Christ, I stared at this Tweet for several minutes, convinced it was from 2015 or earlier.
As in the past, long story short: VR in the franchise Half-Life is hamstrung by a all the usual concerns, and then more. Make it a VR exclusive, and you've pretty much guaranteed you'll get a fiftieth of the potential sales (this is very little exaggeration), because you're expecting people to pay ~$400 for a sequel that should've come out ten years ago, on top of the ire of people who avoid VR for practical or physical considerations instead of just financial ones.
Make it VR optional, and you've basically made another VR tie-in game with the giant anchor of "How do you make a Half Life sequel at this point?" around its neck. Maybe it moves some headsets if you're lucky. There's a strong argument to be made that even if a new Half-Life 3 or similar title was successful beyond Valve's wildest dreams, the profit it would make after costs would barely register compared to the massive money-generating machine is Steam. A lot of evidence suggests Valve doesn't really want to make massive blockbuster games that have to survive under the scrutiny of Metacritic, they want to make Steam work better (or at least even more profitable) with the minimum amount of human effort they can manage.
So, they make a VR "experience"--just like they've already done with Portal--for the franchise. Minimum risk, maximum promotion of the device in question, which (like all VR headsets) has massively short of initial sales expectations from the time of is launch. That's what I'd expect.
This would all be problematic even if Half-Life 3, or even episode 3 back when Valve insisted episodic gaming was totally the future, wasn't subject to a vast mountain of hype.
Of course, with the understanding that this is a "Half-Life VR experience" and not "Half-Life 3", it could still be an excellent little game. Which is kind of the point of video games, isn't it (aside from making profit-making). Alyx, alongside Barney, are basically the only characters in the franchise I actually remember liking (or remember at all, to be honest). Her getting her own game is a good fit.
anything that's VR only might as well not exist for me. I'd love to buy a vr set, but the prices are much, much worse where I live, might as well get a new car.
anything that's VR only might as well not exist for me. I'd love to buy a vr set, but the prices are much, much worse where I live, might as well get a new car.
There are good deals to be had with used headsets, if that's something you don't mind. But yes, there's a reason adoption rates have been low enough that 2015's more optimistic analysts would've probably killed themselves.
VR is great. It is also a ballache to setup decently.
I didn't learn "ballache" in ESOL, so I had to look that up.
The WMR standard is incredibly easy to set up compared to almost everything else, on top of being de facto software agnostic. But it requires Windows 10. And it uses inside-out tracking, which is part of the reason it's so much easier to setup. Buyer beware--which is also what I tell anyone who buys VR in general.
VR is great. It is also a ballache to setup decently.
I didn't learn "ballache" in ESOL, so I had to look that up.
The WMR standard is incredibly easy to set up compared to almost everything else, on top of being de facto software agnostic. But it requires Windows 10.And it uses inside-out tracking, which is part of the reason it's so much easier to setup. Buyer beware--which is also what I tell anyone who buys VR in general.
This part doesn't seem unreasonable in 2019.
(edit: also, I automatically read "ballache" as if it were a french word and it took me a minute to parse)
VR is great. It is also a ballache to setup decently.
I didn't learn "ballache" in ESOL, so I had to look that up.
The WMR standard is incredibly easy to set up compared to almost everything else, on top of being de facto software agnostic. But it requires Windows 10.And it uses inside-out tracking, which is part of the reason it's so much easier to setup. Buyer beware--which is also what I tell anyone who buys VR in general.
This part doesn't seem unreasonable in 2019.
(edit: also, I automatically read "ballache" as if it were a french word and it took me a minute to parse)
From a security standpoint (especially if you're from part of the world where Mac OS is novelty or otherwise laughably unsupported, or Linux-based is particularly rare), no, but I thought it was worth including. At the same time, if you're running Windows 8.1 and especially Windows 7, even 64-bit, you're going to be encountering issues with DirectX package and driver support that are not going to help VR's occasionally shaky resource utilization. Windows 10's baked-in MR support suite is one of the reasons setup is very fast--practically all the software you need is already part of the OS.
In fact, there are probably ways to jury-rig WMR to work in Windows 7 (if you plug a WMR headset in, it is detected as a generic display that just happens to have two high-refresh panels). People have basically been experimenting with that since the first cycle of headsets was delivered (at the time, motion control and telemetry was the issue, rather than correcting the video out). It's probably not worth it for anyone but the most tinkering-inclined.
