Complaining and praise about VALVe goes here

[clarky003]

here's my 2p

okay... preload is almost done and done, with that in mind... why the Fook am I hearing about it getting a November release!,

that's the only thing thats bothering the straightness of my underpants's at present.

 

[Annihilator_91]

If VALVe does not announce something about HL2 soon... I will be a very unhappy person.... (KTG anyone?)

 

[Annihilator_91]

Ok I will have to let this out of me now or my head will probably blow up... OK! What is wrong with VALVe? Are they too incompetent give us a release date??? Why don't they publish they're own games like Blizzard (no they don't publish World of Warcraft foooking VU does). I hate publishers!! They are just a definite guarantee that the game will be released at lest a month after it could... :flame: So please! Anyone!! Why doesn't VALVe publish their own games?!?

 

[Head_Crab_04]

How long can you dangle a carrot in front of a donkey?

 

[Annihilator_91]

How long can you dangle a carrot in front of a donkey?

Jeeeesuus... You really are a serious person aint ya? :upstare:

 

[Logic]

I won't make a long post explaining how ungrateful and self-centred Valve's attackers are (besides, I've already done that in one or two other threads), but I will offer one point that seems to be neglected.

A common argument against "Valve owes us nothing" is that when it comes down to it, they are there to make money, and without us they wouldn't make it. You're missing the point of what Valve do.

Yes, there's big money to be made in computer games, and big money needed for games of HL2's scale to be made, but that's not what Valve are all about. Valve are not pumping out slightly tweaked sports titles in new boxes every year. They're not churning out movie tie-in games in under six months to rake in the cash before people even realise how bad the game is. If they were in it for the money, there are a million and one ways they could sell out. They could probably all have already retired on what they made from HL1, in fact.

Valve are ARTISTS. They are expressing themselves by creating visuals, sounds, music, environments and characters, and an overall experience, that are uniquely their own. Just as musicians love to affect an audience through musical expression, writers love to capture and inspire the imaginations of readers, and painters love to visualise their ideas and inner selves for others to see, Valve love creating unique worlds and situations for us to personally explore and interact with. There are sell-out examples of every art form, but Valve is certainly not one. The fact that they can (and will) make money from their creative expression doesn't make them any less credible as artists. Artists of all types have made livings from their art (sometimes successfully, sometimes not) for centuries.

Lets show Valve some respect. They're not developing short, uninspired cookie-cutter games every six months to line their pockets (like a lot of developers seem to be doing). They are putting an incredible amount of time and effort into their current creation to make it the best experience they possibly can, and a true representation of their collective artistic ideas. I, personally, am more than willing to overlook a few marketing mistakes. These things happen. The quality of Valve's work, and the fact that you will be able to buy it for THE SAME PRICE AS ANY NUMBER OF HORRIBLY CRAP GAMES FROM MONEY HUNGRY DEVELOPERS are enough reason for us to overlook the occasional whoopsie, and be glad that games like Half-Life 2 are being made at all.

 

[Annihilator_91]

I won't make a long post explaining how ungrateful and self-centred Valve's attackers are (besides, I've already done that in one or two other threads), but I will offer one point that seems to be neglected.

A common argument against "Valve owes us nothing" is that when it comes down to it, they are there to make money, and without us they wouldn't make it. You're missing the point of what Valve do.

Yes, there's big money to be made in computer games, and big money needed for games of HL2's scale to be made, but that's not what Valve are all about. Valve are not pumping out slightly tweaked sports titles in new boxes every year. They're not churning out movie tie-in games in under six months to rake in the cash before people even realise how bad the game is. If they were in it for the money, there are a million and one ways they could sell out. They could probably all have already retired on what they made from HL1, in fact.

Valve are ARTISTS. They are expressing themselves by creating visuals, sounds, music, environments and characters, and an overall experience, that are uniquely their own. Just as musicians love to affect an audience through musical expression, writers love to capture and inspire the imaginations of readers, and painters love to visualise their ideas and inner selves for others to see, Valve love creating unique worlds and situations for us to personally explore and interact with. There are sell-out examples of every art form, but Valve is certainly not one. The fact that they can (and will) make money from their creative expression doesn't make them any less credible as artists. Artists of all types have made livings from their art (sometimes successfully, sometimes not) for centuries.

