I actually have been working with a company here in aus on a game that is essentially Ricochet 2, so I mean, get psyched about that
Really though I played the fuck out of Ricochet. If you guys are making something like that @LaCabra count me in. I love all that neon-glowy Tron stuff.
Anywho, probably the saddest takeaway from all that is that it's an eight year-long saga to produce a result of "They're working on it, I guess..." Valve has just said so little, and even the stuff that's leaked out doesn't tell us much. Like it took around 4 years for Episode Three to die, and another 4 years to get to the point of saying they're working on it, but having very little context for how far along in development it is.
Though now that Source 2 is being shown off publicly, I'm expecting we'll finally start seeing some reveals... eventually. I think we could see a L4D3 announcement as soon as this year, even. If 70+ people have been working on it for the past two years, plus and unknown amount of work prior to that, then it's not out of the question that they'd have something to show by the end of the year. I'd would guess an October 2015 announcement, though I'd probably hedge my bets and say second half of 2015, first half of 2016.
HL3 I'd expect to be announced a year later, so second half of 2016, first half of 2017.
'course, I was sure we'd see something for the 15th anniversary of HL1, and then the 10th anniversary of HL2, and we got NOTHING. Well, aside from the Black Mesa Steam Version announcement.
Also got reminded of the Sven Coop announcement from back in 2013, about releasing a stand-alone Steam version.. looks like it's almost out, maybe? They apparently went feature locked in March. Here's a video of the survival mode they're adding. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvjbtcfkgUs
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SteevLWhat can I do for you?Registered Userregular
edited July 2015
Huh. I played a little bit of Sven Co-Op for the original Half-Life back in the day, and it seemed like a wonderful mess.
DrakeEdgelord TrashBelow the ecliptic plane.Registered Userregular
Sven Coop was awesome. Synergy for HL2 is freaking fun as hell too. It tended to get unstable what with ramming through mountains of stacked up Breens in airboats. Using noclip to fly around and beat Combine flyers to death with crowbars with your pals is a special kind of fun too.
I really want Sven Coop to not have these shitty new models/sounds/textures/monsters thrown in all over the place. Seems like there's no mod to just let you play Half-Life co-op without running into a baby garg or Op4 monsters anymore
I really want Sven Coop to not have these shitty new models/sounds/textures/monsters thrown in all over the place. Seems like there's no mod to just let you play Half-Life co-op without running into a baby garg or Op4 monsters anymore
"One of the things we have been hard at work on is a complete rework of the Half-Life 1 co-op conversion. The new conversion will be much closer to the original Half-Life experience, with fewer Sven Co-op specific additions that ruined the original atmosphere of Half-Life. Many of the levels have also been merged, which allows for far less frequent map loading sequences, and player health and loadouts will be carried over between levels. "
+1
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augustwhere you come from is goneRegistered Userregular
Black Mesa v0.1.1 is out, just a small bugfix patch though
Hello Scientists! Today we introduce a small patch that resolves some of the recently reported issues. Please find the patch notes below:
Patch Notes:
* Fixed wrong texture being displayed on _mp glock.
* Fixed glock idle animation pop.
* Replaced $basealphaenvmapmask with $normalmapalphaenvmapmask.
* Removed autoaim settings from options.
* Fixed zombie hands in singleplayer.
* Fixed chargers not working with some savegames.
* Disabled autorun by default.
* added Single Player Source files in bms/mapsrc.
* added bm_mp_environments.vmf in bms/mapsrc.
... we're not joking. Thats all the .vmf's for Black Mesa Single Player. Enjoy
So this video is floating around, alleging awesome inside sources are saying Half-Life 3 is pretty much on life support. I didn't even get a minute in before I had serious issues with what they're saying
1. They say there's only a 10 man skeleton crew working on the game - I can't directly call bullshit on this, but the JIRA leak would indicate at least two years ago there were upwards of 47 people working directly on it, so something would had to have happened in the past two years to make Valve drop the project like a hot potato, which they allude to further on.
2. "Script, Story and Game Events are complete" - This seems off to me, HL2's development showed that the story was something that got borne out after they figured out where they wanted to go with the technology and design, and was something that was constantly in flux. If things got into development that a finalized version of the story is done, the game would likely only be a year or two from release, not with a skeleton crew.