VR is great. It is also a ballache to setup decently.
I didn't learn "ballache" in ESOL, so I had to look that up.
The WMR standard is incredibly easy to set up compared to almost everything else, on top of being de facto software agnostic. But it requires Windows 10.And it uses inside-out tracking, which is part of the reason it's so much easier to setup. Buyer beware--which is also what I tell anyone who buys VR in general.
This part doesn't seem unreasonable in 2019.
(edit: also, I automatically read "ballache" as if it were a french word and it took me a minute to parse)
I'd never heard the word "ballache" before, but it's meaning was instantly clear to me.
This HL VR thing feels like the same sort of misstep that Blizzard made with mobile Diablo.
It definitely feels like a kick in the junk for those of us who have been hoping for an eventual conclusion to HL3.
I missed Epistle 3 I guess.
And I'm sure it's dead without a doubt, it just is sort of annoying to see them do another HL product at all when they know so many people wanted 3. I feel like either don't do any more HL, or finish the freakin series that started 'episodic' gaming by creating the phrase but not at ALL sticking to what it was supposed to mean =p.
EDIT - wait, google confirms I did know about epistle 3, just not by that name. I didn't end up reading it because a small part of me still had hope and didn't want anything to possibly spoil any surprises.
Ah, the optimistic yet foolish hope of 2-year-younger me.
Well if you read Epistle 3, it heavily implies Gordon was irrelevant or at least less useful than originally assumed. Gordon gets left behind and Alyx goes off with the G Man. .
So having a new HL VR game about Alyx might actually be relevant to that plot line, but I doubt it.
VR is great. It is also a ballache to setup decently.
I didn't learn "ballache" in ESOL, so I had to look that up.
The WMR standard is incredibly easy to set up compared to almost everything else, on top of being de facto software agnostic. But it requires Windows 10.And it uses inside-out tracking, which is part of the reason it's so much easier to setup. Buyer beware--which is also what I tell anyone who buys VR in general.
This part doesn't seem unreasonable in 2019.
(edit: also, I automatically read "ballache" as if it were a french word and it took me a minute to parse)
Edit: there was something in the leaked Geoff Keighley/Valve interview where the Valve employees talked about how fun it is to "see the whole body". I assumed they meant their testers wearing VR helmets and freaking out in person, but maybe they meant sex games.
If you'll indulge me waxing intellectual for a moment...
I think the biggest hindrance to VR right now is that most devs seem to assume you have to do things from the first person perspective, which limits your gameplay options. Just because it's vr didn't mean I need to be the PC. give me a VR RTS where I can walk around the battlefield or a platformer like Fez or Paper Mario Wii where the character interacts with the environment in 2D but I can manipulate things in 3D.
But I also thought turning Metroid into an FPS was a bad idea before loving the Prime trilogy, so I could very well be wrong.
Edit: now I've got myself dreaming of a VR mode for BattleTech.
If you'll indulge me waxing intellectual for a moment...
I think the biggest hindrance to VR right now is that most devs seem to assume you have to do things from the first person perspective, which limits your gameplay options. Just because it's vr didn't mean I need to be the PC. give me a VR RTS where I can walk around the battlefield or a platformer like Fez or Paper Mario Wii where the character interacts with the environment in 2D but I can manipulate things in 3D.
But I also thought turning Metroid into an FPS was a bad idea before loving the Prime trilogy, so I could very well be wrong.
Edit: now I've got myself dreaming of a VR mode for BattleTech.
so something like Defense Grid 2 Enhanced VR Edition?
VR is great. It is also a ballache to setup decently.
I didn't learn "ballache" in ESOL, so I had to look that up.
The WMR standard is incredibly easy to set up compared to almost everything else, on top of being de facto software agnostic. But it requires Windows 10.And it uses inside-out tracking, which is part of the reason it's so much easier to setup. Buyer beware--which is also what I tell anyone who buys VR in general.
This part doesn't seem unreasonable in 2019.
(edit: also, I automatically read "ballache" as if it were a french word and it took me a minute to parse)
It's only ballache if it comes from the Balle region of France. Otherwise it's just sparkling testes pain.
All else being equal, I think the simplest explanation for HL3's absence is it just got left on the backburner too long. Not even really a single problem, more like a combination of problems that stem from Valve itself. I never got the sense that Valve post-HL2 was that good at sticking with a project; Steam overtook Half-Life as Valve's Big Thing, and combining a flat management structure with a company ballooning from its success probably contributed to an overall aimlessness besides "make more money." The longer something sits itdle, the harder it is to go back and finish it rather than move on to something new.