Lets show Valve some respect. They're not developing short, uninspired cookie-cutter games every six months to line their pockets (like a lot of developers seem to be doing). They are putting an incredible amount of time and effort into their current creation to make it the best experience they possibly can, and a true representation of their collective artistic ideas. I, personally, am more than willing to overlook a few marketing mistakes. These things happen. The quality of Valve's work, and the fact that you will be able to buy it for THE SAME PRICE AS ANY NUMBER OF HORRIBLY CRAP GAMES FROM MONEY HUNGRY DEVELOPERS are enough reason for us to overlook the occasional whoopsie, and be glad that games like Half-Life 2 are being made at all.

That "inner self" part was a little bit gay. :naughty: (sorry about that, I can't resist it...hehe)

No serioulsy!!! You really have a point there!

 

[DrJones]

Valve rocks! HL2 is gonna kick ass!

 

[smsKONG]

If VALVe were "solely" about the money and not about the fans. HL2 would have came out in 2k1. TF2 would ahve came out in 97/98. We would be on hl3 and tf3 now with cs2 and so forth. Developers that are out for money, are the ones whom milk the cow wholeheartedly. And usually this isn't even a developers decision but a publishers decision to milk the cow it is.

Amen can anyone say EA..

Anyone with a console can experience the wonderful ways of EA, take FIFA, year in, year out, they pump out a stream of mostly similar games. It seems that most of the development time on these games involves getting the names right...
Now for each of these games, the list of changes from one year to the next, basically amounts to what I would call an update or at a stretch; an add-on. For these "updates", they charge for a full price game. (I know, recently EA haven't been as bad as usual, they've actually being getting developers to make good games- however they do still wring it for all it's worth)


Valve, while being a bit scattershot when it comes to dates(being a stoner I can totally empathise ), have been good to us (tho they are probably guilty of conning some into buying ATI cards early, they are a business at the end of the day and funding may not have been as forthcoming had they not done what they did- still a bastards trick, but in some ways you can see why they did it).
And lets face it, HL2 has generated so much hype in everyones minds, that valve must be bricking it, god only knows what these boards will look like once the games released. It's not going to please everyone and knowing this place it'll be full of people who can't help but bitch and whine.
So valve is being very careful to get things just right, if I were them I'd be doing the same thing for fear of the death threats emailed by hl2.net users bent on seeking revenge for every wrong ever done to them....In fact, if I were a developer, I'd NEVER get in touch with the "community" (it sounds friendly when you say it, but...), I'd lock myself away for fear that one of these schizos off an obscure forum actually tried to make real on their threats.

But yeah, you think valve would stop that whole giving out dates thing, and just inform us when we were getting something.
Then again they'd be slated for that aswell

[EDIT] I've just seen Logics post, and all I can say is.....exactly. Valve do give a damn, and despite their mistakes I still hold them in high regard as a developer. I may not trust them to keep a date:E, but I do trust them enough to use steam, I can't say I'd have trusted EA if battlefield had required something similar

 

[darkmistx]

I am not here to bitch at Valve for not releasing HL2. I'm just venting my frustration.


Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :angry: :angry: :angry: :sniper: :flame: :flame: :flame: ;( :smoking:


Hey feel much better now.

 

[Head_Crab_04]

Jeeeesuus... You really are a serious person aint ya? :upstare:

I was joking.

 

[NeptuneUK]

i cant see how anyone can justifiably complain about VALVe. they are the best game dev out there! they do far more than any other development team, so leave em alone.

Less: "OmFG! ValVE SUcKZz0rs!!"

more: "L0l! VaLVe PWnz0rs"

 

[subtlesnake]

If, by this point, multiplayer is still subject to change, then I doubt I'll be seeing this game before the end of the year.

My point was that at the time of the controversy a lot was probably up in the air.

If I am to believe they're sending an RC soon, then I don't see how it would be a major mistake to inform the community about the MP component. This is information the customer should know about before he purchases the damn thing.

I thought what was said was pretty clear :shrug:

And yes, I read the forums, yes I'm aware of the controversy and that many people refuse to take what was said at face value. But I'm sure they'll be some sort of press release that will go into the exact nature of the content that will be included. I mean we don't know anything about the collectors addition or what HL:S will be bundled with.

In my eyes, the end result is the fan being treated like dirt. Wether or not it's intentional doesn't matter (although I doubt it is). The end result is still the same.

I thought your post implied that Valve were deliberately disrespectful or didn't care about the community. Especially when you said that Valve should have "given a tad more thought to the community".

Because it isn't a question of Valve 'learning some manners/respect'. It's question of them actually managing the information they give out. .