3. Valve's management "isn't interested in releasing HL3" and has pulled people from its development - This basically flies in the face of the "flat management" style that Valve has been talking about for years and years now. Even if it is, as many of us suspect, not as flat as they claim, it still seems completely out of character for them to essentially strangle an active project but not cancel it like they did with Stars of Blood.
4. Valve is making bank on Steam and microtransactions, so they have no reason to make HL3 - This reasoning only works if Valve's only goal is to make money. Honestly, given they have spent years working on Source 2 and are giving it away for free, Valve has demonstrated that even today, profit isn't everything. (Shit, I'd argue the fact that they don't worry for money is exactly why they'd be working on HL3.)
5. Valve doesn't want to risk internet hate for releasing a subpar HL3 - 2002 called, they want their excuse for no HL2 back. Also, Steam much, guys?
6. HL3 had a 100 people in 2009, and has dwindled the project since then to support other games - Unless they're talking about Episode 3, I find this highly doubtful, since 2009-2010 is likely where they would have made the Ep3 -> HL3 transition and they likely would have started with a core team at that point. Also, we saw an increase of people on the project between June and September of 2013 (as well as an addition of a "HL3 Core" team) with the JIRA leaks.
7. Mass Effect 3 backlash - Given the shit people complain about with Steam, I doubt this even blipped Valve's radar. Also, I'm getting a little bit of mixed messages here; did Valve decrease HL3 staff to work on other games starting in 2009 with L4D2, or was it in 2012 people Mass Effect 3 exploded? Also, this idea is laughable given that the ME3 hate didn't even stop the Mass Effect franchise.
8. While it's a completely bullshit estimate, I like how they completely downplay the idea that HL3 making $720 million (their estimate) isn't a big deal by saying Valve already makes a ton of money (Roughly $770 million a year by their estimate) so it isn't make it or break it. Like, come on guys, be realistic here.
9. The idea that Valve would be worried about harassment for making a "not perfect" HL3 is dumb to me considering many people felt HL2 was flawed. They say the gaming landscape has changed, bu again, Valve almost certainly gets tons and tons of hate for their shitty Steam support, which outright fucks people over. And again, EA and Bioware weathered the ME3 hate just fine and are rolling out a new ME game.
This video reeks of either someone sending them a bullshit source or them just fishing for hits. So yay, you got me. Video in the link below
You'd think HL3 would be their flagship and have the most people working on it, but maybe it's a situation like Blizzard and their canceled MMO Titan. They're seeing better returns on smaller "free-to-play" games with microtransactions. I think it will eventually get made, but at the end of the day, they are a business.
The comment about how the gaming landscape has changed since HL2 made me chuckle a little because both Half Life 1 and 2, and Portal made changes to the "gaming landscape" at the time.
Valve isn't worried about their game being different and most of the time it leads to a few years worth of imitators.
The comment about how the gaming landscape has changed since HL2 made me chuckle a little because both Half Life 1 and 2, and Portal made changes to the "gaming landscape" at the time.
Yeah, platitudes like that getting thrown around are on the edge of making me angry. The HL2 and ep. 2 experience are the prime of what singleplayer fps is about, imo. There's just nothing even close to the same league. Tight script, exciting milieus and settings and awe-inspiring events+adrenaline-pumping action. There, you don't need much more than that.
No, I don't give a shit about health regen, some inane multiplayer feature or whatever you think fps's are "all about" these days, just shut the fuck up. HL3 will blow that shit out of the water forever, if the right people are given the right amount of time on time to work on it. But as it looks now, not much work at all is spent on it?
certainly a lot more legit than that ridiculous video. who the heck are these wankers anyway
+2
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HardtargetThere Are Four LightsVancouverRegistered Userregular
Seeing what has been mentioned in the thread lately seems like a good opportunity to remind everybody about this: http://members.shaw.ca/halflifestory/
By far the best breakdown of the half-life story/universe out there, it's a great read.
RE: The Know video - Roosterteeth (who made the video) got bought by some shitty outfit a while back. Someone on the Escapist forums pointed out the shift in their videos as a result.
