G4TV's "Attack of The Show" guest last night was Valve's Doug Lombardi. He showed off a tiny glimpse of the new Half-Life 2 level "The Lost Coast", due for release in a few weeks, and which features the new HDR (high dynamic range lighting) technology.Fans who are looking forward to the extra level (which will be free to owners of HL2 via Steam), may be disappointed that their PC's aren't powerful enough to play it - when asked if it would require a high-end system, he said:
Absolutely, no bones about it. This is targeted at the super hardcore early adopter guy, or gal who's got the latest and greatest stuff, and really the horsepower to haul the new API's and new lighting tricks.
HDR will be a general upgrade to Half-Life 2 along with the new level, and an update to the Source SDK will allow modders to use the new tech in their games.For those that missed the show, a .torrent of the interview was posted in the comments section on Voodoo Extreme.
More info:
Half-Life 2 Expansion: The Lost Coast - links to concept art
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