Half-Life 2: Episode One Stats Available

by Maarten Goldstein, Jun 23, 2006 8:42am PDT

Related Topics – Steam, Valve, Games: PC

Valve has opened the Half-Life 2: Episode One stats page, showing various tracked items like time to completion, people playing with HDR, and average number of deaths per map. The page shows that only 23% of people who have played the game have completed it, though Valve thinks this might be a bug in their tracking system. Thanks Vooodoo Extreme.

At Valve, we're always striving to make our products better. We've traditionally relied on things like written feedback from players to help decide which improvements to focus on. More recently, Steam has allowed us to collect more information than was previously possible. Episode One, for example, includes a reporting mechanism which tells us details about how people are playing the game. We're sharing the data we collect because we think people will find it interesting, and because we expect to spot emergent problems earlier, and ultimately build better products and experiences as a result. Let us know what you think.

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24 Threads | 103 Comments

#88

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By: Vangoghs Ear x Show Full Post

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I like seeing the stats. Interesting. Dammit, I wish I could inject Steam directly into my veins. DO YOU HEAR ME. GET INVASIVE. Kidding. I don't care.

EP 1 was acceptable to me, as I expected it to be a continuation of HL2 - but I'd like to see a little more innovation in Ep 2.

The 23% thing blows my mind - am I to understand that 77% of the population bought Ep 1 on sheer hype, and hated it? Or is it really too hard for people to finish? Either way, it's a reminder to me that as stupid as the average person is, half of them are by statistic even dumber than that.

I've never had a HL2 engine game crash. I attribute this to never being too far ahead or behind the technology curve. I admit I learned that lesson the hard way.

Some animals were harmed in the creation of this post.

Jun 23, 2006 4:05pm PDT

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I like seeing the stats. Interesting. Dammit, I wish I could inject Steam directly into my veins. DO YOU : Vangoghs Ear
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  Have you seen the previews of Ep2? It looks pretty darn different: very wide open areas and large army b... : lont
  - Yeah - looks promising. : Vangoghs Ear
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  So if you didn't like Episode 1 your stupid? : phate81
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    If you mindlessly (not reading game reviews, or being familiar with the series) purchase software, you're... : Vangoghs Ear
    - How about, not everybody has the time to finish every game they buy? Maybe some people are on vacation? ... : oneandone11

#41

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By: a176 x Show Full Post

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wait...how did they get these stats?

Jun 23, 2006 11:15am PDT

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wait...how did they get these stats? : a176
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  You play through steam, which relays this information back to Valve. You can turn it off, so don't get al... : Morphius
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    lies, it's the NSA chip in your head. it's behind your left eye if you wana dig it out. I reccomend and i... : deadfish
    - no it's not! Move along, keep moving... : special agent smith
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  through the spyware known as "steam" : headbone
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    ^^^ Did not read the EULA. : Magus
    - Who does? : astral

#53

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By: Judecca x Show Full Post

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Cleary the time they spent making fancy statistic software and graph flash should have been spent on TF2.

I still have my copy of Quake 2 ready for that mod!

Jun 23, 2006 11:50am PDT

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Cleary the time they spent making fancy statistic software and graph flash should have been spent on TF2.... : Judecca
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  I am really not trying to jump on you specifically, but I am always astounded when someone says something... : Derek French
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    And then we can get the IT guys working on the weapons code, and start the secretary on mapping! ;) : mn3m0n1c
    - I'd like to map the secretary! FUck yeah! : nudel
  - I was joking, I understand that people work on different things. I work at a game company myself, and I ... : Judecca

#33

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By: bung-foo x Show Full Post

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I played it for about an hour, got bored and haven't played it since.

I really enjoyed HL, OpFor and Blueshift, sort of enjoyed HL2 and basically fell asleep while playing ep one.

I played the sin episode for about 3 hours and haven't gone back.

I must be getting old.

Jun 23, 2006 10:31am PDT

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I played it for about an hour, got bored and haven't played it since. I really enjoyed HL, OpFor and B... : bung-foo
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#3

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By: Sturm08 x Show Full Post

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Valve rocks. So many smart ideas.

Jun 23, 2006 9:04am PDT

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Valve rocks. So many smart ideas. : Sturm08
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  i dig these little extras they do outside of "just" making games. : lonestar3

#97

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By: TheBadGoat x Show Full Post

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No stat for average amount of time spent staring at Alyx's ass?

Jun 23, 2006 6:04pm PDT

No stat for average amount of time spent staring at Alyx's ass? : TheBadGoat

#15

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By: Jack Mathews x Show Full Post

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"Only 23% beat it? Can't be a trend towards disinterested gamers! Must be a bug!"

Jun 23, 2006 9:35am PDT

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"Only 23% beat it? Can't be a trend towards disinterested gamers! Must be a bug!" : Jack Mathews
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#14

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By: diabolicc x Show Full Post

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I'm one of the 77% that played it for five minutes who hasn't gone back.

Jun 23, 2006 9:34am PDT

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I'm one of the 77% that played it for five minutes who hasn't gone back. : diabolicc
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#66

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By: 5150Joker x Show Full Post

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Oh it's not a bug, I got somewhat bored of Episode One about 20 minutes into it. The Prey demo was much more enjoyable IMO.

Jun 23, 2006 1:11pm PDT

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Oh it's not a bug, I got somewhat bored of Episode One about 20 minutes into it. The Prey demo was much m... : 5150Joker
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- Very different games, I enjoyed both. : yourname00
- Your loss. the first part is sort of slower and gunless and story laden, but it really picks up once you... : lont

#81

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By: Magus x Show Full Post

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My dad played this game to the part very early in where you have to get that magnetic-ball thingy for Alyx. Well he kept dying when that lift fell. Said he spent OVER AN HOUR at that spot and couldn't figure it out. I told him there are two ways out of that scenario, but he had already given up on the game. (He plays a lot of games, fyi)

Blew my mind. I couldn't believe it. He spent over an hour in that one spot. How the hell... wtf, over!?

