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Nice writeup. FWIW, I never saw Michael Abrash wear a tie. :) We were very into 3D cards back then. We had a lot of ties to that part of the world. I had been
by mikehar 2y ago
Nice writeup. FWIW, I never saw Michael Abrash wear a tie. :)
We were very into 3D cards back then. We had a lot of ties to that part of the world. I had been doing video drivers for OS/2 and NT. I got to know Abrash from his writing on the VGA, 8514, and, of course, asm. At Valve, we hired a couple of great guys from 3dfx. I still have a 3dfx hat somewhere that I bust out on special occasions. The killer setup back then was hooking up two 3dfx cards (SLI). But I usually played on a standard card because I wanted/needed to see it run like most people would experience it.
We had a deal with one of the companies, maybe 3dfx, but I forget who, to include the first three levels of HL with their card. Even though the game wasn't anywhere near finished, we sent off a disk to the company with our first three finished levels so we could get paid. Somehow, it leaked. We were pissed at first, but then it took off. People loved it. It really gave us the confidence that we were on the right track. It was our first game. The validation was just what we needed.
Fun times.
- dleeftink 2y agoWhat was the other fish?
- JadoJodo 2y agoPerhaps https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picnik https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picnik
- mmustapic 2y agoIt was called Half Life Day One, and I remember seeing it as a bundle with some hardware, not sure which one.
- sho_hn 2y agoThis is how I was introduced to Half-Life - I got it with my GPU and played Day One. Unfortunately I also don't recall which it was. I do recall I had a Voodoo, then moved to a TNT2 and then later a GeForce 2. The TNT2 came out well after Half-Life, so it must have been 3dfx at least.
- zubiaur 2y agoIt might have been the nvidia. The tnt 2 was almost contemporary. The days of AGP.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- pbrum 2y agoThank you (and the whole team of course) for creating something so amazing
- EdwardDiego 2y agoI bought a 3dfx just to play Half Life, 3dfx because of that association between your game and their tech, figured it was the obvious choice, likewise so did most of my gamer mates. So hope you had shares in them :D
- dlyons 2y agoGetting my hands on a 3dfx Voodoo3 felt like such a dream.
- jamesfinlayson 2y agoI was wondering which Mike this was - Mike Harrington I see! Thanks - Half-Life is a great legacy.
- sporkland 2y agoI remember playing that leaked first level on the tram with roommates in college over and over again. We were so psyched by it. All salivating for the final release. Next to playing Quake for the first time with 3d acceleration (3dfx voodoo) it was an awe inspiring flashbulb moments that changed what I thought was possible.