-Hatred Hit with Second Ever Adults Only Rating for Violence, Keeping it off Consoles - The Know.
-New 3DS XL Launches with 2 Limited Editions + No New 3DS for North America - The Know
-343 Apologizes for Halo: MCC with Free Halo 3: ODST and More - The Know
The Know, up to a month ago:
-Cars Getting HACKED?! - The Know
-Is Reddit DOOMED? - The Know
-Fallout 4: WILL IT SUCK? - The Know
RE: The Know video - Roosterteeth (who made the video) got bought by some shitty outfit a while back. Someone on the Escapist forums pointed out the shift in their videos as a result.
-Hatred Hit with Second Ever Adults Only Rating for Violence, Keeping it off Consoles - The Know.
-New 3DS XL Launches with 2 Limited Editions + No New 3DS for North America - The Know
-343 Apologizes for Halo: MCC with Free Halo 3: ODST and More - The Know
The Know, up to a month ago:
-Cars Getting HACKED?! - The Know
-Is Reddit DOOMED? - The Know
-Fallout 4: WILL IT SUCK? - The Know
Guy talks trash about Funhaus. Guy knows exactly dick all about anything.
RE: The Know video - Roosterteeth (who made the video) got bought by some shitty outfit a while back. Someone on the Escapist forums pointed out the shift in their videos as a result.
-Hatred Hit with Second Ever Adults Only Rating for Violence, Keeping it off Consoles - The Know.
-New 3DS XL Launches with 2 Limited Editions + No New 3DS for North America - The Know
-343 Apologizes for Halo: MCC with Free Halo 3: ODST and More - The Know
The Know, up to a month ago:
-Cars Getting HACKED?! - The Know
-Is Reddit DOOMED? - The Know
-Fallout 4: WILL IT SUCK? - The Know
Guy talks trash about Funhaus. Guy knows exactly dick all about anything.
I was under the impression that acquiring Funhaus (originally "Inside Gaming") was only made possible by Fullscreen (the "shitty outfit" in question) in turn acquiring Rooster Teeth. As such, if that acquisition upset you, you pretty much have to hate Funhaus as a matter of necessity.
I mean, personally, I found The Know has always had a problem with shitty gatcha-style titles, going back to almost immediately after the channel started. It certainly didn't stop them bashing from whatever was unpopular at the time. It's a very "sound clipy" kind of show, and very irritating at times for it--ironically, whenever they have someone from Funhaus speak on a topic, they almost inevitably come off as the most reasoned and most informed speaker in the video.
RE: The Know video - Roosterteeth (who made the video) got bought by some shitty outfit a while back. Someone on the Escapist forums pointed out the shift in their videos as a result.
-Hatred Hit with Second Ever Adults Only Rating for Violence, Keeping it off Consoles - The Know.
-New 3DS XL Launches with 2 Limited Editions + No New 3DS for North America - The Know
-343 Apologizes for Halo: MCC with Free Halo 3: ODST and More - The Know
The Know, up to a month ago:
-Cars Getting HACKED?! - The Know
-Is Reddit DOOMED? - The Know
-Fallout 4: WILL IT SUCK? - The Know
Guy talks trash about Funhaus. Guy knows exactly dick all about anything.
I was under the impression that acquiring Funhaus (originally "Inside Gaming") was only made possible by Fullscreen (the "shitty outfit" in question) in turn acquiring Rooster Teeth. As such, if that acquisition upset you, you pretty much have to hate Funhaus as a matter of necessity.
I mean, personally, I found The Know has always had a problem with shitty gatcha-style titles, going back to almost immediately after the channel started. It certainly didn't stop them bashing from whatever was unpopular at the time. It's a very "sound clipy" kind of show, and very irritating at times for it--ironically, whenever they have someone from Funhaus speak on a topic, they almost inevitably come off as the most reasoned and most informed speaker in the video.
Yeah I've never really got into The Know, but whenever I've caught some of it, I can say from the amount of other RT stuff I watch, that the people they do have presenting it are at least knowledgeable and, hell, decent people. The format feels a bit 'SHOCKING NEWS HEADLINE', but then they probably want people to watch their videos.
