# Half Life 2 Source leaked **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 2, 2003, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-life-2-source-leaked/205144 "2003-10-02T15:53:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Bubba\_Ray](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Bubba\_Ray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bubba_Ray)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2003, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-life-2-source-leaked/205144/41 "2003-10-04T14:00:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tranquilis \* > \*\*Even if it’s _your_ front door and telly? \*\* If I forgot to lock my frontdoor I am clearly to blame for an open front door. So no. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Obvious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dbc845/32.png) [@Mr.Obvious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Obvious)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2003, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-life-2-source-leaked/205144/42 "2003-10-04T14:43:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Alereon \* > \*\*Rumours are now flying that a [FULLY FUNCTIONAL, PLAYABLE BETA](http://hl2world.com/article87.html) of Half-Life 2 has been leaked. Damn, if this is true, Valve needs some serious love. \*\* I can confirm that it’s out there…I was just invited by my wife’s cousin (gaming software engineer for rival company) to a copy. I’ve refused…partially because I think it’s bogus…partially because with work I have no time to play…and I’m not sleeping enough as it is. Jason (wife’s cousin) told me that the industry rumor is that Valve will incur about $1.5MM in cost associated with re-production of packaging, CD-Keys, and other IT stuff I’m not smart enough to understand…specifically related to this incident. They don’t think it will impact sales figures more than 3-4%. He also said that the delay in releasing HL2 was going to happen anyway (Valve was behind schedule…AGAIN), but because of this fiasco…Jan 2004 will probably be the soonest it’s out there…but more likely March. In terms of showing Valve some love…I don’t know what else you can do other than buy the game when it comes out…advance buys at [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) or other sites would help as well…as any advance buys help the distributor better estimate first run production, thus potentially reducing 2nd, 3rd, etc. production run costs. But the reality is that the 1.5 mil…or whatever the number is…is gone. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2003, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-life-2-source-leaked/205144/43 "2003-10-04T17:16:19Z")
I will support Valve by buying HL2, and would not accept any pirated version. However, if they force me to be online at all times or at program startup with my legal, licensed, version in single-player mode, I would consider applying a crack to make my legal, licensed version not require a net connection to play. How else would I play on an airplane, a hotel room, or overseas? I have no moral problem with this specific, limited act. as it’s not costing them a lost sale, nor stealing anything from them. I also have to admit that the programmer in me is very curious to see the source code. I know it would be a breach of several moral and legal codes, and I wouldn’t download it or use it if sent to me. But I wish there was a way to just see what a game of this magnitude looks like from the inside…just to see what it takes. Just out of curiosity’s sake. (I know source for other games is out there, but none really as cool as HL2.) ---
**Author:** ![spinky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@spinky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spinky)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2003, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-life-2-source-leaked/205144/44 "2003-10-04T21:47:45Z")
Besides the desire to support Valve, it seems like downloading and running a playable version of a game potentially built by folks savvy with keystroke loggers and tools which are designed to cover hackers’ tracks is an **extremely bad** idea from a security-of-your-own-computer standpoint. “Hey, check us out…we’re shithead hackers who brought Valve down with our l33t 5killz. Here, run this executable.” I wouldn’t run it even if I had express permission from Valve. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2003, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-life-2-source-leaked/205144/45 "2003-10-04T23:11:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by carrot \* > \*\*Eh, what? Calm down, dude. A little needling is no reason to fly off the handle. > > Second, when was I taking pot shots at you? Were you being an asshole? Was I being an asshole? \*\* Too lazy to dig up cites, but you’ve sent some snipey comments my way in the past. If no obnoxiousness was intended, then let me offer up my apologies. ---
