Valve's new distribution system, SteamPipe, has thrown a wrench in the works for many games, tools, and mods working with Steam. This includes HLDJ. After letting the dust settle a bit after the first few updates, and Valve moving the first few games over to the new system, it's become clearer what the changes bring:

• a new filesystem structure (VPK)
  
• a new way of specifying search paths

HLDJ will continue to function as normal, although you need to re-add your games or find where they've been moved to. Pending a few updates, and once the new system is stabilized, HLDJ will try to take advantage of the new features in pipe.

In fix-one-thing-break-another style, the latest update (http://hldj.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1079) to the Source engine introduces the new higher-quality SILK voice codec (as used in Steam voice) but also disrupts the default functionality of HLDJ on most servers. The new codec is enabled by default via the sv_use_steam_voice console variable and has the unsavoury side-affect of disabling the use of voice_inputfromfile which is needed by HLDJ to play audio. Unlike a past update which introduced the sv_allow_voice_from_file cvar for some Source games and was opt-in (no effect on default functionality), the new sv_use_steam_voice cvar applies to most Source games and is opt-out, meaning server operators must explicitly disable it in order to have their servers return to normal. If you're a server operator and would like to continue using HLDJ on your server, disable the new codec by setting sv_use_steam_voice 0. If you play on a server where HLDJ is an integral part of the fun, remind your server operator to do the same!

HLDJ has always been open source in the sense that anyone asking for the source could freely have it. Not too long ago, many may have also noticed that a SourceForge page recently crept into existence. So far, it's all been under the radar, waiting on efforts to make the state of the code and repository more "presentable". There's been some reorganizing (well, a lot), but other than that the only real change has been the realization that flying under the radar wasn't going to make it any more presentable. So although the documentation may be sparse, and the API a little wanting in the protocol and interface departments, it is what it is, which is finally open and available for public perusal. Check out the Downloads page, source code section, for links to the git and subversion repositories (svn repo soon to be taken down in favor of git) as well as links to the SourceForge page and git browser. As with any source code written almost entirely without documentation, view at your own risk to sanity.

It's worth noting that HLDJ is more than just a tool for playing audio in-game. It facilitates a form of inter-process communication between the game and itself, allowing just about anything to be done within game (while integrating with it) that would ordinarily be done outside of it via an external app. Things like downloading a 3rd party map and installing it to your game folder and loading it; or displaying the time or some stats downloaded from your community webserver in console. HLDJ is just one example of what is possible. For those looking to work with HLDJ to add their own functionality or a plug-in, you can always seek help or get more info on the forums.

Command line tools are slick, but outside of hacker circles and hollywood operating systems they can fall out of favor. That's why the audio converter has now been integrated into HLDJ and given a face. Among the somewhat obvious and intuitive controls are Engine, Volume percentage, and Quality. Be sure the first is set to the appropriate engine for your game (HLDJ will try to guess based on the current selection); the second, volume control, is key to creating audio that isn't blaring... the difference between music and snap-crackle-earbleed (the default of 85% is a good starting value); finally, the quality control determines the accuracy (quality) of the conversion process, so unless you happen to be on a hollywood OS running dangerously short on time as the entire server threatens to explode around you, it's highly recommended to leave this setting at its default value (Best) and wait a few extra minutes- the difference in quality is worth it.

For those that do enjoy command lines, you'll be happy to know the latest update introduces a few of them. You can type them at console or add them to your shortcut properties for convenience and speed (if you like mysteries, you can even try to figure out why an "exit" option was included). I won't bore you with the details, here are the goods:
"hldj.exe -s < index of game to select > -c [ start | setup | options | converter | help | minimize | exit ]"

Still more news on the user interface: many will have noticed that Add All has been streamlined further, now only requiring a play audio key and audio directory (the game directories are grabbed from the registry, or if for some reason that's not possible (i.e. you are not running Windows), it will fall back to scanning the drive). As a final note, game launching has been improved, so if you've disabled this feature in the past due to problems, feel free to give it another go.

Now that the dust cloud has settled around the alpha, it's time to properly introduce the updates that were only hastily mentioned before. The smallest of these is the new 64-bit release, which finally offers a native flavor of HLDJ for 64-bit users (you could even say it removes some of the "WoW factor"). It's small because unlike other updates, it has no effect on functionality. Really, the only joy to be had is in savoring the thought of a few extra microseconds saved to optimization. Cheers to the little things.