Laidlaw flatly lays out how the storyline in these games is developed and they don't take the fucking hint. And the making blind assumptions to try and get him to out HL3 is fucking stupid as hell. Did these morons really think he's going to confirm HL3 in an e-mail correspondence?
It all seems fine by me, one guy's trying to do his job as a reporter, the other guy's trying to do his as someone working on a game for a notoriously tight-lipped company. Reporters are going to ask questions like that all time time, in any field, trying to pry some extra bit of information. That's their job.
edit: hell, an an asshole would've tried some sort of deception rather than lay it out straight away who they are, where they're from, and what they're trying to do.
I have to say, I'm not seeing it--it sounds like one guy being incredibly careful and polite to someone in turn who clearly doesn't want to say anything but kind of wants to shoot down speculation but at the same time doesn't want to say anything else that would convey anything substantive or give birth to more speculation. And going back and forth on that.
I guess that qualifies as being a total shit-heel though. *shrug* Frankly, given what Laidlaw "said" I think he would have been more pleased just to decline answering their emails (or not commenting on anything in the first place, as though this were the first rumor about Half-Life 3). Hell, I think Laidlaw even acknowledged that ignoring it (and just coming up with a better way to manage floods of email) would have been a more practical response.
About a third of the Funhaus video, correctly and as a matter of necessity, was spent repeating the fact that this was their theory and entirely speculative, and should be treated as such. So, in the end of the day, it's pretty easy to refute: just have Valve announce their intent to publish Half-Life 3. They don't even need to actually produce the game (plenty of titles get canceled after announcement, this is a thing), just the statement alone will sufficiently shoot holes in the rather general speculation on their part.
This works both ways. So long as no indication that Valve will produce the game, Funhaus' open-ended theory holds up as an open-ended theory.
I realized I stopped subscribing to The Know's Youtube channel sometime around when they jumped whole-hog onto the trendy "Let's bash the shit out of the Xbox One for the lolzs" cool kids bandwagon, since I already wasn't a huge fan of having their normal 'The Patch' podcast compressed into soundbites. All of this literally went over my head until I was directed to it. I didn't realize that the entire video was done by Funhaus, as oppose to their more soundbite-happy personalities.
On an unrelated note, I've always doubt edSilent Hills or, frankly, any franchise from Kojima Productions is worth a billion dollars. So there, Funhaus.
The problem I have is that they kept pressing on issues Laidlaw has said that he couldn't or wouldn't comment on.
Also,
So, in the end of the day, it's pretty easy to refute: just have Valve announce their intent to publish Half-Life 3.
He specifically said he couldn't say that at the beginning. "I can never report on the state of projects at Valve except in the context of product release publicity." and then later when asked about the state of an unannounced project (HL3), he says no comment, and they CONTINUE to press him for information. Like, not only is it unprofessional and rude, especially towards someone who's taken time out of their day to engage you in a conversation, but they're basically asking him to put his standing at Valve in jeopardy. (If Valve wanted their employees to talk about HL3, they would be talking about HL3) Like, get your one HL3 question out of the way, fair enough, everyone does it. Just don't become a pest about it when you don't get the answer you want. Laidlaw even spells it out with his comment about tautologies. He cannot comment on HL3, so they ask if he can comment on HL3, repeat.
Also, I was getting a sense of them trying to arrange facts to their existing narrative, (basically putting more weight on their source than on what Laidlaw is telling them) saying things like 'We don't BLAME Valve for not wanting negative backlash" after Laidlaw told them the idea was silly, which basically is ignoring what he said and trying to coax out a different answer. That could have just been my reading of it, but then this came out.
So in this follow-up video, they basically do somersaults to fit Laidlaw's comments into their pre-existing narrative. Unless I missed something, at no point do they entertain the idea that their anonymous source might be false, and they even go as far to basically say Laidlaw doesn't know enough about Valve's inner workings to contradict their source.
I have to wonder, who is this source and why did they pick these guys out of the entire internet. Like, this would be one of the biggest pieces of gaming news this year (and that's saying something considering what has happened this year) so why do they pick this small outfit that I hadn't even heard of? Why not one of the biggest sites?
Anywho, calling them shitbirds was probably a bit much. They just strike me as very unprofessional.
