Difference between revisions of "Valve"
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[[Image:Valve - Logo.svg|thumb|256x256px|Valve logo.]] | [[Image:Valve - Logo.svg|thumb|256x256px|Valve logo.]] | ||
| − | + | '''Valve''' is an American software company founded on 1996-08-24 and currently headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, U.S. The company was founded by former [[Microsoft]] employees [[Gabe Newell]] and [[Mike Harrington]] who left the company in 1996 in order to create their own video game company. It has developed and published several hugely successful games, most using [[Source (engine)|Source]], and is responsible for the world's largest video game distribution network, [[Steam]]. Although game development has essentially ceased, Valve continues to develop software and hardware for the creation and distribution of video games. | |
| − | I became aware of Valve because of the game [[Half-Life]], but only years after it had been released. I was very impressed by the game though, and that caused me to end up buying several more Valve games, most of which I have loved. | + | ==Personal== |
| + | I became aware of Valve because of the game ''[[Half-Life]]'', but only years after it had been released. I was very impressed by the game though, and that caused me to end up buying several more Valve games, most of which I have loved. However, I've been growing more and more frustrated with Valve as they continue to horde their franchises and refuse to license them to third parties who might actually make games for them, fail to fix bugs in games they sell, and keep all their focus on Steam. | ||
==Games== | ==Games== | ||
| − | + | These are the games Valve worked on that are important to me. For all Valve games, see the categories for games [[:Category:Video games developed by Valve|developed]] or [[:Category:Video games published by Valve|published]]. | |
| − | + | <gallery> | |
| − | + | Half-Life - WIN - USA.jpg|''[[Half-Life]]'' | |
| − | + | Half-Life 2 - W32 - USA.jpg|''[[Half-Life 2]]'' | |
| − | + | Half-Life 2 - Episode One - W32 - UK.jpg|''[[Half-Life 2: Episode One]]'' | |
| − | + | Half-Life 2 - Episode Two - Title Card.jpg|''[[Half-Life 2: Episode Two]]'' | |
| − | + | Left 4 Dead - WIN - USA.jpg|''[[Left 4 Dead]]'' | |
| − | + | Left 4 Dead 2 - W32 - USA.jpg|''[[Left 4 Dead 2]]'' | |
| − | + | Portal - W32 - USA.jpg|''[[Portal]]'' | |
| − | + | Portal 2 - W32 - USA.jpg|''[[Portal 2]]'' | |
| + | </gallery> | ||
==Other== | ==Other== | ||
| Line 24: | Line 26: | ||
* [[Steam Machine]] | * [[Steam Machine]] | ||
* [[SteamOS]] | * [[SteamOS]] | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Troubleshooting== | ||
| + | There is a critical bug with the latest Steam release that prevents all the games based on the [[GoldSrc]] engine from working. This includes ''[[Half-Life]]'', ''[[Half-Life: Opposing Force]]'', ''[[Half-Life: Blue Shift]]'' and original ''Half-Life'' mods. The bug can be seen when you try to launch the game. You will see two processes appear, "hl.exe" (the ''Half-Life'' launcher), and "rundll32.exe" (which launches Microsoft's gameux.dll). Microsoft's gameux.dll apparently tries to connect to a server that no longer exists. But, rather than timeout and let the game run anyway, it waits forever, never allowing the game to run. In order to get around this failure, do the following: | ||
| + | |||
| + | # Open '''Task Manager''' and select the '''Details''' or '''Processes''' tab. | ||
| + | # Launch the ''Half-Life'' game. Steam will claim the game is running, but it will never start. | ||
| + | # Wait for both "hl.exe" and "rundll32.exe" to appear in your processes list. | ||
| + | # Right-click on "hl.exe" and click '''End task''' in the menu. | ||
| + | # "hl.exe" will disappear, but "rundll32.exe" will remain. Steam will see that the program has ended and allow you to launch it again. | ||
| + | # In Steam, launch the same ''Half-Life'' game again. | ||
| + | # Since "rundll32.exe" is already in memory, the game won't try to launch it again, and the game will load properly. | ||
| + | |||
| + | This is a very obnoxious bug that has been around since at least July of 2019, and Valve has shamefully made no attempt to fix it. | ||
==Links== | ==Links== | ||
| − | + | {{Link|Wikipedia|https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valve_Corporation}} | |
| + | {{Link|MobyGames|https://www.mobygames.com/company/valve-corporation}} | ||
| + | {{Link|SegaRetro|https://segaretro.org/Valve_Corporation}} | ||
| + | {{Link|GameFAQs|https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/company/13291-valve-software}} | ||
| + | {{Link|YouTube|https://www.youtube.com/user/Valve}} | ||
| + | {{Link|Official|https://www.valvesoftware.com/en}} | ||
[[Category: Companies]] | [[Category: Companies]] | ||
[[Category: Game Companies]] | [[Category: Game Companies]] | ||
| + | [[Category: Video Game Companies]] | ||
Latest revision as of 16:32, 26 February 2024
Valve is an American software company founded on 1996-08-24 and currently headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, U.S. The company was founded by former Microsoft employees Gabe Newell and Mike Harrington who left the company in 1996 in order to create their own video game company. It has developed and published several hugely successful games, most using Source, and is responsible for the world's largest video game distribution network, Steam. Although game development has essentially ceased, Valve continues to develop software and hardware for the creation and distribution of video games.
Contents
Personal
I became aware of Valve because of the game Half-Life, but only years after it had been released. I was very impressed by the game though, and that caused me to end up buying several more Valve games, most of which I have loved. However, I've been growing more and more frustrated with Valve as they continue to horde their franchises and refuse to license them to third parties who might actually make games for them, fail to fix bugs in games they sell, and keep all their focus on Steam.
Games
These are the games Valve worked on that are important to me. For all Valve games, see the categories for games developed or published.
Other
Troubleshooting
There is a critical bug with the latest Steam release that prevents all the games based on the GoldSrc engine from working. This includes Half-Life, Half-Life: Opposing Force, Half-Life: Blue Shift and original Half-Life mods. The bug can be seen when you try to launch the game. You will see two processes appear, "hl.exe" (the Half-Life launcher), and "rundll32.exe" (which launches Microsoft's gameux.dll). Microsoft's gameux.dll apparently tries to connect to a server that no longer exists. But, rather than timeout and let the game run anyway, it waits forever, never allowing the game to run. In order to get around this failure, do the following:
- Open Task Manager and select the Details or Processes tab.
- Launch the Half-Life game. Steam will claim the game is running, but it will never start.
- Wait for both "hl.exe" and "rundll32.exe" to appear in your processes list.
- Right-click on "hl.exe" and click End task in the menu.
- "hl.exe" will disappear, but "rundll32.exe" will remain. Steam will see that the program has ended and allow you to launch it again.
- In Steam, launch the same Half-Life game again.
- Since "rundll32.exe" is already in memory, the game won't try to launch it again, and the game will load properly.
This is a very obnoxious bug that has been around since at least July of 2019, and Valve has shamefully made no attempt to fix it.
Links
