HL2 Not Required For Episode 1

Eurogamer reports that Half-Life 2 will not be required to run Episode 1, the first content pack for Valve's hit game. From the article: "Half-Life 2: Episode 1 won't actually require Half-Life 2 to play, Valve's explained, and although the game will be 'four to six hours' long, marketing director Doug Lombardi reckons it's 'markedly richer' in terms of content quality ... The change from Aftermath to Episode 1 was 'simply a name change' he says, when asked about the shift to episodic content - which wasn't a shift at all, he adds, since 'the format of episodic releases was decided before Half-Life 2 was made available'."

Re:i don't get it

[BinaryOpty]

That's exactly what it means: That you can buy the $20 Episode 1 and get CS:S with it (as well as play any free mods)