What the hell are those ten people left supposedly doing? Like, if Valve's "managers" are too afraid - sorry - think making Half-Life 3 may produce reactions that reflect poorly on them as a business (again I have to say, have they seen Steam Support?) to the point where they're sabotaging the product'a development, why leave 10 people working on it? What are they going to accomplish that 100 people (their figure) couldn't? Especially if Valve has no desire to release HL3 at all? Valve doesn't have a problem with canceling projects (Stars of Blood is a recent example) after all. Hell, if they're working on HL3 that means Ep3 was essentially canceled as well.
Like, if Valve decided the direction they were going wasn't where they wanted, and as a result wanted to go back to a more conceptual portion of development, I'd totally believe that. But the idea that Valve's "managers" wanted to kill the project, but instead of just killing it, they slowly removed team members until a 10-man crew remained doesn't really make sense to me. What purpose does it serve if they have no intention of releasing anything?
Posts
Really though I played the fuck out of Ricochet. If you guys are making something like that @LaCabra count me in. I love all that neon-glowy Tron stuff.
Anywho, probably the saddest takeaway from all that is that it's an eight year-long saga to produce a result of "They're working on it, I guess..." Valve has just said so little, and even the stuff that's leaked out doesn't tell us much. Like it took around 4 years for Episode Three to die, and another 4 years to get to the point of saying they're working on it, but having very little context for how far along in development it is.
Though now that Source 2 is being shown off publicly, I'm expecting we'll finally start seeing some reveals... eventually. I think we could see a L4D3 announcement as soon as this year, even. If 70+ people have been working on it for the past two years, plus and unknown amount of work prior to that, then it's not out of the question that they'd have something to show by the end of the year. I'd would guess an October 2015 announcement, though I'd probably hedge my bets and say second half of 2015, first half of 2016.
HL3 I'd expect to be announced a year later, so second half of 2016, first half of 2017.
'course, I was sure we'd see something for the 15th anniversary of HL1, and then the 10th anniversary of HL2, and we got NOTHING. Well, aside from the Black Mesa Steam Version announcement.
Amnesia: Ravenholm CONFIRMED.
http://www.valvetime.net/threads/new-reference-to-alyx-vance-episode-three-found-in-sfm-code.215293/
http://www.valvetime.net/threads/half-life-artist-ted-backman-has-left-valve.246147/
http://www.valvetime.net/threads/half-life-3-referenced-in-source-filmmaker-render-code.244373/
Also got reminded of the Sven Coop announcement from back in 2013, about releasing a stand-alone Steam version.. looks like it's almost out, maybe? They apparently went feature locked in March. Here's a video of the survival mode they're adding.
My Backloggery
No, that was a HL2 mod called SMOD, IIRC.
That sounds right. I recall often swapping those names accidentally.
"One of the things we have been hard at work on is a complete rework of the Half-Life 1 co-op conversion. The new conversion will be much closer to the original Half-Life experience, with fewer Sven Co-op specific additions that ruined the original atmosphere of Half-Life. Many of the levels have also been merged, which allows for far less frequent map loading sequences, and player health and loadouts will be carried over between levels. "
1. They say there's only a 10 man skeleton crew working on the game - I can't directly call bullshit on this, but the JIRA leak would indicate at least two years ago there were upwards of 47 people working directly on it, so something would had to have happened in the past two years to make Valve drop the project like a hot potato, which they allude to further on.
2. "Script, Story and Game Events are complete" - This seems off to me, HL2's development showed that the story was something that got borne out after they figured out where they wanted to go with the technology and design, and was something that was constantly in flux. If things got into development that a finalized version of the story is done, the game would likely only be a year or two from release, not with a skeleton crew.
3. Valve's management "isn't interested in releasing HL3" and has pulled people from its development - This basically flies in the face of the "flat management" style that Valve has been talking about for years and years now. Even if it is, as many of us suspect, not as flat as they claim, it still seems completely out of character for them to essentially strangle an active project but not cancel it like they did with Stars of Blood.
