Im downloading this game VIA steam right now[Why i also need a disk ill never know...] and wondering... Is there any difference between this and my 7 year old one [That didn't use steam]?

[BTW i bought the new cause the old one broke]

<3 Xen!

It looks slightly better.

I dont think it's any different.

Oh and Xen sucked.

you didn't have to buy it on steam... just enter the key from your original copy

Dur i lost the key.... [The disk broke before i knew Steam existed so thought it was useless and put it... Somewhere]

HL is too awesome for you.

Someones being a [INSERT DEROGATORY TERM HERE] today!

Nononono.

I think what you mean is "Someone's telling the truth today!"

And why did you love Xen? I quit when I got to Xen because I hated the jumping.

The new version you are downloading probably has the HD Pack already installed, so that's the only difference.

Strange, buck. I played Blue Shift through on Steam, marines were still carrying MP5's (?) instead of M16s.

you have to install the HD pack

From what I understand, the only difference between the original and getting it via Steam is that there are more bugs. I watched a friend of mine (real good HL player) go through it, getting thwarted by bugs all along the way, the meanest one being that the last elevator in Xen to the boss wouldn't come down (which is how you'd stop someone like Freeman in real life, haha).

If it's HL: Source, the only difference is that some of the physics come into play (again, more bugs than by design from what I understand) and that they make use of 3D skyboxes and water effects. They don't really update the look of the levels, models, or textures though. This is why I'm anxiously awaiting the release of the Black Mesa mod.

Go here for HD content:

http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=330176

I downloaded the Steam copy of HL once. I played 15 minutes of the opening level, decided I hated it, dumped it, and reinstalled my Platinum Pack. I knew about the HD pack and all, but I think my core reason for hating it was the loading screens, which seemed more lengthy, and completely killed the immersion.

I get maybe a 0.5 second loading stutter, the "Loading..." text isn't even noticable.

Yes. We all have faster computers now. Those loading sessions in HL go by in a flash. I wish it can be true with the loading sessions in HL2...

I gather that you are playing HL:Source? Although I have it through the Collector's Edition, I never played it, but I hear it has slightly better physics, lighting, and the realistic water effect. It was a disappointment: they didn't do any significant changes to the architecture or textures.

Just wait for [URL=www.blackmesasource.com]Black Mesa: Source[/URL] to blow your mind with an actual refurbish of HL.

The only new things you really notice in HL Source are bodys flopping around and shiny water...