Yes, but those games did not have the kind of melodrama that followed after their announced delays. If I remember correctly, id held a firm "It'll be done when it's done" stance for quite a long time. Why can't Valve?

Because they want to placate the community, so they give out whatever information they can. But if 3DR can learn then so can Valve. At least we won't be having another September 30th.

Again, I ask you to read the forums.

I do read the forums. I'm just inclined to get less emotionally effected and to forgive Valve for what amounts to simple mismanagement. Because When the game CD is my drive none of these issues will matter to me.

While I am inclined to agree with you on this, there are many that aren't. This is another issue that Valve could easily clear up for everybody if they made an official announcement here, on GameSpy, or (god forbid) the official Half-Life 2 site.

I think Valve needs a community portal where they can put all the relevant information in one place. As opposed to the current situation where information is scattered through assorted e-mails and press releases on news sites.

 

[Wesisapie]

i cant see how anyone can justifiably complain about VALVe. they are the best game dev out there! they do far more than any other development team, so leave em alone.

valve released one game, which was great, then they screwed up and capitalised on others

QWTF -> TFC -> 5 year wait for TF2
CS beta -> CS Retail
WON -> Steam (dont even try to say its a good idea)
Powerplay.... HAHA most people seem to forget about "Powerplay". look it up.
hl1 -> no hl2 yet, still

yeah these guys rock. no reason to complain.

 

[DimitriPopov]

valve released one game, which was great, then they screwed up and capitalised on others

QWTF -> TFC -> 5 year wait for TF2
CS beta -> CS Retail
WON -> Steam (dont even try to say its a good idea)
Powerplay.... HAHA most people seem to forget about "Powerplay". look it up.
hl1 -> no hl2 yet, still

yeah these guys rock. no reason to complain.

YOU ARE CORRECT. Steam has NO good features, I mean the CS:S beta is only updated a few times a week , that sucks. Also, I havent seen the downside of Steam.


It should be noted that other games including BF:V for example are updated every couple of months , if youre effin lucky. Dont post retarded BS please.

*EDIT* Thats not to say Im TOO fond of Valve "Delayed" Software

 

[jet jaguar]

As much as I hate the missed dates(please stop making predictions or projections at least to the public Valve) and the vague non-answers(no SDK? no TF2? HL2 mp?) I have to say I am thankful that a souless, creatively defunct, fad following megacorporation like EA isn't making HL2. Can you imagine HL2 brought to you by EA? There'd be rap music on the menu screen and Gordon would be some kind of hip hop scientist dressed in baggy jeans and bling bling while Alyx would be some slutty whore in a g-string bikini. And the buggy would have 20-inch rims and a gold chain link steering wheel.

 

[StAtiC]

Valve is 'the shit'. They just need to speed it up a notch and get hl2 out. Some very creative minds at work over there.

 

[iamaelephant]

YOU ARE CORRECT. Steam has NO good features, I mean the CS:S beta is only updated a few times a week , that sucks. Also, I havent seen the downside of Steam.


It should be noted that other games including BF:V for example are updated every couple of months , if youre effin lucky. Dont post retarded BS please.

I much prefer the approach developers like EA and Infinity Ward take with updates. They update once every few months, and there is absolutely no need for another update for quite some time. Why not get it right the first time? Personally I can't stand the fact that every third time I go to play CS:S beta I have to update the damn thing. It's a huge pain in the ass and completely unnecessary. Of course I don't expect any Americans to sympathise with me, but do remember that not everyone in the world has access to 512+ kb/s connections, and updating takes way too damn long on my 128k DSL.

Infinity Ward have updated Call of Duty a total of 4 times (or 3? I'm not sure) and the game simply doesn't need to be updated again, at least not for another 4 - 6 months.. It's fine the way it is.

 

[sHm0zY]

Everyone...

STOP WHINEING

 

[joule]

Everyone...

STOP WHINEING

...Including you.

 

[Logic]

...Personally I can't stand the fact that every third time I go to play CS:S beta I have to update the damn thing. It's a huge pain in the ass and completely unnecessary. ...

I know this is a thread specifically for complaining, but I can't believe you're complaining about having to download patches for a BETA. It's not available for your gaming pleasure, it's so Valve can get the damn thing bug free. Would you rather them wait a couple of weeks between updates, have a two month beta period (at least), and THEN have Valve concentrate on getting HL2 out the door? Surely then you'd be complaining about the long wait. By forcing users to update each time they play, steam is helping Valve get through the beta testing as quickly as possible. It's a very good system, and it's HELPING YOU GET HL2 QUICKER.

