Doug Lombardi's Estimated HL2 Release Date

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DrunkPanda said:
^ i agree. it's dishonest what they are doing "we plan on a mid summer release" miss the date by 2 months, oh we said we PLAN on releasing it then, we never said that was final. they should just say we have no ****ing clue when this game will be out so don't get mad at us if it comes out sometime in 2006. if they said something along those lines last year, none of the people that got pissed about the sept 30 release delay would have been angry.
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People have to understand that this is the game development business, any date you set could be completely washed away in a matter of hours no matter what stage in the project you might be. Almost every game is delayed, all of these developers no matter how intelligent and experienced they are can try to give what they believe will be a reasonable deadline. However they are almost always wrong. HL2 has had more pitfalls than most games and the fact that it is such a huge project with so much hype surrounding it automatically means that if the developers are to ensure it lives up to the hype then work that might not have been planned for may have to be done, and that means delays.

This is not like writting and essay where you have a set deadline and it is easy to know how long it will take to write, writting a major computer program has far too many variables to take into account that can cause a delay. Some developers get lucky and can release a game that lives up to their expectations and did not require a delay but those games are rare. The trick for games is to know when to announce what your planned deadline is to the public. Don't announce anything and people are pissed off because they want you to tell them, announce it at a time that the public can be satisfied with but is too early to know for certain that the deadline can be met will often result in the problem that HL2 has had with its fans. Plus often the developers don't even have a choice as it is the publisher that will announce the date whether the developer wants it announced or not.

Unless you are a game developer that has had experience creating a major game and found it easy to know when your game would be done and could say for certain how long it will be then you really shouldn't be complaining since you know basically nothing about the whole process. Now I am not saying that I have had any experience, this is all just based on what bits and pieces of information I have gleaned from observing the development of games.
 
I'm happy if the game goes GOLD sometime in august, and hits shelves september
 
The Mullinator said:
People have to understand that this is the game development business, any date you set could be completely washed away in a matter of hours no matter what stage in the project you might be. Almost every game is delayed, all of these developers no matter how intelligent and experienced they are can try to give what they believe will be a reasonable deadline. However they are almost always wrong. HL2 has had more pitfalls than most games and the fact that it is such a huge project with so much hype surrounding it automatically means that if the developers are to ensure it lives up to the hype then work that might not have been planned for may have to be done, and that means delays.

This is not like writting and essay where you have a set deadline and it is easy to know how long it will take to write, writting a major computer program has far too many variables to take into account that can cause a delay. Some developers get lucky and can release a game that lives up to their expectations and did not require a delay but those games are rare. The trick for games is to know when to announce what your planned deadline is to the public. Don't announce anything and people are pissed off because they want you to tell them, announce it at a time that the public can be satisfied with but is too early to know for certain that the deadline can be met will often result in the problem that HL2 has had with its fans. Plus often the developers don't even have a choice as it is the publisher that will announce the date whether the developer wants it announced or not.

Unless you are a game developer that has had experience creating a major game and found it easy to know when your game would be done and could say for certain how long it will be then you really shouldn't be complaining since you know basically nothing about the whole process. Now I am not saying that I have had any experience, this is all just based on what bits and pieces of information I have gleaned from observing the development of games.
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a truely intuitive observation , id say everyone should think about it before they complain.
 
I'm hoping Valve is not going to release mid-late Sept because I have school. It would piss me off to start school without HL2 in my hands. ARGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!
 
haha! well look on the brightside. im out of school, so ill get to enjoy hl2 to its fullest!
 
I can't wait to play the game!

Like everyone else, I am waiting and getting ready to play half-life 2 on my PC. Only a month and a few more weeks and the game will be here for all to play. I will be watching G4TechTV's award show to see some gameplay video of HL2 and to get reaction of the game from the people who played the game. :bounce:

I wonder after the game comes out will anyone come back to all of the HL2 fan websites. I mean after all the only reason most of us are here is because of the game and wanting to hear more news about it and its release date and after that I doubt if people will come back and use these forums like they are being used now. Maybe for MODs of the game but I think the end of most of these HL2 fans sites is close. :borg:
 
But even if the game seemed ready for say a September 27 release, what is preventing them from releasing it on the 30th? They would just think "well the fan d00ds have already waited for an extra year so what does three or so days mean anyway?" and they would think it's funny how ironic the actual release in the 30th would be. But Vivendi and Valve would be the only ones who think it's funny.
 
clarky003 said:
a truely intuitive observation , id say everyone should think about it before they complain.
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i DID think before i complained. i thought about how valve has missed 4 release date targets in the last year and i thought about how MOST developers don't wait until a couple of weeks before the scheduled release date to announce a huge delay and i also thought how MOST developers don't have their release delayed a full year passed the initial release date. and are you telling me the customers don't have a right to complain? cuz if that's what you are saying maybe YOU should think before you criticize others
 
I dont think they want to wait till late september, If I could put my money on it, id bet they already talked about how they NEED to get it out before sept 30 as just a personal goal because of the crazyness it would cause if they didnt.
 
after this long a delay they better come up with something good : :|
 
I hope this isn't TF2 again. That really made me sad. August 28th. January 1st. January 31st. January 31st of the next year. Jan-neverheardofagain.

But hooray! I like estimates. They make math easy.
 
we need to look on the brightside, no matter what its coming years before duke nukem forever :p
 
I personally think Vivendi desperately needs to release this game (for many reasons). I would say they give it a couple days play test and then call it gold. Valve has pretty much bug tested this game for close to a year (what with the delays and all), and I'm willing to bet that Vivendi would push for the release as soon as possible. I'm thinking a release in late August or early September.
 
