Discuss Half-Life 2 Conspiracies Here!!! -My Thoughs Inside-

[Kschreck]

Ok here are some conspiracies I have come up with about Half-Life 2. One of my friends downloaded the latest beta of Half-Life 2. He told me that nothing was done, that most of the levels had no textures, no details, nothing. He also told me that the scenes that were there were ALL scripted, and that there was NO AI. I decided to pay him a visit, and he was RIGHT! He showed me the note that came with the files. It states that Valve LIED and the game was never ready to come out September 30th. The files were last edited on September 27th 3 days before the "Supposed" release. He also said that Gabe (and the rest) lied and scense are indeed scripted. He and me both think that Valve never worked on Half-Life 2 for 5 years. Did Valve lie to their fans about EVERYTHING? I hate to say it people but it does seem that way like it or not. Don't even bother getting the beta. Theres NOTHING there. Waste of time. I'm glad it was my friend who wasted their time. I would rather have Superman for the Nintendo 64 then that Half-Life 2 beta, and yes I am serious. I use to have the highest respect for Valve as a company. I looked up to them. I considered them the best. Not anymore. They lost my support and my friends. They lie about everything. Look around. Couldn't even release the rest of the E3 movies on Steam. What does that tell you? Some of the "Loyal" Valve fans still left will fully disagree with me and the rest who know the truth. For those who think I am lyeing do the research yourself and see. The Half-Life 2 demo had less abilities then Half-Life 1. It's junk. Lets move on and find the next game we think looks good. For me that would be Doom 3, Unreal Tournament 2004, and Stalker. If you do not believe me we can arrange for a private conversation where I can show and tell you more, but I will not deal with ignorant people. Also post your thoughs and conspiracies here.

 

[Chris D]

This belongs in the rumours and speculation forum

 

[Asus]

If ignorance is bliss, why are you complaining?
Half Life 2 "beta" != Half Life 2 Retail

 

[Feedbag]

How can you a)make an assesment of a game, when you don't have it yourself; b)judge a product that has no firm truth in its origins (noone can confirm what it is people have received, other than a playable chunk of hl2); c)ask this forum to talk about games like UT2003 or Doom 3, when the site is named HALFLIFE2.NET

Furthermore, I think your friend probably doesn't know what he's doing. The userbase on my website has shown it to be very playable and very full of interesting things. That being said, its not a reatil version, its not a beta version, its an UNKNOWN version.

As far as conspiracies, take it from someone who works in film and music (this kind of stuff is done all the time in both film and music): There's a very good chance the "leaked" beta is exactly that... Something that was leaked to wet the palattes of the halflife community, create intrigue, interest, and mystery, fire up the hype machine, and give a boost to the online world. Look how many websites and communities have spawned from this whole fiasco? A little more circumstansial evidence... Do you really think programmers at Valve are silly enough to use the Outlook preview window and unpatched Windows software? Did the FBI ever say anything about this? How long did it take to catch people associated with some of the biggest worms set loose on the internet? Not long I say. How much has offically been stated aside from a post to the halflife2.net message boards? Not much I say. Everyone else is talking about it. Not Valve, not Vivendi. You do know parts of Tom Green's movie (the cow milking scene) were leaked intentionally (ha, they even "threatened" to sue UGO for hosting it). So was a very racey scene from Requiem for a Dream. American Pie was "leaked" almost a year before release.

Just a few thoughts, since this is the conspiracy thread.

 

[rafiki]

WOW...that was 1 big ass sentance.hard to read.have a headache.my butt hurts.my glasses have fingerprints on them.is that a zit?.my feet are numb.
in short,another mindless opinion based on something incomplete and possibly tampered with by some fool trying to get attention .

 

[Asus]

Sites have been givien emails/notices to remove content by Valve's lawyers. That is action, that is real.

You should not judge this Half-Life 2 that is floating around as you have no idea what it was.
Was it beta?alpha?E3 demo?
Was it a current build or 2 years old...
Was it for display/show uses only or was it actually considered by Valve an uptodate version at one time?
Not to mention it is missing a lot of things (ERROR).

It is illegal for public use so you really should have no opinion/idea what Half-Life 2 has you waiting for.
Be surprised.
Are you eagerly awaiting Half-Life 2 Retail and it's experience? I am...I have not seen spoilers nor have I judged any news/rumors about release dates or the HL2 "beta".

