(Note: The below applies only to those who have contributed to the mod, normally by donating).

Hi,

In case you haven't already heard, Valve released a new version of Half-Life (v1.1.2.0) a while ago. This version is integrated into their new content-delivery system, "Steam" (a program used to sell and distribute software electronically). See steampowered.com for details.

Anyway, everyone will need to swap over to the new version of Half-Life fairly soon, as Valve will be closing down the WON authentication servers at some point (Originally they intended to do this some time ago, but problems with the Steam release have caused them to delay). Once this happens, nobody will be able to play any of the older, non-Steam versions of Half-Life, its mods, Counterstrike Retail or Day of Defeat Retail, on-line. The only way to play will be through Steam.

The trouble is, this new version of Half-Life no longer uses WON IDs... it uses Steam IDs instead. This means the list of WON IDs that we've used to determine who's able to access the Sven Co-op bonus features in Internet games won't work anymore.

So what we need to do is contact everyone on the list (that's you), and replace their old WON IDs with their Steam IDs. The new ID list will then be released with Sven Co-op version 3.0 (which is almost complete). For instructions on upgrading and checking your Steam ID, scroll down to the next section.

One more note: Unfortunately, at the time of writing, Sven Co-op (and some other mods) does not actually work with the new version of Half-Life due to a bug in Steam :/. Valve have told us that they'll see about fixing this... hopefully that won't take too much longer. You can install Steam and check your Steam ID without disabling your old Half-Life installation, though... Just make sure that you choose not to "Clean up old files" when prompted. Steam will update your desktop shortcuts, but you'll be able to run Half-Life/Sven Co-op/etc. using your Start Menu shortcuts.

Firstly, if you haven't updated to the latest version of Half-Life (i.e. Steam), you'll need to do so. A number of installation options are available from Valve's Steam site.  Alternately, you can try the 600k installer which will attempt to convert your older files, then download only the updated files (directly through Steam). Some people have experienced difficulties with this system, but if you can get it to work, the overall download is somewhat smaller.

During installation, the installer will ask you whether you want to "Clean up old files". Be aware that if you choose to do so, you will no longer be able to use your old non-Steam Half-Life installation, and custom files in your old Half-Life folder may be lost. If you have any other problems, there are several FAQs that may be of use to you, such as this one.

Now presuming that you have Steam installed and Half-Life is fully updated and working, this is what you need to do to find out what your Steam ID is:

1: Load Steam

2: Load Half-Life

3: Click "Find Servers"

4: Join a server. It doesn't matter if the server has other players on it or not.

(Note: You cannot check your Steam ID on your own server, for some reason)

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5: Bring up the console by pressing the tilde key. Type status, then press Enter.

6: Your STEAM ID should be displayed beside your name (STEAM_0:0:13131 in the example above).

Write it down. You could also take a screenshot, if you want to be extra careful.

Finally, send me an E-mail with the subject "STEAM ID". Include your full Steam ID (e.g. STEAM_?:?:???? ), the E-mail address you used when donating, the name used when donating, and any other relevant information. I'll send back a confirmation E-mail as soon as I can manage.