.

Sep 19, 2005, 12:23 PM	#15
BWX unplugged Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: USNY Posts: 19,669 Rep Power: 110 System Specs	Yeah that isa good deal. Even if I stutter all the way through I will buy it and play it for that price. __________________

Sep 19, 2005, 01:34 PM	#17
deekey777 Grünschnabel Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Good Old Germany Posts: 285 Rep Power: 0	I'm not sure, but this article is atm the best article about Lost Toast and especially VALVe's HDR. OT: "We're also planning a release for next week that will update the Source engine to the same version used for Day of Defeat: Source. ..." http://www.steampowered.com/Steam/Ma...005/?l=english After this update of the Source Engine it's not impossible that old timedemos will not work with the updated engine/games. I hope, I'm wrong. __________________ I know, my english is terrible.

Sep 19, 2005, 03:27 PM	#18
brutusmaximus DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 520 Rep Power: 76	What an absolutely cracking article - I think this site in 2005 has been putting out some consistently high articles and reviews thanks to veridian3 and the gang (I like Asmodays case reviews too). Great writing, and wonderful presentation, informative and fun, also good to see big high powered businessmen like Gabe sitting and playing some games like the rest of us. Good work on the HDR aspect too, just enough information without going into overload mode. Good job guys and welcome aboard WX, i liked your articles on Xresources, nice to see you over here, I think this is more viable and diverse outlet for you.

Sep 19, 2005, 06:01 PM	#21
Vikingod Int'l Fish Liaison Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: By the light of lamp I sit and type... Posts: 16,197 Rep Power: 112 System Specs	Great job guys, thanks for asking my question about low end video cards. I can't wait for this to be released. I can't believe the expansion is going to be that cheap, that is just great.

Sep 19, 2005, 07:02 PM	#24
eva2000 DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 30 Rep Power: 0	Guess being hardware geeks, there's only so far we can roam forum wise before we bump into folks __________________ 512MB HIS X1800XT: 43,252, 22,076, 12,111, 6,004\| FEAR benchmarks BFG 7800GTX SLI (stock heatsink air): 41,662, 33,309, 16,212, 8,949 BFG 7800GTX single card: 37,590, 21,399, 10,148, 5,740

Sep 19, 2005, 09:59 PM	#25
grecco_julio DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 34 Rep Power: 0	Please, if they are still opened for questions from DH, ask about Counter Strike 2!

Sep 19, 2005, 10:11 PM	#26
WxChaser Super Moderator Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 404 Rep Power: 0	I only had limited time opportunities for questions during this past trip due to Valve being so busy trying to make new product releases quite soon. I would like to set up a private interview with their staff at some point in the future where all our questions and concerns can be addressed, along with hearing more from Valve itself.

Sep 20, 2005, 11:57 AM	#27
IvanV HH Assassin Guild Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 5,919 Rep Power: 336 System Specs	A question for the author: You mentioned having played this on a Radeon Mobility 9700 and a 6600GT, how did it perform? What settings did you use? EDIT: I just read the last slide (I'm on a ridiculously slow dial-up so I mostly skip the pictures). It sounds promissing! __________________ If anyone has Portal 2 and hasn't played the co-op and wants to do me a favour, let me know (PM me or whatever). Last edited by IvanV; Sep 20, 2005 at 12:40 PM.

Nov 3, 2005, 01:38 PM	#28
deekey777 Grünschnabel Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Good Old Germany Posts: 285 Rep Power: 0	http://www.hardwareheaven.com/articles...es/Slide28.JPG Am I blind or does VALVe's HDRR implentation #3 not require FP filtering? [conspiracy mode] ATi's X1000 series do not support FP filtering. [/conspiracy mode] __________________ I know, my english is terrible.

Nov 3, 2005, 02:29 PM	#29
Mazuko DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Fredericksburg, VA Posts: 1,008 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Great article! Finally lays to rest the idea that LC was supposed to be an expansion...it's a tech demo people..it always has been! __________________ E-bay feedback: http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAP...me=STRK:ME:UFS