Hell, in hindsight I think the episodes were a warning sign that nobody could really agree on what to do with the series. The letter in that Polygon article reads a bit like Valve's version of the Mass Effect 3 ending, where it goes for something high-concept rather than just bringing it in for a nice, easy "and the good guys won, yaaaay!" finale. Which, granted, something bleak or mysterious would be a bit more fitting in Half-Life's case, but I think writers underestimate the value (and difficulty) of simple, well-earned closure. That's another subject, though; larger point, my impression is they didn't really have an ending in mind when they started work on HL2.
It's a shame. The games hold up really well, but HL3's pretty much just a punchline, and has been for a while.
About four years ago, I went through every scrap of info I could find about Ep3 and HL3 and tried to figure out what may have gone wrong. Looking over my old posts (which themselves are kind of out of date, I had the following conclusions.
Episode 3 appeared to be a casualty of two things: The first was a delayed development. Unlike Ep 2, which started development at the same time as Ep1, Ep3 only had a skeleton crew on it until Ep2 was released, and even then Valve went through a company-wide hiatus as they had people make tech demos for a few months. Combined with Valve Time (plus development time put towards L4D2 and Portal 2), Episode 3 wound up being in development long enough that the episodic format wasn't doing what Valve wanted (Get content out faster) and I imagine they wanted to release something bigger and bolder than an episode given how much time had passed. I speculate Ep3 died somewhere in 2010 or 2011.
Half-Life 3 is a bit harder to pin down, but comments from Gabe lead me to believe it's absolutely a case of Valve wanting it to be as impactful as HL1 and HL2 were back in the day and Valve not having enough faith in any of their concepts to actually produce something that would be that well received. Though at this point I think it might just be they don't have a good idea of how to monetize it. (Remember how Portal 2 has an in-game store for crap to wear in coop?)
You can read the sources I pulled in and more in-depth thoughts Here. (There's two posts)
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I very much look forward to the moment she and Jordan peele unleash a gaming something that is very black and very awesome.
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16534
(Do it.)
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Is that so? Looks like it's time to say it: I (and a bunch of other people before me, since it was kind of obvious) called it!
Of course, with the understanding that this is a "Half-Life VR experience" and not "Half-Life 3", it could still be an excellent little game. Which is kind of the point of video games, isn't it (aside from making profit-making). Alyx, alongside Barney, are basically the only characters in the franchise I actually remember liking (or remember at all, to be honest). Her getting her own game is a good fit.
There are good deals to be had with used headsets, if that's something you don't mind. But yes, there's a reason adoption rates have been low enough that 2015's more optimistic analysts would've probably killed themselves.
Again.
I didn't learn "ballache" in ESOL, so I had to look that up.
The WMR standard is incredibly easy to set up compared to almost everything else, on top of being de facto software agnostic. But it requires Windows 10. And it uses inside-out tracking, which is part of the reason it's so much easier to setup. Buyer beware--which is also what I tell anyone who buys VR in general.
This part doesn't seem unreasonable in 2019.
(edit: also, I automatically read "ballache" as if it were a french word and it took me a minute to parse)
From a security standpoint (especially if you're from part of the world where Mac OS is novelty or otherwise laughably unsupported, or Linux-based is particularly rare), no, but I thought it was worth including. At the same time, if you're running Windows 8.1 and especially Windows 7, even 64-bit, you're going to be encountering issues with DirectX package and driver support that are not going to help VR's occasionally shaky resource utilization. Windows 10's baked-in MR support suite is one of the reasons setup is very fast--practically all the software you need is already part of the OS.
In fact, there are probably ways to jury-rig WMR to work in Windows 7 (if you plug a WMR headset in, it is detected as a generic display that just happens to have two high-refresh panels). People have basically been experimenting with that since the first cycle of headsets was delivered (at the time, motion control and telemetry was the issue, rather than correcting the video out). It's probably not worth it for anyone but the most tinkering-inclined.
Ballache (noun)
French: an American tourist
This HL VR thing feels like the same sort of misstep that Blizzard made with mobile Diablo.
