15 fucking years since Half-Life? Makes me feel so old.
It has been 10 years since Steam launched, and almost 9 years since Half-Life 2. I still clearly remember waking up at 3 AM to unlock it, and then play it a few hours later once the system started working.
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AbsalonLands of Always WinterRegistered Userregular
edited September 2013
The Fast and the Furious: Oculus Drift support and/or Source 2 and/or Steambox controller/other nifty feature cooler than the Steam Machine and Steam OS unveiling.
I simply can't work up hope for anything else. I feel as if any game announcement is going to be entangled in some groundbreaking and massive ARG or other creative project. All this splash image/countdown/no real live video announcement with crowds weeping just feels like it would be too understated by Valve standards.
Not a one and it's been over a year. There's apparently one in the pipeline that will, amoung other things, port the game to the latest SDK which will be accompanied with a source code release, which means people will be able to do whatever with it.
Speaking of which, there's been a lot of fan-made stuff; I've detailed my personal highlights in the OP.
Then I wouldn't hold my breath on any of that much less them "working with Valve."
'Any of that?' All I suggested is the patch they've said they pushing to get out would be timed with the 15th anniversary. I initially suggested they may be working with Valve to get it up on Steam by then (Remember, it was already Greenlit a year ago, so they've been working with Valve in that capacity already), but LaCabra mentioned that all Greenlight acceptees are hit with an NDA. The BM team often hides behind the NDA when asked about future plans, which is why I thought there might be something up with that.)
Granted, this is all dependent on them actually being able to put out a patch in the next seven weeks, but given that I didn't think they'd put out Black Mesa in ANY form after 8 years, maybe we'll be surprised.
Undead Scottsman on
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The_SpaniardIt's never lupinesIrvine, CaliforniaRegistered Userregular
Okay, so earlier I said I saw an accidental 3 in the Sun picture; apparently I'm not the only one.
NOTE: This is not an endorsement or statement about the upcoming announcement on Friday; I just thought it was funny that there was, IMO, a very noticable 3 in that sun picture.
I'm pretty sure we're just getting a gamepad announcement tomorrow.
*Sigh* I had a feeling it was going to be a controller, you know to complete the logical trifecta. Oh well, we all good to gather in the same place for the next big Valve announcement and be prepared for disappointment?
Wait.. did I get my first Bro for that last post? That's bro-some. Guess I better earn it then.
We were all psyched up for a bro-standing HL3 announcement, and instead we got this total bro-tastrophy in the form of a stickless controller. But this is Valve we are talking about, so I'm willing to give them the bro-nefit of the doubt and check out their crazy new controller. I'm sure it will at the very least be bro-kay.
Now let's go play some Madden and Halo WOOOO!
Edit: Aww man, I just checked, and this wasn't my first Bro ever, it was my second. That ruins my whole post, total bro-locaust...
When you look at a webpage about Valve creating a console and see a little controller-shaped icon with a countdown on it, and your first thought is that maybe HL3 is being announced, you know you have a problem.
I was just about ask that, actually: Did the original Half-Life ever get released for OS X? I've never played it, but I bought it when it was 99 cents for it's 10th anniversary (or whatever the occasion was) way back when.
It did, actually. I remember trying to get it to run through VirtualPC 3 on a G4 with a VooDoo 3 twelve years ago because that was the only release with Glide support. Booting up a native code port of Half-Life on an, admittedly x86 driven, Mac last year was a huge deal for me.
Undead Scottsman's guide to figuring out if Half-Life 3 is going to be announced.
1. It's not getting announced, calm down
2. Seriously, knock it off.
3. 3?!?! OHMIGAWD HALF-LIFE 3!!!!!
Seriously though, it's pretty simple. If it's vague as shit, it's probably not Half-Life 3. Seeding Lamba's or 3's in random, unrelated images is not how Valve is going to announce it IMO. It's going to happen in 1 of 3 ways.
1. ARG that is quickly established to A. Game Related and B. Not necessarily related to L4D, TF, CS, DoD, DOTA, Portal or any of Valve's other properties.