Pi Mu Rho said:
Release Candidate isn't the same as going gold. There may be several release candidates before it's deemed as finished.
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but HL1's first RC was accepted for gold... and HL2 has been "done" for several months now, with polishing and bugfixing (that most developers save for post-RC1) being done... EDIT: AAAAND im sure Vivendi knows the untold millions they stand to make from this game, they wont want to hold it off...[/edit]

i think late august...
 
i agree... judging from feedback from valve emails... all theyve been doing in the last few weeks is testing and fixing bugs.... i think the first RC they send to vivendi will go gold.

but it all depends on when they get the RC to vivendi... vivendi have a sack full of reasons to work their tits off getting the game pressed and distributed

either way, its coming.... within 2 months!
 
DrunkPanda said:
i DID think before i complained. i thought about how valve has missed 4 release date targets in the last year and i thought about how MOST developers don't wait until a couple of weeks before the scheduled release date to announce a huge delay and i also thought how MOST developers don't have their release delayed a full year passed the initial release date. and are you telling me the customers don't have a right to complain? cuz if that's what you are saying maybe YOU should think before you criticize others
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I agree the missed dates are annoying but they dont owe you anything its not like you bought the game and then they dicked ya.
 
Well we can assume from the information that there will be a mid-late September release...but Doom3 will hold me off for now.
 
Phrozen Ice said:
I agree the missed dates are annoying but they dont owe you anything its not like you bought the game and then they dicked ya.
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actually thats true for those who bought hl2 bundled with 9600xt and 9800xt
 
poseyjmac said:
actually thats true for those who bought hl2 bundled with 9600xt and 9800xt
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Those companies could easily argue that what was bundled can be considered free.

Another thing I find funny is just why so many people complain, what do you hope to gain from it? Valve isn't going to release the game early just because you don't like their PR, it is futile to complain about such a thing especially after almost a year of constantly doing it. Just accept that the game was delayed and move on with it. Valve has made PR mistakes in the past but does that mean that Valve are suddenly evil pathological liars that deserve to have people hating them for the rest of the companies life? People make mistakes, companies make mistakes, you shouldn't blame people for their mistakes as it only makes you look like someone who isn't very understanding. People should however pay for their mistakes though, and Valve is on its way to doing that, as long as HL2 is the great game that we all hope it will be then Valve will have paid for their mistakes.

Now stop being mad at them and get on with your life and anticipation for HL2.
 
meh, i just wanna play it...

iT's been five years i'm waiting for HL2, i guess im some kind of veteran... :borg:
 
poseyjmac said:
actually thats true for those who bought hl2 bundled with 9600xt and 9800xt
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Wrong. ATI owes you, not Valve.
(I have one of those coupons BTW.)
 
I really need to buy a new graphics card soon. Right now I have the dreadful GeForce4 MX 440 :eek:
I'll probably get a Radeon 9800pro :cheers:
 
I got the Geforce4 mx440, came with this pc (which is my mothers... good ol' Dixons catering for that market), i ordered my PC tonight, with a 9800 Pro, a bargain!
 
"Mid August-Late September" crap again. I could've guessed these dates with a wristwatch up my ***. (Guess THAT movie)
 
Ahnteis said:
Wrong. ATI owes you, not Valve.
(I have one of those coupons BTW.)
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ATI can never deliver you halflife2 if valve doesn't finish it, so it is partially their fault.
 
DO NOT TAKE ANYTHING THAT IS RUN BY ANDY HODGES SERIOUSLY
What they say
What they think

NOTHING
 
SilentDark said:
DO NOT TAKE ANYTHING THAT IS RUN BY ANDY HODGES SERIOUSLY
What they say
What they think

NOTHING
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... And don't assume this is fake just because of Andy Hodges. This information is either genuine or not genuine, and there are ways of easily proving it correct or not and Andy knows this. So if he is lying about it then he will easily be proven wrong, but more likely he isn't lying and you are going to end up looking bad because you jumped to conclusions.
 
Shuzer said:
If HL2 is released September 30th, everyone and their dog will be pissed off to no end.

Don't ressurect that date, it's like spitting in gamers faces!
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So True, I Pity VAVLe if they do. The uproar will be scary.
 
Pitbul said:
So True, I Pity VAVLe if they do. The uproar will be scary.
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and while everyones uproaring, ill be buying halflife2 and playing it! :naughty: :naughty: :naughty: :naughty: :naughty:
 
poseyjmac said:
and while everyones uproaring, ill be buying halflife2 and playing it! :naughty: :naughty: :naughty: :naughty: :naughty:
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:D

I actually wouldn't mind a September 30th release. You know what I would mind? An "undisclosed october" release. :frown:
 
poseyjmac said:
you are so wise! :dork: ;)
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You're like a miniature buddha, covered in hair.

...

*awkward moment*

Anyway, none of this will matter once the game comes out. No one will care about the delays.
 
I think a September release would be good. It's only around 2 weeks left until school starts for a lot of people here. And I'm pretty darn sure that school will at least keep me occupied (I'm only going there for 1 term, maybe 2) for a few weeks. Heck I'll probably not even have time to visit these boards as much. Maybe not even to play the game once it's released ;)

And as many have said, A lot of us will be playing CS:S Beta throughout most of August (I guess). And then we have D3 of course. I'm not worried that I won't have anything to do until it is released. But considering school, I almost wish I had some more free time ahead :)
 
As long as we keep approaching the end of July, and they keep saying "August RC...release sometime September" than will have some faith that all is going okay.

The good news is over the next couple weeks we SHOULD see things start to happen if these dates are accurate at all.

If not...well....more patience.

I can certainly live with a Sept date...even Sept 30th, although some will complain "that's not summer! They lied again!" :p
 
That's spitting in our faces. If it comes out the 29 or 30 I will take that as an insult. Plain and simple.
 
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