Is downloading HL2: Ep 1 safe??
 

I actually got a genuine copy which my father bought me for x-mas last year. Meaning I got a good Steam account, etc. but say I d/l episode 1, will it be safe? has anybody done it or know anyone who has, and was in my situation?

It's about as safe as downloading anything else. Your mileage may vary. As for getting it to work with Steam, well I would check online first.

Yeah by safe I mean my Steam. im thinking Steam may find it out and disable/delete my account. I dunno, im probably better off purchasing.

and ive done research and still haven't found anybody who has a real Steam account, yet downloaded HL2: Ep 1.

one thing I found out tho is ppl who downloaded it dont need or have a steam account, so it plays like any stand alone game. hmm...

The Provision release of HL2 ep1 uses a modified steam-client that doesn't interact with the steam client you've installed on your system (I think it's some kind of emulation layer). You don't even need to update your registry. Its simply extracting the archive, playing and afterwards deleting the folder.

On the other hand, it's only $20 and the guys at Valve work pretty hard.

Heh we pay for Steam cafe services here where I work and we aren't allowed to use EP. 1 yet.

GG Valve, and yeah don't even talk to me about steam, its the single biggest crutch we have here.

But onto topic. Yes the pirated ep. 1 is safe as far as I know.