4. Valve is making bank on Steam and microtransactions, so they have no reason to make HL3 - This reasoning only works if Valve's only goal is to make money. Honestly, given they have spent years working on Source 2 and are giving it away for free, Valve has demonstrated that even today, profit isn't everything. (Shit, I'd argue the fact that they don't worry for money is exactly why they'd be working on HL3.)
5. Valve doesn't want to risk internet hate for releasing a subpar HL3 - 2002 called, they want their excuse for no HL2 back. Also, Steam much, guys?
6. HL3 had a 100 people in 2009, and has dwindled the project since then to support other games - Unless they're talking about Episode 3, I find this highly doubtful, since 2009-2010 is likely where they would have made the Ep3 -> HL3 transition and they likely would have started with a core team at that point. Also, we saw an increase of people on the project between June and September of 2013 (as well as an addition of a "HL3 Core" team) with the JIRA leaks.
7. Mass Effect 3 backlash - Given the shit people complain about with Steam, I doubt this even blipped Valve's radar. Also, I'm getting a little bit of mixed messages here; did Valve decrease HL3 staff to work on other games starting in 2009 with L4D2, or was it in 2012 people Mass Effect 3 exploded? Also, this idea is laughable given that the ME3 hate didn't even stop the Mass Effect franchise.
8. While it's a completely bullshit estimate, I like how they completely downplay the idea that HL3 making $720 million (their estimate) isn't a big deal by saying Valve already makes a ton of money (Roughly $770 million a year by their estimate) so it isn't make it or break it. Like, come on guys, be realistic here.
9. The idea that Valve would be worried about harassment for making a "not perfect" HL3 is dumb to me considering many people felt HL2 was flawed. They say the gaming landscape has changed, bu again, Valve almost certainly gets tons and tons of hate for their shitty Steam support, which outright fucks people over. And again, EA and Bioware weathered the ME3 hate just fine and are rolling out a new ME game.
This video reeks of either someone sending them a bullshit source or them just fishing for hits. So yay, you got me. Video in the link below
https://youtu.be/50lSIaSR3zc
Valve isn't worried about their game being different and most of the time it leads to a few years worth of imitators.
No, I don't give a shit about health regen, some inane multiplayer feature or whatever you think fps's are "all about" these days, just shut the fuck up. HL3 will blow that shit out of the water forever, if the right people are given the right amount of time on time to work on it. But as it looks now, not much work at all is spent on it?
Looks legit, or did someone manage to confirm it?
http://members.shaw.ca/halflifestory/
By far the best breakdown of the half-life story/universe out there, it's a great read.
-Hatred Hit with Second Ever Adults Only Rating for Violence, Keeping it off Consoles - The Know.
-New 3DS XL Launches with 2 Limited Editions + No New 3DS for North America - The Know
-343 Apologizes for Halo: MCC with Free Halo 3: ODST and More - The Know
The Know, up to a month ago:
-Cars Getting HACKED?! - The Know
-Is Reddit DOOMED? - The Know
-Fallout 4: WILL IT SUCK? - The Know
Guy talks trash about Funhaus. Guy knows exactly dick all about anything.
I was under the impression that acquiring Funhaus (originally "Inside Gaming") was only made possible by Fullscreen (the "shitty outfit" in question) in turn acquiring Rooster Teeth. As such, if that acquisition upset you, you pretty much have to hate Funhaus as a matter of necessity.
I mean, personally, I found The Know has always had a problem with shitty gatcha-style titles, going back to almost immediately after the channel started. It certainly didn't stop them bashing from whatever was unpopular at the time. It's a very "sound clipy" kind of show, and very irritating at times for it--ironically, whenever they have someone from Funhaus speak on a topic, they almost inevitably come off as the most reasoned and most informed speaker in the video.
Yeah I've never really got into The Know, but whenever I've caught some of it, I can say from the amount of other RT stuff I watch, that the people they do have presenting it are at least knowledgeable and, hell, decent people. The format feels a bit 'SHOCKING NEWS HEADLINE', but then they probably want people to watch their videos.
Laidlaw flatly lays out how the storyline in these games is developed and they don't take the fucking hint. And the making blind assumptions to try and get him to out HL3 is fucking stupid as hell. Did these morons really think he's going to confirm HL3 in an e-mail correspondence?
edit: hell, an an asshole would've tried some sort of deception rather than lay it out straight away who they are, where they're from, and what they're trying to do.