**Author:** ![SkyBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@SkyBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkyBum)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2003, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-life-2-source-leaked/205144/46 "2003-10-04T23:29:59Z")
I just read _something_ over at [Pregaming.com](http://www.pregaming.com/news.php?newsid=45575969) that finally managed to make me crack a smile over this whole blunderfuck. Somebody really got their wires crossed on this one. You can almost smell the burning plastic when you read this part… > [@](#): > > Half-Life 2 Website Hacked > > Mr. Newell had said that he has notice this kind of thing going on for a while. The problem was that the hacker somehow reached in the the Half-Life 2 website’s FTP (File-Transfer Protocol) database and has taken the HTML codes of the website. So now, the hacker would have more access to the HTML of that website. > > No further information has been presented about the website and how it will be fixed for visitor usage. Though, any information can be sent to the website’s webmaster here on more details. Nice report. I only wish it was true. It was posted on Thursday and they _still_ don’t seem to have a clue (so I took the liberty of deleting their link from my favorites). For what it’s worth,[HL2World.com](http://www.hl2world.com/index.php) has by far the most in depth info I have read so far. [HalfLife2.Net](http://www.halflife2.net/) forums got slashdotted into oblivion and had to migrate to a new server before it will be back online. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2003, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-life-2-source-leaked/205144/47 "2003-10-05T10:09:23Z")
> [@](#): > > If someone cracked my box and stole important files, I’d be more pissed at myself than at the cracker. More pissed by an order of magnitude. > > Why? Because I regard myself as an intelligent person who takes reasonable precautions. So I take it that your entire house is covered with six inches of depleted uranium armoring, buried two miles beneath a mountainside, and all air ventilation is provided through a shaft filled with booby traps and hunter-killer security droids to prevent anyone from getting in? “Reasonable precautions” involves locking the door to your house. But that still won’t stop someone with a brick from smashing your window and doing fuck-all that he wants in your house. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2003, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-life-2-source-leaked/205144/48 "2003-10-05T10:18:15Z")
**SPOOFE** : Which is why my most important files are in a safe deposit box at a bank which can, presumably, pay for more elaborate security than I can. I also have safes resistant to fire and prying (up to a certain limit, of course) and I do as much as I can to make my neighbors want to look after my home when I’m away for long periods. The point I’m making is this: Criminals in general are not very intelligent. If they were, they’d be making more money in less risky ways. If I can’t defend my PC against a cracker, even a moderately dedicated one with some resources, I have failed myself because I _am_ intelligent and I _do_ keep abreast of security issues. I don’t intend to fight off the NSA and I don’t intend to keep utterly vital files on any machine accessable from any network whatsoever. Ideally, all of the most vital files would be on disks that spend most of their time in a locked safe, preferably located inside a bank vault. Becoming angry with the criminal beyond the yearning for justice is pointless. Becoming angry with oneself can become the jumping-off place for self-improvement. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2003, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-life-2-source-leaked/205144/49 "2003-10-06T00:47:21Z")
The beta seems real, from what people are saying. Really disappointing how far this has spread. ---
**Author:** ![cheddarsnax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cheddarsnax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cheddarsnax)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2003, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-life-2-source-leaked/205144/50 "2003-10-06T01:23:13Z")
Is anyone impressed by the l33t skillz of whoever did this? Is there someone out there who is so pathetic that they creamed their pants upon cracking Valve’s computers? I fear the answer is yes. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2003, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-life-2-source-leaked/205144/51 "2003-10-06T02:24:33Z")
There is no real way to tell who did this. For all we know, it could be anything from high powered industrial espionage, down to some pimply teenager. ---
**Author:** ![Alereon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@Alereon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alereon)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2003, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-life-2-source-leaked/205144/52 "2003-10-06T09:28:19Z")
We already know who did this. It was most likely perpetrated by the myg0t clan, a group of lamers who develop and employ cheats for online gaming, particularly in Counter-Strike. Their stated goal is to ruin online gaming for as many people as possible, in order to amuse themselves. [myg0t]t0y was the first person to post screenshots or information about the leaked source, though other myg0t members claim he was not responsible for the original hack. The myg0t website currently hosts internal Valve e-mail, apparently sniffed while they had access to Valve systems. ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2003, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-life-2-source-leaked/205144/53 "2003-10-06T13:36:32Z")
What I really hate is that Valve has been one of the most accommodating developers in history for modders, and this is how they’re treated. As Bill Harris on Gone Gold said, (paraphrasing) the HL2 source code is worth a potential $250 million (in sales and engine licensing). Think of the legitimate developers who would have licensed the source code but now don’t want to risk the security breaches. Like someone above said, I wouldn’t play the playable beta for any reason whatsoever, mostly because I don’t want to condone what those guys did. I want to buy the game, because I want Valve to keep making games. I hope they’re found, and I hope they’re prosecuted to the fullest extent the law allows. ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2003, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-life-2-source-leaked/205144/54 "2003-10-06T17:41:33Z")