 

[Feedbag]

Originally posted by Asus
Sites have been givien emails/notices to remove content by Valve's lawyers. That is action, that is real.

like whom?

 

[Asus]

I've seen 2 sites that have then posted the email sent to them to remove their content. I forget the sites address as i dont visit them. Inquirer.net has also...so thats 3 that I have seen.

 

[Feedbag]

edit: i'm getting off topic. I'll stop at that.

 

[Asus]

LINK

 

[Feedbag]

Originally posted by Asus
LINK

that's kind of funny that letter. he couldnt wave a DMCA stick over inquirer's head, becuase they aren't an American company.

 

[theGreenBunny]

Look at this kind of threads in a positive way: Everyone turned away by that beta = another moron less in the community!

 

[Asus]

So all the kiddies that Counterstrike brought in are being drove away? w00t They can stay with HL1/mods then.

 

[Feedbag]

Originally posted by theGreenBunny
Look at this kind of threads in a positive way: Everyone turned away by that beta = another moron less in the community!

good point:

att'n thread starter: the game you played was a FINAL RETAIL version. since it sucks you won't have to actually buy it. Enjoy doom 3.

 

[Keeson]

Some of you seem to miss the point.

Valve is duping us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you look at all the evidence with a critical eye you will know this to be true. This game won't be out in 2003. This game also won't be out in 2004 either.

 

[Asus]

Originally posted by Asus
If ignorance is bliss, why are you complaining?

 

[MultiVaC]

My god. No wonder I never read this board anymore.

 

[Saltpeter]

Yeah! And Gabe Newell killed Kennedy!

It's hilarious that there's still people judging the final build of the game by a beta that's even older than the E3 demo...I thought those people were already enlightened by now.

 

[jameth]

Yeah! And Gabe Newell killed Kennedy!

come to think of it i do remember seeing a 'large' figure on the grassy nole

edit: probably spelt nole wrong

 

[ComradeBadger]

Originally posted by Keeson
Some of you seem to miss the point.

Valve is duping us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you look at all the evidence with a critical eye you will know this to be true. This game won't be out in 2003. This game also won't be out in 2004 either.

Oh dear.... some people eh...

 

[Brian Damage]

Never listen to someone who emits seventeen "!"s.

 

[Asus]

Originally posted by Brian Damage
Never listen to someone who emits seventeen "!"s.

Thats only because they are desperate and well....crazy.

If you look at it with a critical eye you're going to be wrong.

 

[Keeson]

Originally posted by Brian Damage
Never listen to someone who emits seventeen "!"s.

You should listen to me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:flame:

There is no A.I.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A.I. is a hard programming problem. The A.I. "engine" with built in scripted sequences as described by Valve coder Jay Stelly is a very challenging coding problem and the whole game depends on it (see the 40 minute Gamespot developer interview video to understand what I am referring to)

When this fabled HL2 A.I. is not finished it holds up the whole game development. The level designers build and design levels around the A.I., the animators animate models or make scripted sequences based on what the A.I. can do. The playtesters sit around idle unable to test stuff.

When the A.I. system is broke it F**** things up real good. The game development can slip months very easily. Do you know how many HL2 mods looked cool but never saw the light of day because the mod coders couldn't get the basic gameplay mechanics that they dreamed up to work right. These mods had levels, textures, art, cool models but no actual working gameplay!!!!! Dreaming stuff up is easy, coding it to actually work is hard. Really, really hard......

Valve has set a very high bar with regards to their A.I. / Gameplay for HL2. Sure the game designers at Valve can dream up all kinds of cool stuff for HL2, they can even dream up semi-fake E3 demos to show us what it ***might*** be like. But can they deliver.

They also dreamed up all kinds of cool stuff for HL1 but it got cut from HL1 cause they couldn't get it the work in a timely manner!!!! Remember the Alien ecosystem that got cut, also that yellow mechanical robot in the opening HL1 sequence was supposed to be driveable! Remember the sign on a lab door that reads "Dr. Gabe Newell, Chaos Theory", it there for reasons that go back to before HL1 even shipped. Do you know what the signifigance of that sign is? -- I do!!! I've been following Halflife for a long time.