Jun 23, 2006 3:18pm PDT

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My dad played this game to the part very early in where you have to get that magnetic-ball thingy for Aly : Magus
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- Those things are sort of explained more in HL2 though, I didn't think it explained you needed to use them... : yourname00

#75

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By: kenmis x Show Full Post

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i wonder if that huge spike of 14 deaths on hard for the map ep1_c17_02 is that damn "wait for the elevator in the dark" scene.

Jun 23, 2006 2:16pm PDT

i wonder if that huge spike of 14 deaths on hard for the map ep1_c17_02 is that damn "wait for the elevat... : kenmis

#70

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By: Zips x Show Full Post

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Oh, shut up already. You're no better than the people who believe the government places chips in our head or monitors our calls.

http://www.steampowered.com/index.php?area=subscriber_agreement
It's right there in plain view. You agreed to it when you signed up for Steam. To be more specific, read section 7. USER GENERATED INFORMATION

Jun 23, 2006 1:21pm PDT

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Oh, shut up already. You're no better than the people who believe the government places chips in our hea... : Zips
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- Reply to #69. (Glitched) : Zips

#59

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By: fluke x Show Full Post

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I've played it for an hour at a time every few days.

It's great but I know it's short so I don't want it to be over just like that.

So I've had it since it came out but still have not finished it. Not yet anyway. I bet it's almost over :(

Jun 23, 2006 12:21pm PDT

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I've played it for an hour at a time every few days. It's great but I know it's short so I don't want... : fluke
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- haha same here, I know I'm going to load it up and then I take 2 more steps and the credits will start ro... : headbone

#56

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By: deviantpaul x Show Full Post

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in a similar fashion: http://dayofdefeat.com/stats/

Jun 23, 2006 12:03pm PDT

in a similar fashion: http://dayofdefeat.com/stats/ : deviantpaul

#55

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By: rahba x Show Full Post

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That average completion time is a little misleading. If you look at the actual curve you see it peeking at a point less than 4 hours. The people taking more than 7 hours are really skewing the average time whereas there's a limit to how fast someone can beat the game. Even a speedrun might be at least an hour.

It took me around 3.5 hours with occasional crashing making me redo parts. I'll still end up buying the next game but I really wish it wouldve been a longer game.

Jun 23, 2006 12:02pm PDT

That average completion time is a little misleading. If you look at the actual curve you see it peeking ... : rahba

#51

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By: swebarb x Show Full Post

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Lol 23% completed only ? i doubt this is a bug really..

Jun 23, 2006 11:39am PDT

Lol 23% completed only ? i doubt this is a bug really.. : swebarb

#4

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By: Sgt_Boomstick x Show Full Post

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lol, who took 10 hrs to beat this? I know it was a shacker.

Jun 23, 2006 9:06am PDT

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lol, who took 10 hrs to beat this? I know it was a shacker. : Sgt_Boomstick
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- Or two... : Schnapple
- Whoever took that long needs to play some more. : h0rus
- i was one of them i think, played with commmentary first time. : swebarb

#2

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By: techx4 x Show Full Post

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i wonder if they know how many times i got up to take a piss during the game :/

Jun 23, 2006 8:58am PDT

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i wonder if they know how many times i got up to take a piss during the game :/ : techx4
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  Or how many times I touched myself to Alyx. : sneak
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    You sir, are warped and demented...Two qualities all Shackers should or already have. : Corpsehatch
    - It's important to have goals. : Ride-My-Rocket
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  I could have told you that, mister 'dead kidneys in 6 months'... : majinpsyduck
  - nahh my kids are fine, i just like my beer :P : techx4

#30

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By: sirtesticles x Show Full Post

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i beat it in 2 sittings and enjoyed it quite abit. not really suprised about the stats of people not finishing games ,tons of hardcore fps guys have gone over to the EVIL that is World of Warcraft:) , so they probally bought the game played a level or 2 then went right back to WOW . when i played EQ back in the day i would buy a game put it in for 5 to 20 mins then back to EQ and never look back :).

Jun 23, 2006 10:02am PDT

i beat it in 2 sittings and enjoyed it quite abit. not really suprised about the stats of people not fini... : sirtesticles

#28

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By: thaperfectdrug x Show Full Post

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I'd love to finish it if I could play it for long enough without el locko uppo computero.

Jun 23, 2006 9:52am PDT

I'd love to finish it if I could play it for long enough without el locko uppo computero. : thaperfectdrug

#27

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By: yourname00 x Show Full Post

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My computer was overheating while playing it so I was only able to play at 10min intervals and it was still good, fixed it now though.

Jun 23, 2006 9:48am PDT

My computer was overheating while playing it so I was only able to play at 10min intervals and it was sti... : yourname00

#13

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By: jedi_27 x Show Full Post

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I wonder if they have the stats for HL2?

Jun 23, 2006 9:29am PDT

I wonder if they have the stats for HL2? : jedi_27

#12

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By: zehh x Show Full Post

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Funny, kinda like Google Analytics (in the meaning that you can customize your analysis to a high degree) but for games.

Jun 23, 2006 9:29am PDT

Funny, kinda like Google Analytics (in the meaning that you can customize your analysis to a high degree)... : zehh

#1

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By: Schnapple x Show Full Post

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Wonderful - showed this to a client and they asked "can we do something like that?"

Anyone know if Valve just came up with these Flash chart controls or if they bought some Flash control?

Jun 23, 2006 8:51am PDT

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Wonderful - showed this to a client and they asked "can we do something like that?" Anyone know if Val... : Schnapple
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