2. Magazine tease (Though this one has backfired in the past, 'cause PC Gamer thinks it's cute)
3. Trailer at E3 or other big event. (Heh, imagine if every Steambox came preloaded with a HL3 trailer)
That reminds me of a thought I had a few years ago; Valve should start doing a yearly E3 keynote like MS, Sony and Nintendo. Show off the latest Steam shit, bring up select indie developers to show off their games, and also promote larger companies willing to put out games on the PC still.
I love how for anybody else, announcing such a nice looking controller would be fantastic, at the very least a 'meh'.
For Valve it is a 'total bro-tastrophy'. Heh, I want HL Ep 3 so bad, replaying the final minutes of Ep 2 just makes it worse, the feels are more fresh that way... LOL *shakes head at self while face palming and still laughing*
To be fair, HL3 would probably be visually stunning. Episode 3 would probably look very dated (even with the strong art direction).
I don't think anyone is expecting Episode 3 at this point.
Also "could it ever live up to the hype" was something that was continually used as an excuse as to why Valve would never make a HL2. Valve still wound up making it eventually, and it was an above average game. Was it the greatest game of all time? No, it wasn't; but that doesn't mean it wasn't worth playing.
Now that I think about it; that's probably the biggest hurdle HL3 has right now; Valve refusing to make a great game because they want to make the greatest game.
To be fair, HL3 would probably be visually stunning. Episode 3 would probably look very dated (even with the strong art direction).
I don't think anyone is expecting Episode 3 at this point.
Also "could it ever live up to the hype" was something that was continually used as an excuse as to why Valve would never make a HL2. Valve still wound up making it eventually, and it was an above average game. Was it the greatest game of all time? No, it wasn't; but that doesn't mean it wasn't worth playing.
Now that I think about it; that's probably the biggest hurdle HL3 has right now; Valve refusing to make a great game because they want to make the greatest game Dota 2.
Honestly, I wish it wasn't a case where concerns of not making a 'perfect game' kept them from making a good or awesome one. I can only speak for myself, but I don't want a mind blowing transcendental experience... I just want closure on an excellent story arc. Let's face it, while the gameplay is good, the really just need to let me pick up the usual weapons array, give me a few of the usual physics puzzles and let us move on from that heartbreaking cliffhanger.
Now obviously this isn't a 'bang it out in a weekend' kind of thing, and they'd want the usual Valve quality and polish to be present, but as is often said in the various Political threads in D&D, "'the perfect' should not be an enemy of 'the good'".
But it's their call. I can only hope that one day someone comes up with an amazing idea and really manages to get the momentum rolling necessary to push it through to production.
First they came for the Muslims, and we said NOT TODAY, MOTHERFUCKER!
That's weird; you'd figuring having the "Half-Life" trademark would be enough. I guess you have to trademark specifical entries in Europe.
Heh, I just looked up the US database and there's a dead trademark for "Half-Life 2: Aftermath" the old name of Episode 1
Anywho, I wouldn't read into this too much; security trademarks happen all the time. Still, it's nice to see that Valve is at least wanting to secure the trademark.
EDIT: Here's the trademark if anyone is interested: Linky
Half-Life 3
Trade mark No: 012180394
Trade mark type: Word
Filing date: 29/09/2013
Registration date:
Nice classification: 9, 41
Trade mark status: Application under examination
Trade mark basis: CTM
Owner's reference: ALM13-4832EM
Owner number: 207863
Owner name: Valve Corporation
Representative's ID No: 10513
Representative's name: CASALONGA ET ASSOCIES
"Fuck no, I just don't want to have to deal with some dipshit who decides it'd be funny to try to bend us over a barrel to get it back in a couple of years. Even if we won, I can't be bothered putting up with that."
Forar on
First they came for the Muslims, and we said NOT TODAY, MOTHERFUCKER!
The trademark seems like a big deal. It's the first actually solid thing we've gotten since Gabe's Ricochet 2 thing. If they're actually making the game, more leaks like this should be spilling out.
