Doug Lombardi (Valve)

[Munro]

We interview Valve body Doug Lombardi.[br]Halflife2.net: Thank you for taking the time out to speak to us, time to
chat with you guys is always appreciated. Half-Life 2 has been out nearly eight
months now, how did you feel on the morning of November 16th when you knew that
after six years hard work, the game was finally out and being played by hundreds
of thousands of people? What was crossing through your minds the moment the game
was officially released over Steam and how was the occasion celebrated?

Doug Lombardi: It was quite a moment. Traditionally, a product
launch is a very removed occurrence ? developer sends CD to manufacturing,
weeks later the product is spotted on shelves, and then you start rummaging
around to find out what folks think of it. This release was different. At
midnight that night, we all crammed into one office and cheered as Gabe pushed
the button to officially launch what accounted for almost six years of our
professional careers. Over the following hours, we received mail from folks
telling us how they were liking the game so far, what they enjoyed the most,
etc. I?ve launched several products in my day (games and other media) but I?ve
never experienced such a connected launch.

Halflife2.net: Now you have the benefit of hindsight is there anything
regarding the development of Half-Life 2, or the actual game itself that you
would have done differently? There were a lot of people that complained that the
Half-Life 2 story didn?t contain as much depth as the original and that the
ending was rushed. It was also accused that too much was cut from the game
during its development, what is your response to such claims?

Doug Lombardi: With some 40 Game of the Year Awards -- including
sweeps at major industry award ceremonies such as GDC and the AIAS Awards at
D.I.C.E -- as well as earning the top spot for a PC game on both
metacritic.com and
gamerankings.com, it would seem we
weren?t so terribly off the mark.

<p>
Halflife2.net: Though Counter-Strike: Source is still considerably
more popular, Half-Life 2: Deathmatch was, to say the least, a welcomed addition
and a nice surprise to the community. At what point was it decided that you
would include a death match component, whose idea was it and where will it go
from here? </p>

Doug Lombardi: My friend and Venezuelan gaming genius Adrian Finol
put the early versions of HL2M together in his spare time as HL2?s
development was winding down. He brought it in one day and showed it to a
handful of other people, and a team erupted around him that day. We don?t have
any major announcements to make on HL2M today, but we will continue to
support it and have had a blast playing the community-created HL2M maps.

Halflife2.net: Steam has also caused a lot of controversy, especially
since Half-Life 2?s release in November. People?s main issues being various
bugs, connectivity issues, updates supposedly creating more bugs than they fix
and the whole issue of Steam prominently being an online tool and as such often
needing an internet connection, even with Offline Mode. Do you feel that Steam
has been received well and can you see Steam being developed further and
continued to be used for future projects?

Doug Lombardi: Absolutely. In addition to allowing us to sell our
games, it has enabled the prevention of the ?zero day? piracy problems other
major releases incurred between gold and their launch days last year. It?s
also allowed us to serve several updates directly to our customers since
launch ? including the delivery of new games such as Half-Life 2: Deathmatch
and soon Lost Coast ? and aided in our anti-cheat efforts. And in the coming
weeks we will be announcing games created by other developers that will be
made available via Steam.

Halflife2.net: What can you tell us about the upcoming episode
Half-Life 2: Aftermath?

Doug Lombardi: Aftermath begins immediately after the end of
Half-Life 2. So it is a continuation of the story. You are, once again, Gordon
Freeman. Almost immediately, you are reacquainted with Alyx and other
colleagues. Following your activities in Half-Life 2, City 17 and the Citadel
are in a dire condition.

Halflife2.net: When Day of Defeat: Source approached beta and
screenshots and movies started getting out into the internet, a lot of feedback
I?ve seen suggests that some people aren?t happy with the way that the Source
engine doesn?t seem to be using its full potential in this game. Are these
opinions an accurate representation of what the finished product will be?

Doug Lombardi: We had some similar opinions once the beta began and
that?s why we?ve been pretty quiet about DoD: Source in the past few months.
We are, however, getting ready to show everyone what we?ve been up to, and I
think folks will be quite pleased with how it's evolved.

Halflife2.net: Earlier this year there was the Half-Life 2: Deathmatch
map contest in which we've now seen some very high quality maps emerge from it.
What was it like judging the contest and did the quality of your maps exceed
your expectations?

Doug Lombardi: Days before the deadline for submissions we had
received less than a handful of entries and we were really starting to panic.
Then, the day before the deadline, the postman walked in with a gigantic tub
of CDs. The following day he delivered another -- much to our surprise and
relief. We spent the following days and weeks playing a seemingly endless
amount of great creations. And there were some heated debates between us as we
narrowed the entries to shorter and shorter lists of finalists. In the end, we
felt the contest was a great success and we?d like to thank everyone who took
the time to enter their work.

Halflife2.net: How many maps will the Lost Coast level/s take place on
and what are the system specs for being eligible for these maps? Any idea at
this time when the expansion will be released?

Doug Lombardi: Lost Coast is the HDR level. It will require at least
a 2GHz processor, 1 to 2GB of RAM, and the very latest GPU from ATI or NVIDIA.
Once Lost Coast has shipped, we will be updating the Source SDK to include
support for HDR authoring, and future Valve game releases will feature HDR
modes in the video settings for those with the horses to run it. [br]
[br]
Many have touted HDR in their engine or game. As a result, there are many
different definitions of HDR. Here?s the list of features we?re including in
our HDR spec:

• Blooming. Used by designers to create a ?blurred effect? on the
  bright edges in a scene, emulating a camera?s overexposure. This feature has
  been added to other applications and is often mistaken as a full
  implementation of HDR. </li>
• HDR Skybox. Authored by painting multiple exposures of the sky to
  allow for real-time exposure adjustment. For Lost Coast, over 16 variations
  of the HDR skybox were created.</li>
• HDR Cube Maps. Generated by the engine, using the HDR skybox in
  conjunction with the HDR light sources and HDR light maps. HDR Cube Maps
  allow for an object?s reflection to be cast in a manner that more accurately
  corresponds with the brightness of the source. </li>
• HDR Water Reflection/Refraction. Wherever the reflection of a
  light source is extremely bright, ?white hot? spots occur along with
  blooming on water. A similar effect may be witnessed when under water
  looking out toward the sun.</li>
• HDR Refraction Effect. HDR light is transmitted through
  refractive materials, and takes on relevant properties of those materials
  (as when sunlight passes through the stained glass in Lost Coast?s Monastery
  and then casts colored light). </li>
• HDR Light Maps. Generated through a radiosity process, taking
  light bounces/global illumination into account. This may be witnessed inside
  the Monastery on Lost Coast, on walls opposite the windows where the sun is
  ?blowing out? the wall. </li>
• HDR Light Sources. Uncompressed light values provide a higher
  range of light values for designers to draw from in any given scene. </li>
• Exposure Control. Enable ?eye adjustments? to allow you to see a
  different range of details in dark scenes than in overbright areas.</li>

Halflife2.net: Thank you so much for taking the time out to speak to
us. I?m sure I speak for most when I say that there is an utmost respect for you
and your games. You?ve managed to absolutely wow us with Half-Life 2 and the
Source engine and we can only look forward to your latest projects! Thank you!