There really is no pleasing some people.

 

[iamaelephant]

Actually Logic, CS:S beta is the first game I have played on Steam (I quit HLM, CS and TFC long before Steam came into the picture) so I assumed that all Steam games update this often. If not, then my mistake, because I actually quite like Steam, apart from the apparently frequent updates.

 

[Logic]

Frequent updates are to be expected in a beta test, none of the other games update anywhere near as often. How would Valve have time to work on HL2 if they were releasing patches for HL, TFC, OF etc every couple of days?

 

[NeptuneUK]

I have to say I am thankful that a souless, creatively defunct, fad following megacorporation like EA isn't making HL2. Can you imagine HL2 brought to you by EA? There'd be rap music on the menu screen and Gordon would be some kind of hip hop scientist dressed in baggy jeans and bling bling while Alyx would be some slutty whore in a g-string bikini. And the buggy would have 20-inch rims and a gold chain link steering wheel.

PMSL

 

[2o3]

Valve are a lucky game company. Take away the third party mods and they have got nothin. So I think they should have treated there fans a little better in the pr department. After all, those moders are valve fans as well. It must be weird beeing a moder for HL2. Here's your sdk lads oops no sorry we got that wrong. Ah here it is, oops wrong again. Ok this is it here it is, errm no sorry might be next week.

Why cant they just say what multiplayer is.
why cant they tell us whats the deal with TF2.
why cant they stop talkin about X800 now.
This time last year all they could talk about was 9800.

AAAHHHH that feels better.

oh and ps.

douglas Lombardi smoke a fat one.

 

[Gunner]

Why cant they just say what multiplayer is.
why cant they tell us whats the deal with TF2.
why cant they stop talkin about X800 now.
This time last year all they could talk about was 9800.

Well for starters, the multiplayer is supposed to be kept secret because they wish to surprise us. And I'm pretty sure we'll hear something about Team Fortress 2 once Halflife 2 is out: right now it's simply too early to discuss TF2 since HL2 hasn't been released yet.

And I'm sure you know Valve has some sort of partnership with ATI so it seems only logical that they would promote their latest cards: last year it was the Radeon 9800 and today it's the X800. I don't see anything wrong with it

 

[Cybernoid]

Valve are a lucky game company. Take away the third party mods and they have got nothin.

Let me guess: you've never played the original Half-Life, only Counter-Strike (which you bought as a retail version or got from KaZaa)?

 

[Rupertvdb]

Well for starters, the multiplayer is supposed to be kept secret because they wish to surprise us. And I'm pretty sure we'll hear something about Team Fortress 2 once Halflife 2 is out: right now it's simply too early to discuss TF2 since HL2 hasn't been released yet.

And I'm sure you know Valve has some sort of partnership with ATI so it seems only logical that they would promote their latest cards: last year it was the Radeon 9800 and today it's the X800. I don't see anything wrong with it

A well reasoned post...baffling how these get through the net.

On the whole HL2 release i have entered a state of extreme zen. I come here to check on updates and slate people's stupid, i play other games and it has stopped worrying me. I say people take it easy for a bit and get all stressed out and excited when the game is purchasable.

 

[UndeadScottsman]

Valve are a lucky game company. Take away the third party mods and they have got nothin.

Except for, you know, HALF-LIFE; You know, the little game that won over 50 game of the year awards? Hell, TFC was made entirely on their watch as well, which was by far the most popular HL mod until Counter-Strike struck it big.

Sincerely,
Jeremy Dunn

 

[2o3]

Let me guess: you've never played the original Half-Life, only Counter-Strike (which you bought as a retail version or got from KaZaa)?

No wrong on all. I paid for hl when it was released hate CS. Hate fanny boys like you.

 

[Radcliff]

Geez, everyone getting upset over a stupid game.

If I got upset over all the missed release dates for all the games I was waiting for (Doom 3, Warcraft 3, Duke Nukem 3D, Half Life 1, Diablo 2, etc) I'd have a freaking ulcer.

My advice: STOP WORRYING!! The more time a game takes to be released, the better it will be. And if it turns out to be horrible, then you have 2 options:

1. Delete the game off your harddrive.

2. Mod it yourself. You have just as much responsibility as a gamer as Valve does as a developer to make a game as good as it can be.