Gabe also [had this to say](http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/28641/) today: > [@](#): > > In general, the community has been remarkably swift at tracking down the sources of the leak. What would be most helpful now are IP addresses of the people who were responsible for the intrusion or for the denial of service attacks. > > … > > I’ve been fielding calls from the mainstream non-games, non-technical press.all day. Hopefully they will get to report shortly what a mistake it is to piss off a whole bunch of gamers and get them hunting you around the Internet. > > For any information related to this, please send it to [helpvalve@valvesoftware.com](mailto:helpvalve@valvesoftware.com), or you can always send to [gaben@valvesoftware.com](mailto:gaben@valvesoftware.com) as well. There’s gotta be hundreds of thousands of people out there looking for these guys, and chances are someone’s gonna get to 'em before the law. I can’t help thinking the haX0rs are in genuine danger here: if someone finds them, and posts a home address… man, it could get real ugly. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2003, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-life-2-source-leaked/205144/55 "2003-10-06T17:52:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sofa King \* > \*\*There’s gotta be hundreds of thousands of people out there looking for these guys, and chances are someone’s gonna get to 'em before the law. I can’t help thinking the haX0rs are in genuine danger here: if someone finds them, and posts a home address… man, it could get real ugly. \*\* No justice like mob justice. ---
**Author:** ![elf6c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c57346/32.png) [@elf6c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elf6c)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2003, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-life-2-source-leaked/205144/56 "2003-10-06T18:03:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by World Eater \* > \*\*No justice like mob justice. \*\* Reporter: Tell me what you saw. Witness 1: Angry Nerds with Pitchforks and Torches stormed the basement at that house. Witness 2: They dragged the Olsen’s kid out, delivered an atomic wedgie, then smashed his computer to a million pieces. Witness 1: And his Zena fan fiction and action figures- all burnt up. Reporter: There you have it- mob justice prevails over yet another wall hacking, aimbot user. Coming up next- toy poodles, the new white meat? ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2003, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-life-2-source-leaked/205144/57 "2003-10-06T18:15:20Z")
I like to call it ‘open source’ justice myself. Maybe GNU/Justice… Seriously, it’s something as old as the net, and partly responsible for the foundation of the EFF. John… what’s his name. the writer for the Grateful Dead? and a certain hacker had issues, so the hacker posted his info. However, recently, it has evolved into a Distributed Denial of Real Life assault, as can be seen by the recent telemarketer assaults sponsored by Dave Barry. Is this just mob justice, or is it transparent justice, or what? ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-life-2-source-leaked/205144/58 "2003-10-07T03:53:22Z")
Latest info is, apparently, that it wasn’t even all of the source. It certainly wont be compatible with the final versions. But it’s still not clear how much the security and anti-cheat portions of the game were compromised. They also seem to have a bead on who did it, since some recent visitors to Valve caught sight of a bulletin board that had names and IPs and stuff that looked like they were tracking things and people down. Personally, I hope it is cheaters, and they end up in jail. I’m not usually one for vengence, but cheaters piss me off, and I wouldn’t mind seeing them get their comeuppance in a way that actually is legally punishable. ---
**Author:** ![SkyBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@SkyBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkyBum)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-life-2-source-leaked/205144/59 "2003-10-07T13:06:08Z")
According to Gamer’s Hell, Half Life 2 has been officially delayed until at least April 2004. Thats pretty much what I expected them to do. I hope they use the extra time well… Damn. I was hoping for a little more seperation between HL2 and Doom III release but oh well, I got room for both. Story [here](http://www.gamershell.com/news_BHalf-Life2Bdelayeduntil.shtml). > [@](#): > > PARIS, Oct 7 (Reuters) - The theft of part of its source code has delayed until April 2004 the launch of “Half Life II”, the hotly anticipated alien-hunting game of Vivendi Universal Games (Paris:EAUG.PA - News; NYSE:V - News), a company official said. > > “A third of the source code was stolen. It’s serious because it forces us to delay the launch of the game by at least four months, that is to April 2004. Just the time to rewrite parts of the game,” VU Games president of international operations Christophe Ramboz told daily Les Echos in its Tuesday edition. ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2003, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-life-2-source-leaked/205144/60 "2003-10-07T15:50:46Z")
Four months? Now that _really_ pisses me off. I built my new damned computer around that game. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-life-2-source-leaked/205144.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-life-2-source-leaked/205144.md?page=4)