I guess that qualifies as being a total shit-heel though. *shrug* Frankly, given what Laidlaw "said" I think he would have been more pleased just to decline answering their emails (or not commenting on anything in the first place, as though this were the first rumor about Half-Life 3). Hell, I think Laidlaw even acknowledged that ignoring it (and just coming up with a better way to manage floods of email) would have been a more practical response.
About a third of the Funhaus video, correctly and as a matter of necessity, was spent repeating the fact that this was their theory and entirely speculative, and should be treated as such. So, in the end of the day, it's pretty easy to refute: just have Valve announce their intent to publish Half-Life 3. They don't even need to actually produce the game (plenty of titles get canceled after announcement, this is a thing), just the statement alone will sufficiently shoot holes in the rather general speculation on their part.
This works both ways. So long as no indication that Valve will produce the game, Funhaus' open-ended theory holds up as an open-ended theory.
I realized I stopped subscribing to The Know's Youtube channel sometime around when they jumped whole-hog onto the trendy "Let's bash the shit out of the Xbox One for the lolzs" cool kids bandwagon, since I already wasn't a huge fan of having their normal 'The Patch' podcast compressed into soundbites. All of this literally went over my head until I was directed to it. I didn't realize that the entire video was done by Funhaus, as oppose to their more soundbite-happy personalities.
On an unrelated note, I've always doubt edSilent Hills or, frankly, any franchise from Kojima Productions is worth a billion dollars. So there, Funhaus.
Also,
He specifically said he couldn't say that at the beginning. "I can never report on the state of projects at Valve except in the context of product release publicity." and then later when asked about the state of an unannounced project (HL3), he says no comment, and they CONTINUE to press him for information. Like, not only is it unprofessional and rude, especially towards someone who's taken time out of their day to engage you in a conversation, but they're basically asking him to put his standing at Valve in jeopardy. (If Valve wanted their employees to talk about HL3, they would be talking about HL3) Like, get your one HL3 question out of the way, fair enough, everyone does it. Just don't become a pest about it when you don't get the answer you want. Laidlaw even spells it out with his comment about tautologies. He cannot comment on HL3, so they ask if he can comment on HL3, repeat.
Also, I was getting a sense of them trying to arrange facts to their existing narrative, (basically putting more weight on their source than on what Laidlaw is telling them) saying things like 'We don't BLAME Valve for not wanting negative backlash" after Laidlaw told them the idea was silly, which basically is ignoring what he said and trying to coax out a different answer. That could have just been my reading of it, but then this came out.
So in this follow-up video, they basically do somersaults to fit Laidlaw's comments into their pre-existing narrative. Unless I missed something, at no point do they entertain the idea that their anonymous source might be false, and they even go as far to basically say Laidlaw doesn't know enough about Valve's inner workings to contradict their source.
I have to wonder, who is this source and why did they pick these guys out of the entire internet. Like, this would be one of the biggest pieces of gaming news this year (and that's saying something considering what has happened this year) so why do they pick this small outfit that I hadn't even heard of? Why not one of the biggest sites?
Anywho, calling them shitbirds was probably a bit much. They just strike me as very unprofessional.
Here's the video for hte original HL2 port
What the hell are those ten people left supposedly doing? Like, if Valve's "managers" are too afraid - sorry - think making Half-Life 3 may produce reactions that reflect poorly on them as a business (again I have to say, have they seen Steam Support?) to the point where they're sabotaging the product'a development, why leave 10 people working on it? What are they going to accomplish that 100 people (their figure) couldn't? Especially if Valve has no desire to release HL3 at all? Valve doesn't have a problem with canceling projects (Stars of Blood is a recent example) after all. Hell, if they're working on HL3 that means Ep3 was essentially canceled as well.
Like, if Valve decided the direction they were going wasn't where they wanted, and as a result wanted to go back to a more conceptual portion of development, I'd totally believe that. But the idea that Valve's "managers" wanted to kill the project, but instead of just killing it, they slowly removed team members until a 10-man crew remained doesn't really make sense to me. What purpose does it serve if they have no intention of releasing anything?