If you were a developer, you would understand what goes on behind the scenes. I am a budding mod developer, though I'm more for Far Cry modding (so far) than anything else, although I'm toying with the concept of porting my mod to HL2. Sometimes things happen to where I can't make my release dates, be it that people quit my team, something catastrophic happens to where I lose everything on my harddrive, or whatever.

And all you people that are saying "OMG HL2 IS DELAYED!! DOWN WITH VALVE!!" and start hanging Gabe Newell in effigy can just scrump off. A very old saying comes to mind:

Good things come to those who wait.

Just my 2¢.

 

[Radcliff]

Hell, TFC was made entirely on their watch as well, which was by far the most popular HL mod until Counter-Strike struck it big.

Sincerely,
Jeremy Dunn

Counterstrike was a good mod, except you could only die once, and I hated sitting in my chair twiddling my thumbs for 20 minutes cuz I sucked big time.

 

[Mrmanwithsuit]

hl2 world rulesssssssssssss

 

[CR0M]

I just have one thing to say to all of you that complain about Valve, and I hope you see it every time you click this thread.
You are ungrateful

Conversely, how can anyone BE grateful when nothing has been released yet? We owe valve as much as they owe us, It's a two way thing.

As for boxing up threads you don't like, isn't that somewhat prejudiced on a public forum? There are bound to be opinions of those who disagree with you, using your power as a moderator to decide which are 'acceptable' and which aren't is just asking for trouble.

 

[wonkers]

I give credit where credit is due. Right now there is nothing to credit but missed dates and bold face lies. Bring out a great game & I will give you the props you deserve. Put up or shut up Valve.

You can't talk trash and hype when you can't keep a pre-load date or a forum password.

 

[KagePrototype]

You can't talk trash and hype when you can't keep a pre-load date or a forum password.

lol, "talk trash"? The fans talk trash (especially in this thread), Valve doesn't. And it's not Valve who are hyping this game, it's the media and the fans. Valve aren't the ones that post on forums or write in magazines and say "Half-Life 2 will be a great game" over and over.

 

[subtlesnake]

I give credit where credit is due. Right now there is nothing to credit but missed dates and bold face lies. Bring out a great game & I will give you the props you deserve. Put up or shut up Valve.

You can't talk trash and hype when you can't keep a pre-load date or a forum password.

Stop taking every date as a personal promise. Any dates that we receive will always be estimations based on constantly changing information. And in the case of the pre-load, the estimation was fairly close.

And WTF is it with all this concern over the pre-load anyway. You get some encrypted textures and sounds to fill up your hard drive prematurely. Is that so incredibly exciting that you feel Valve have robbed you when they miss the pre-load target by a few days?

 

[Radcliff]

And WTF is it with all this concern over the pre-load anyway. You get some encrypted textures and sounds to fill up your hard drive prematurely. Is that so incredibly exciting that you feel Valve have robbed you when they miss the pre-load target by a few days?

That is exactly what many people have been trying to stress in here, but it always falls on deaf ears, you of all people should know that. These people want their game, and they want it NOW!! And if Valve does release it in its current state (chances of that are at or near zero) and it turns out to be full of bugs, then the same people will be back here complaining, saying how much HL2 sucks and they should have waited and crap like that. There's no use for rational, reasonable-thinking people to try to talk sense into a bunch of kids. It's just a waste of forum space.

You can't please everyone.

 

[iamaelephant]

And it's not Valve who are hyping this game, it's the media and the fans. Valve aren't the ones that post on forums or write in magazines and say "Half-Life 2 will be a great game" over and over.

Actually, I believe Valve are the ones that post on forums, write in magazines and say "HL2 will be a great game," over and over. And so far they havent delivered.

And an excellent point a few posts ago, how could we possibly be "ungrateful" when we haven't been given jack?

 

[KagePrototype]

Actually, I believe Valve are the ones that post on forums, write in magazines and say "HL2 will be a great game," over and over. And so far they havent delivered.

Since when do Valve say it? The writers in the magazines say it, I know that, and I know forum members say it, but I don't recall any members from Valve saying 'Half-Life 2 is going to be a great game" (or anything similar). All they do is give information and media, which others then hype up ridiculously. The only time Valve have done this is on the official HL2 website, but that's nothing compared to the coverage they get in the media and from the hardcore fans. Valve can release as many videos and screens as they want, yet if the media ignores them, who's going to care about the game?