It's getting kind of weird to keep seeing "it won't live up to the hype" when the project hasn't even been officially announced, let alone any actual details have been revealed about it. :P If you're already so hyped that it's impossible for the game to live up to it, I would advise taking a chill pill and wait until Valve starts talking details before you start auditioning for the loony bin
Anywho, as for the relevance of the trademark. It doesn't mean much in the long run; they can sit on that trademark for years if need be and while it could imply that Valve wants to make a Half-Life 3 some day, it could also just mean they don't want anyone else to nab the trademark.
But again, it's just really weird to me that they'd trademark "Half-Life 3" and not have "Half-Life 2" trademarked as well... You would think the "Half-Life" trademark would cover all that, but I guess not.
Fun fact: Valve has DOTA3 trademarked.. they also have dead trademarks for "Dead Run" (Early Left 4 Dead trademark I figure) and something called "Terror"
Also, the Gunman Chronicles trademark expired in 2009... I'm sorely tempted to see how much it would cost to get it back.
The hype is, admittedly, ridiculous. Everybody has expectations that are through the roof, no matter what, simply because of playing it up for all these years on the internet. If it is an amazing game, someone is going to be stupidly disappointed for some reason.
I'd agree with the chill pill sentiment. Valve has a great track record, but we can't put expectations on it just because we haven't heard anything about it.
The lack of knowledge about the game only reinforces the hype. It creates an information vacuum that fans fill with their own ideas and their own perfect imagination of what the game could be.
In a sense, I'm imagining Half Life 3 right now, and I'm not imagining any flaws. The real game, just like all games, will have flaws and its own quirky character traits. But I'm not imagining those, I'm just imagining Jesus floating down from a brilliant white cloud and handing me a jewel case with the HL3 disc inside.
It doesn't matter one bit what the game turns out to be, or what it even aims to be. All it can do at this point is, at best, meet expectations. At everything from worst to almost-best, it is not living up to our ideal version of what it could be.
It would be far better if there was some information. The pre-release leak of HL2 worked in its favor. It gave us a framework around which we could lay our own ideas, making the final experience more contextualized, and the hype more realistic and grounded.
And Valve's track record is great, and possibly one of the best, but it is not blemish free.
The hype is, admittedly, ridiculous. Everybody has expectations that are through the roof, no matter what, simply because of playing it up for all these years on the internet. If it is an amazing game, someone is going to be stupidly disappointed for some reason.
I'd agree with the chill pill sentiment. Valve has a great track record, but we can't put expectations on it just because we haven't heard anything about it.
Honestly, all I'd want from Episode 3 is more of Episode 2 but that finishes the story. That's all I want, for the damn story to be tied up. They don't have to reinvent the wheel, or revolutionize the genre. I just want to know what happens next!
And Valve's track record is great, and possibly one of the best, but it is not blemish free.
This really comes off to me as trying to have your cake and eat it too (pardon the crappy, overplayed metaphor). You fully acknowledge that Valve is not a perfect company, but you're holding this theoretical product up to standards that could only be produced by a perfect company.
At this point you're basically going "Man, this balloon ride didn't going to take me to the moon like I wanted." Well, no shit it didn't, because that's impossible.
And fanboys will be fanboys; whatever. I don't really care about them. It's the saner, more reasonable people who post on this forum I have issue with when they get dismissive about Half-Life 3 because "it won't live up to the hype." Well, it probably won't if you hype is so high you already don't think it can live up to it. :P
The hype is, admittedly, ridiculous. Everybody has expectations that are through the roof, no matter what, simply because of playing it up for all these years on the internet. If it is an amazing game, someone is going to be stupidly disappointed for some reason.
I'd agree with the chill pill sentiment. Valve has a great track record, but we can't put expectations on it just because we haven't heard anything about it.
Honestly, all I'd want from Episode 3 is more of Episode 2 but that finishes the story. That's all I want, for the damn story to be tied up. They don't have to reinvent the wheel, or revolutionize the genre. I just want to know what happens next!
This, a hundred times this. Hell, I am really kinda flabbergasted expectations would be anything else really. I want to get revenge for the death of Alyx's father, it doesn't need to be ... whatever the hell nonsense Scarab is spouting.