Even if that leaked beta was from January, it just doesn't work well enough to get the game ready by Sept 30 or holidays 2003 or even all of 2004!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Remember Teamfortress 2, there was magazine articles with cool pictures just like we got for HL2. I read those articles!!!! I've even got a TF2 gameplay movie on my harddrive, just like i've got HL2 movies. TF2 won game of the show at E3 1999!!! Just like HL2 won game of the show for E3 2003!!!

We have no Teamfortress 2 people!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The whole Sept 30 fiasco was just a ploy to pull 6 million dollars out of ATI to market video cards. Valve probably needs this money to pay for the spiralling development costs HL2. "No comment on multiplayer" is a code word for "We don't actually have multiplayer yet"

The game is going to come out but not for a lot longer than most of you would like!!!!!!!!!


If this game comes out in 2003, I will dress up like Fragmaster (twinkies in hand) and hand out free copies of HL2!! :bounce:

HL2 - April 2005 mark your calendars!!!!!!!!

 

[Feedbag]

The problem with your argument is you offer now concrete evidence why it couldnt be ready in 2004. You just say it couldn't be.

 

[qckbeam]

Wow, Keeson, you really don't know what the hell you are talking about do you?

Half-Life 2 has AI, really great AI actually. I don't know why you think otherwise since you don't really give any reasons or evidence to back up your claims. Your right, AI is a tough thing to program. Obviously Valve is a company more than capable of pulling off convincing AI though, just look at HL1, not to mention the HL2 beta (I guess you forgot that the HL2 beta had AI which worked very well).

What evidence do you have to prove the E3 demos were fake. None? I thought so. Well I have played them and I can say with confidence that it wasn't all scripted fake stuff. There were scripted sequences in the E3 levels, but the AI in levels like bugbait was working on it's own (quite well I might add). If you're talking about Traptown, that was made to show off physics, not advanced AI. Hell, Valve even said that the AI was given hints in the traptown level so they would be in good places to show of the physics, so don't go off saying they lied to you.

Trust me, I have played the beta, the AI is fully operational, and it's really damn good. I suggest playing one of the levels from the actual game (not E3 stuff). It shows off some great AI.

I don't know what the **** your talking about with you claims that there is no TF2. Did you just pull that out of your ass? I can't even argue with you about it since you didn't post ANYTHING to back yourself up.

Please, don't contribute trash to these boards. If you're going to post claims like that, at least back yourself up. Also, please, it's painfully obvious you have NO idea what it takes to make a game, so don't speak like you are some kind of expert on it, that stuff about AI made you look stupid.

 

[Keeson]

Originally posted by qckbeam
Wow, Keeson, you really don't know what the hell you are talking about do you?

Well this is the rumors and speculation forum, I'm just doing what comes natural here. :cheese:

Originally posted by qckbeam
Half-Life 2 has AI, really great AI actually. I don't know why you think otherwise since you don't really give any reasons or evidence to back up your claims. Your right, AI is a tough thing to program. Obviously Valve is a company more than capable of pulling off convincing AI though, just look at HL1, not to mention the HL2 beta (I guess you forgot that the HL2 beta had AI which worked very well).

I didn't really mean there was no A.I., merely that it was not finished and that is was holding up development of the game. The A.I. system Valve wants to implement for HL2 is more complex that HL1. They are combining scripted sequences together with combat A.I. with an understanding of physics and the contextual surroundings of specific levels. The A.I. is more connected to other stuff like the environment and physics. So its very hard programming problem and one which Valve didn't appear to have fully solved at E3. You agree above that it is hard to program.

When finished I am sure it will be amazing I am not denying that there will be A.I.

The two points I am trying to get across in my post above are:

1) The game will be delayed for a while. I speculate to 2005 because of unfinished A.I. /gameplay issues and the hacker crap :x

2) The Sept 30 date was set to build anticipation for the game to tie in with a future marketing deal to sell video cards (ultimately ATI). This date was never realistic, the game was always going to be delayed. Valve saw an opportunity to anounce their game and score some easy money. Nobody get hurts its only a game afterall. People believe the game is coming soon, ATI sells a crapload of cards and has a great quarter, investors are happy, Valve is happy they get 6 million to plow into HL2 development.

