a lab assistant? so thats what he is.. i always wondered wtf he is.

I didn't know that the fans helped track the group down, thats pretty kool.

Life: No one gets out alive.

What I didn't quite understand was the connection between stealing the source code, physics engine, etc., and not being able to complete the game.

Is that for copyright reasons or something? I doubt seriously that they didn't have backup copies.

Anyone have an explanation?

Edited by - Indy11 on 6/11/2004 6:24:21 AM

They should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law!!!

Let's get those missiles ready to destroy the universe!!

Ed it's more or less been proven it was a PR stunt since Hl2 wasn't finished fully as it was ONE WEEK before launch. I mean the game should be perfect by then maybe one or two bugs.

And Theif?

theif's have no honor

...and people who can't spell thieves need a dictionary.

Let's get those missiles ready to destroy the universe!!

And you call yourself Metal Age fans

-~-~-~-~
There is no Silicon Heaven! But where do all the calculators go ?

You could no more evade my wrath... than you could your own shadow!

I am well aware of the PR stunt theory as an excuse to move off the launch date but, honestly, all of these s'ware guys perpetually push back launch dates too so I'm not all that persuaded that Valve would go through all of this effort JUST to postpone launch.

Also, the way that the news treated it, especially in the PC Techie media, it seemed like a total disaster, especially when the it was disclosed that the
physics engine source code was involved... But I never saw anything written to explain what the repercussions were.

The only reason I could come up with was copyright / intellectual property issues like licensing control, etc., but I was wondering if anyone else had a clearer understanding of what it means when your proprietary source code gets stolen pre-launch.

I agree Indy, having your code stolen solely for the purpose of delaying the product sounds a bit far fetched to me too. I personally don't think Valve had a hope in hell of making the September release date and would of delayed regardless of the theft but I certainly don't think they set it up.

I'm convinced that it was a stunt, but I am of the opinion that it was more of an effort to get some free advertising and hence, even more hype, for HL2's release. Since the "theft", I've lost a hell of a lot of respect for Valve.

But why would they arrest someone for a theft that was just a publicity stunt? The whole conspiracy theory just doesn't wash with me, sorry.

Conspiracy or not: I don't care!
I want the game to be finished and luckily I will be one of the first to buy it in Holland!!

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what i always found funny was that Valve was stupid enough to have their "very important" files connected to a PC that was connected to the net

any idiot with a brain should have been able to tell them "keep your important items away from net connected PC's" guess valve just arent that intelligent