Maybe I have played too many half made mods, alphas, and betas to ever expect a PC game would be anything other than a fun playable experience that is still being iterated upon whose only sin is a program crash that gives me no helpful information I can pass on to the kind Devs patching it. Hell, Half-Life 2 is still being patched. PC gaming should be past the ridiculous notion of fan fiction hype by now but that is something that is always a ongoing education process as well evidently.
You guys do understand that we're going to get Episode 3, which is just like Episode 2, where the last line is something along the lines of "This is going to change everything." and then we're going to get a video of Half-Life 3 which is going to blow everyone's fucking minds because Source 2 is going to change everything... right?
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It has been 10 years since Steam launched, and almost 9 years since Half-Life 2. I still clearly remember waking up at 3 AM to unlock it, and then play it a few hours later once the system started working.
I simply can't work up hope for anything else. I feel as if any game announcement is going to be entangled in some groundbreaking and massive ARG or other creative project. All this splash image/countdown/no real live video announcement with crowds weeping just feels like it would be too understated by Valve standards.
Sometimes dippiness is best countered with more dippiness.
Switch: 6200-8149-0919 / Wii U: maximumzero / 3DS: 0860-3352-3335 / eBay Shop
Speaking of which, there's been a lot of fan-made stuff; I've detailed my personal highlights in the OP.
This is unacceptable
yeah they'll have to push the patch back at least a couple years to save face
no, I meant
time
moving too quickly
Granted, this is all dependent on them actually being able to put out a patch in the next seven weeks, but given that I didn't think they'd put out Black Mesa in ANY form after 8 years, maybe we'll be surprised.
*Sigh* I had a feeling it was going to be a controller, you know to complete the logical trifecta. Oh well, we all good to gather in the same place for the next big Valve announcement and be prepared for disappointment?
Wait.. did I get my first Bro for that last post? That's bro-some. Guess I better earn it then.
We were all psyched up for a bro-standing HL3 announcement, and instead we got this total bro-tastrophy in the form of a stickless controller. But this is Valve we are talking about, so I'm willing to give them the bro-nefit of the doubt and check out their crazy new controller. I'm sure it will at the very least be bro-kay.
Now let's go play some Madden and Halo WOOOO!
Edit: Aww man, I just checked, and this wasn't my first Bro ever, it was my second. That ruins my whole post, total bro-locaust...
It did, actually. I remember trying to get it to run through VirtualPC 3 on a G4 with a VooDoo 3 twelve years ago because that was the only release with Glide support. Booting up a native code port of Half-Life on an, admittedly x86 driven, Mac last year was a huge deal for me.
1. It's not getting announced, calm down
2. Seriously, knock it off.
3. 3?!?! OHMIGAWD HALF-LIFE 3!!!!!
Seriously though, it's pretty simple. If it's vague as shit, it's probably not Half-Life 3. Seeding Lamba's or 3's in random, unrelated images is not how Valve is going to announce it IMO. It's going to happen in 1 of 3 ways.
1. ARG that is quickly established to A. Game Related and B. Not necessarily related to L4D, TF, CS, DoD, DOTA, Portal or any of Valve's other properties.
2. Magazine tease (Though this one has backfired in the past, 'cause PC Gamer thinks it's cute)
3. Trailer at E3 or other big event. (Heh, imagine if every Steambox came preloaded with a HL3 trailer)
That reminds me of a thought I had a few years ago; Valve should start doing a yearly E3 keynote like MS, Sony and Nintendo. Show off the latest Steam shit, bring up select indie developers to show off their games, and also promote larger companies willing to put out games on the PC still.
For Valve it is a 'total bro-tastrophy'. Heh, I want HL Ep 3 so bad, replaying the final minutes of Ep 2 just makes it worse, the feels are more fresh that way... LOL *shakes head at self while face palming and still laughing*
I take offense to that.
To be fair, HL3 would probably be visually stunning. Episode 3 would probably look very dated (even with the strong art direction).
I don't think anyone is expecting Episode 3 at this point.