The only unhappy one are the fans who get to stare blankly at their HL2 coupons from the ATI video card box (but wait !! :bounce: You get Valve "Premier Pack" for free as a consolation prize. Gee, thanks Valve, like I'm one of the 5 people that doesn't already own HL1)

Originally posted by qckbeam
What evidence do you have to prove the E3 demos were fake. None? I thought so. Well I have played them and I can say with confidence that it wasn't all scripted fake stuff. There were scripted sequences in the E3 levels, but the AI in levels like bugbait was working on it's own (quite well I might add). If you're talking about Traptown, that was made to show off physics, not advanced AI. Hell, Valve even said that the AI was given hints in the traptown level so they would be in good places to show of the physics, so don't go off saying they lied to you.

Well you just admitted that Valve gave hints where the soldiers should stand to get knocked over by the swinging girder (another way of saying it was fake)

Obviously there is some amazing talent working at Valve. The character facial animation (Ken Birdwell), the physics (Jay Stelly), some amazing models, great art/textures. They didn't have to fake any of that at E3.

What they did fake was having us believe the game is 90% done coming out Sept 30th when the reality is that it is 50%. They needed us to believe it is 90% done so we will feel an overwhelming urge to buy an ATI video card.

On Sept. 12 we did receive an incentive to increase our urge to buy an ATI video card, a movie was released from Valve's Doug Lombardi.

The missing E3 videos??? Nope!!! :flame:

We get a High Dynamic Rendering (HDR) video that also shows cool bump/specular mapped textures/antlion skin. This was a tie in with the ATI shader days where Valve released all those benchmarks show how ATI cards own when running HL2. The only video cards that can do HDR are - you guessed it - ATI video cards (Nvidia can't at least not yet)

They wanted us to run out and buy ATI video cards to play HL2 on Sept 30. (of we all know now that 2 weeks later they annouced the "delay")

Originally posted by qckbeam
Trust me, I have played the beta, the AI is fully operational, and it's really damn good. I suggest playing one of the levels from the actual game (not E3 stuff). It shows off some great AI.

I won't deny that the actual shipping games A.I. will be amazing. My point again is that the A.I. system/engine was far from finished not that they A.I. will be crap when the game is finished. If they can accomplish what they have talked about/described in their interviews then the game will be incredible.

Originally posted by qckbeam
I don't know what the **** your talking about with you claims that there is no TF2. Did you just pull that out of your ass? I can't even argue with you about it since you didn't post ANYTHING to back yourself up.

Sheesh!!!! I never claimed there was no TF2!!!!!!!!!

I was illiustrating a parallel between the development of TF2 and HL2. i.e. the games were hyped with anticipated release dates/schedule but were delayed and as of right now still remain in development. This doesn't mean they don't exist, they will come out some day. My point is Valve has made us wait in the past and it could happen again with HL2!!!!!!!!! (judging by TF2 it could be years before HL2 ships)

Originally posted by qckbeam
Please, don't contribute trash to these boards. If you're going to post claims like that, at least back yourself up. Also, please, it's painfully obvious you have NO idea what it takes to make a game, so don't speak like you are some kind of expert on it, that stuff about AI made you look stupid.

Ok... it appears as though I have hit a nerve. By your sig you were planning a HL2 mod, so obviously HL2 is not just another game to you.

I understand that HL2 is most beloved by the people here. Everybody here wanted this game on Sept 30 including me. For the longest time I wanted to believe the hype that it would in fact arrive on Sept. 30. I was in denial about all the warning signs that is would be delayed, but not anymore.

I think the game is going to be delayed a long time and that if I make that opinion known here I will be flamed from here to the next universe and by people from a dozen different nationalities. However I am a realistic, logical person - I believe things that a actually can see or feel. Valve has not convinced me that HL2 is real enough to ship anytime in 2004. If you want to flame me at least tell me what evidence is there that the game ***will*** ship in 2003 or 2004??? :cheese:

As the months pass, and no HL2 game appears on store shelves, people will growth to accept the inevitable truth. I believe it will ship in 2005. The hacker breakin probably pushed it to 2004 and the fact that the game is not finished pushes it to 2005. Valve is still silent, the first test will be holidays 2003. Will they pass??? Will the game ship???

If I am wrong about HL2, I am wrong and I accept that, but the only way to know for sure is to wait and see.

 

[ComradeBadger]

qckbeam was the person who first validated the Source code. He compiled it, and was the first to see it was real. He's seen the AI, and therefore, I'd be more inclined to listen to him, since he's a programmer on the team that I lead...

Theres no evidence to support your opinion... at all.... but we will have to wait and see