Also at FiringSquad is this Q&A with Valve's Doug Lombardi. Questions are about things like GDC, Half-Life 2: Episode 1, use of Steam by other developers, Source licensing and a few other topics though there's little new information.

As promised, the Steam Friends beta is now available. The Steam update also fixes several Steam client bugs, while an accompanying Source Engine update improves the filesystem throughput which should result in more stutter issues in Half-Life 2 being fixed.

The latest Valve news update is now available upon restarting Steam. This week's note mentions that Steam's Friends system is finally about to work. Yes, shocking.

The Friends system is also nearing the end of its beta phase, and will soon be available to everyone running Steam. Friends allows you to see when your friends are playing games, and lets users chat with each other both inside and outside of many Steam games. There are also a number of additional features we'll be adding to it over time. Early next week, we'll be updating Steam with a convenient way to join the Friends beta.

There's also word that older Counter-Strike: Source maps will soon be updated to include High Dynamic Range lighting.

The latest Valve news update through Steam is now available, talking a bit about the upcoming Episode 1 release. There's not really any kind of new info but the update does include a screenshot featuring Alyx.

According to this EuroGamer story, you won't have to own Half-Life 2 to get Episode 1 when it is released (if you don't own Half-Life 2 you are pretty much a weirdo though). Valve's Doug Lombardi mentions that Episode 1 should offer between 4-6 hours of play, and it will be $19.99 through Steam; at that price it will also include Half-Life 2 DM and Half-Life DM: Source. Lombardi also mentions that continuing the game's story in episodic form is allowing the team to flesh out the content more and as a result "Episode 1's complexion and density is markedly richer than Half-Life 2".

Following on yesterday's Half-Life 2: Episode 2 news, Computer & Video Games now has the entire Q&A with Valve's Robin Walker posted. Walker is asked about creating a storyline for a new episode, plot advancement, more Alyx Vance, the Vortigaunts and multiplayer plans.

What particular challenges does penning a plot for an episode throw up, as opposed to penning the plot for a full sequel?
Robin Walker: It's the difference between running a marathon and running laps in a relay race. We set things into motion knowing that we're not going to resolve them immediately, so we want to make sure they have an actual destination and can stand on their own. Instead of wrapping everything up in one bundle, we have to stay several leaps ahead of ourselves. Each episode must both be self-contained and set up plotlines to be resolved or explored in the subsequent episodes. The nice thing for us about working episodically is that during the final polishing stages it's possible to see the whole story very clearly and make smart decisions about which elements need further development. This is much more difficult in a more traditional (non-episodic) game.

The weekly Valve news update is now available, commenting on the release of Militia for Counter-Strike: Source and mentioning two more player models (one for each side) are being added to the game. The update also includes a new shot from the map Kalt, which will be added to Day of Defeat: Source next week.

Restarting Steam will get you an updated copy of the Source Engine SDK, with Valve updating their mod tools to support High Dynamic Range lighting and Day of Defeat: Source. There are also some new features as outlined in the release notes.

A Source Engine updated is now available upon restarting Steam, with the Steam website noting the update fixes a problem where ATI videocard owners saw overly shiny cube maps.

According to this story on Mod HQ, the long awaited Aftermath expansion for Half-Life 2 will launch April 24. On the same day a Platinum package will be released containing Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2 DM, Counter-Strike: Source, Day of Defeat: Source, and Aftermath.

Update 4 of the Dystopia mod for Half-Life 2 is now available, adding two new maps and fixing more bugs. If you have a previous version installed there is a patch available too.

Planet Half-Life's five days of Black Widow Games coverage ends with a look at They Hunger: Lost Souls, the zombie infested Source Engine powered shooter currently in development there. Includes some new screenshots.

As part of their Black Widow Games: Five Days of Fear feature, Planet Half-Life today posted a Q&A with the guys working on the Source Engine game They Hunger: Lost Souls. The first article focused on the history of Black Widow Games.

We received this press release from Valve Software, announcing that the Half-Life 2 developer has hooked up with AMD to create a 64-bit version of the Source Engine. Available through Steam right now are 64-bit versions of Half-Life 2 and Lost Coast. Steam automatically knows what OS you are running (so yeah, you need Win x64 for this) and will launch the appropriate game build.

"Bringing the Source technology to the AMD64 processor platform is an important step in the evolution of our game content and tools," said Gabe Newell, Valve's co-founder and president. "This investment in future processing will allow us, and third party developers working with Source, to push the boundaries of the gaming experience."
"AMD Athlon 64 FX processors are targeted for systems designed to provide the ultimate experience for a new generation of power users running demanding applications " said Bob Brewer, corporate vice president, Desktop Division, AMD's Microprocessor Solutions Sector. "Combining the performance of AMD64 processors with the 64-bit version of Valve's technology results in advanced and powerful games. This winning collaboration brings customers an amazing product based on the best of AMD64 technology and Valve's software development."

There's an article on the cinematic abilities of the Source Engine at bit-tech.net, as they recently attended a presentation by Valve Software where the Half-Life developer showed off new effects they are going to be adding to Day of Defeat: Source. The article includes several movies, which are mirrored on FileShack.

Computer Games has a Q&A posted with Valve's Mike Dunkle, talking about the company's Steam develivery platform. According to Dunkle, we might actually see a working Friends list in the future.

As expected, the Day of Defeat: Source map Argentan is now available upon restarting Steam. The update also fixes a Rag Doll Kung Fu bug. There's no word on the release of the Counter-Strike map de_nuke, which was also expected today.

Over at FileShack you can now download version 9.0.4 of the popular Garry's Mod for Half-Life 2, offering an improved spawning menu while also fixing several bugs.

According to the latest Valve news update, next Wednesday should see the release of the de_nuke for Counter-Strike: Source, and Argentan for Day of Defeat: Source. de_nuke will be the first Counter-Strike: Source map to include HDR lighting.

Half-Life2.net reports that Valve's first expansion episode for Half-Life 2, Aftermath, has suffered a delay (didn't see that one coming). Last we heard it was going to be released this month, but according to Valve's Doug Lombardi we won't be seeing it until next year now.

We're working very hard to finish this new episode for HL2, however, its going to take us a bit more time to get it into top shape. As such, the target release for this one is now Feb/March of next year.