Also "could it ever live up to the hype" was something that was continually used as an excuse as to why Valve would never make a HL2. Valve still wound up making it eventually, and it was an above average game. Was it the greatest game of all time? No, it wasn't; but that doesn't mean it wasn't worth playing.
Now that I think about it; that's probably the biggest hurdle HL3 has right now; Valve refusing to make a great game because they want to make the greatest game.
Now obviously this isn't a 'bang it out in a weekend' kind of thing, and they'd want the usual Valve quality and polish to be present, but as is often said in the various Political threads in D&D, "'the perfect' should not be an enemy of 'the good'".
But it's their call. I can only hope that one day someone comes up with an amazing idea and really manages to get the momentum rolling necessary to push it through to production.
Heh, I just looked up the US database and there's a dead trademark for "Half-Life 2: Aftermath" the old name of Episode 1
Anywho, I wouldn't read into this too much; security trademarks happen all the time. Still, it's nice to see that Valve is at least wanting to secure the trademark.
EDIT: Here's the trademark if anyone is interested: Linky
"Fuck no, I just don't want to have to deal with some dipshit who decides it'd be funny to try to bend us over a barrel to get it back in a couple of years. Even if we won, I can't be bothered putting up with that."
I won't believe Half-Life 3 exists until I'm literally playing the opening sequence.
It can't live up to the hype anyway so I can't help but feel Valve are in an almost unwinnable situation with the thing.
Anywho, as for the relevance of the trademark. It doesn't mean much in the long run; they can sit on that trademark for years if need be and while it could imply that Valve wants to make a Half-Life 3 some day, it could also just mean they don't want anyone else to nab the trademark.
But again, it's just really weird to me that they'd trademark "Half-Life 3" and not have "Half-Life 2" trademarked as well... You would think the "Half-Life" trademark would cover all that, but I guess not.
Fun fact: Valve has DOTA3 trademarked.. they also have dead trademarks for "Dead Run" (Early Left 4 Dead trademark I figure) and something called "Terror"
Also, the Gunman Chronicles trademark expired in 2009... I'm sorely tempted to see how much it would cost to get it back.
I'd agree with the chill pill sentiment. Valve has a great track record, but we can't put expectations on it just because we haven't heard anything about it.
In a sense, I'm imagining Half Life 3 right now, and I'm not imagining any flaws. The real game, just like all games, will have flaws and its own quirky character traits. But I'm not imagining those, I'm just imagining Jesus floating down from a brilliant white cloud and handing me a jewel case with the HL3 disc inside.
It doesn't matter one bit what the game turns out to be, or what it even aims to be. All it can do at this point is, at best, meet expectations. At everything from worst to almost-best, it is not living up to our ideal version of what it could be.
It would be far better if there was some information. The pre-release leak of HL2 worked in its favor. It gave us a framework around which we could lay our own ideas, making the final experience more contextualized, and the hype more realistic and grounded.
And Valve's track record is great, and possibly one of the best, but it is not blemish free.
Honestly, all I'd want from Episode 3 is more of Episode 2 but that finishes the story. That's all I want, for the damn story to be tied up. They don't have to reinvent the wheel, or revolutionize the genre. I just want to know what happens next!
At this point you're basically going "Man, this balloon ride didn't going to take me to the moon like I wanted." Well, no shit it didn't, because that's impossible.
And fanboys will be fanboys; whatever. I don't really care about them. It's the saner, more reasonable people who post on this forum I have issue with when they get dismissive about Half-Life 3 because "it won't live up to the hype." Well, it probably won't if you hype is so high you already don't think it can live up to it. :P
This, a hundred times this. Hell, I am really kinda flabbergasted expectations would be anything else really. I want to get revenge for the death of Alyx's father, it doesn't need to be ... whatever the hell nonsense Scarab is spouting.
Maybe I have played too many half made mods, alphas, and betas to ever expect a PC game would be anything other than a fun playable experience that is still being iterated upon whose only sin is a program crash that gives me no helpful information I can pass on to the kind Devs patching it. Hell, Half-Life 2 is still being patched. PC gaming should be past the ridiculous notion of fan fiction hype by now but that is something that is always a ongoing education process as well evidently.