It definitely feels like a kick in the junk for those of us who have been hoping for an eventual conclusion to HL3.
https://www.polygon.com/2017/8/25/16202006/half-life-2-episode-3-plot-mark-laidlaw-valve
3DS Friend Code: 2165-6448-8348 www.Twitch.TV/cooljammer00
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And I'm sure it's dead without a doubt, it just is sort of annoying to see them do another HL product at all when they know so many people wanted 3. I feel like either don't do any more HL, or finish the freakin series that started 'episodic' gaming by creating the phrase but not at ALL sticking to what it was supposed to mean =p.
EDIT - wait, google confirms I did know about epistle 3, just not by that name. I didn't end up reading it because a small part of me still had hope and didn't want anything to possibly spoil any surprises.
Ah, the optimistic yet foolish hope of 2-year-younger me.
So having a new HL VR game about Alyx might actually be relevant to that plot line, but I doubt it.
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Kolache for the ballache.
Lemon parties?
Oh they're great, you should Google them.
Just not on a monitored work network.
I know what they are. I just didn't know it was something you attended.
3DS Friend Code: 2165-6448-8348 www.Twitch.TV/cooljammer00
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Yes, 911? I'd like to report a murder...
Which means SFM in VR......
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16534
Edit: there was something in the leaked Geoff Keighley/Valve interview where the Valve employees talked about how fun it is to "see the whole body". I assumed they meant their testers wearing VR helmets and freaking out in person, but maybe they meant sex games.
3DS Friend Code: 2165-6448-8348 www.Twitch.TV/cooljammer00
Battle.Net: JohnDarc#1203 Origin/UPlay: CoolJammer00
I think the biggest hindrance to VR right now is that most devs seem to assume you have to do things from the first person perspective, which limits your gameplay options. Just because it's vr didn't mean I need to be the PC. give me a VR RTS where I can walk around the battlefield or a platformer like Fez or Paper Mario Wii where the character interacts with the environment in 2D but I can manipulate things in 3D.
But I also thought turning Metroid into an FPS was a bad idea before loving the Prime trilogy, so I could very well be wrong.
Edit: now I've got myself dreaming of a VR mode for BattleTech.
Steam ID: Good Life
so something like Defense Grid 2 Enhanced VR Edition?
SteamID: edgruberman GOG Galaxy: EdGruberman
Okay, I hate every one of you.
Steam: betsuni7
"....a carp left in the fridge for 3 days."
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16534
It's only ballache if it comes from the Balle region of France. Otherwise it's just sparkling testes pain.
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3DS: 3454-0268-5595 Battle.net: SteelAngel#1772
We know absolutely nothing about what Half-Life 3 is or was, including whether or not Laidlaw's Episode 3 outline would have had any bearing on it.
Hell, in hindsight I think the episodes were a warning sign that nobody could really agree on what to do with the series. The letter in that Polygon article reads a bit like Valve's version of the Mass Effect 3 ending, where it goes for something high-concept rather than just bringing it in for a nice, easy "and the good guys won, yaaaay!" finale. Which, granted, something bleak or mysterious would be a bit more fitting in Half-Life's case, but I think writers underestimate the value (and difficulty) of simple, well-earned closure. That's another subject, though; larger point, my impression is they didn't really have an ending in mind when they started work on HL2.
It's a shame. The games hold up really well, but HL3's pretty much just a punchline, and has been for a while.
Now playing: Teardown and Baldur's Gate 3 (co-op)
Sunday Spotlight: Horror Tales: The Wine
Episode 3 appeared to be a casualty of two things: The first was a delayed development. Unlike Ep 2, which started development at the same time as Ep1, Ep3 only had a skeleton crew on it until Ep2 was released, and even then Valve went through a company-wide hiatus as they had people make tech demos for a few months. Combined with Valve Time (plus development time put towards L4D2 and Portal 2), Episode 3 wound up being in development long enough that the episodic format wasn't doing what Valve wanted (Get content out faster) and I imagine they wanted to release something bigger and bolder than an episode given how much time had passed. I speculate Ep3 died somewhere in 2010 or 2011.
Half-Life 3 is a bit harder to pin down, but comments from Gabe lead me to believe it's absolutely a case of Valve wanting it to be as impactful as HL1 and HL2 were back in the day and Valve not having enough faith in any of their concepts to actually produce something that would be that well received. Though at this point I think it might just be they don't have a good idea of how to monetize it. (Remember how Portal 2 has an in-game store for crap to wear in coop?)
You can read the sources I pulled in and more in-depth thoughts Here. (There's two posts)