drastic changes coastline bink vs. E3-2004

[PriNcE oF SpAcE]

I haven't seen this mentioned and I don't know if it's of any interest. but you observant people here might have noticed that the two coastline vids are actually played out in the same area. but there are some rather big map layout changes between the two.

for example the ramp Gordon drives up(and under) in the start of the bink is now gone in the E3-2004 prsentation and roughly in it's place is were the crane is located.

the area were Gordon goes up a ramp(or plank) to fight the combine(throwing a nade back at them with the manipulator) has a rather big scaffolding work(or houses elevated on poles, whatever you might call that) in the bink, and no noticeable access.

and for a point of refference, you'll notice that the bridge Gordon drives under in the E3-2004 segment is the same bridge that he jumps in the bink. there are a point in each vid that is nearly identical... in the bink when gordon is shooting at the alien gunship the first time and it's hovering over the water with the collapsed bridge in the background...and in the E3-2004 presentation when he is fighting the antlions on foot there is a short segment where he is looking towards the collapsed bridge , from where he came.

I just thought it was interesting that Valve are tweaking the levels to such a degree, "fairly close to release" .... :rolling:

 

[Raziaar]

All for the better... all for the better...

 

[Cybernoid]

On a related note, does anyone know if the HUD is final? The one in the videos seems like its just a temporary solution.

 

[PriNcE oF SpAcE]

I'm sure

I'm just wondering how long their gameplay tweaking(if that includes altering maps) will take when they make such drastic changes.

 

[Lobster]

Err in the beta last year the E3 map was specificly built for E3, the one from this years E3 is an actual game map, they may look almost the same but the maps were different along time ago, same with most of last years ones.

 

[Emptive_Release]

the chages could have been awhile back and not as recent as you think

 

[Bicka]

Well it looks fully functional and unobtrusive so its fine with me!

If your after a bigger hud, play deus ex 2 then come back and say sorry

 

[evil^milk]

Yeah, the HUD looks kind of strange, so they might fix that.

 

[slicktick]

Well i think that they may both be on the coast but not the same map, its not even the same at all anymore if they are the same and it wouldnt make sense. I think they are just 2 diffrent areas.

 

[PriNcE oF SpAcE]

Err in the beta last year the E3 map was specificly built for E3, the one from this years E3 is an actual game map, they may look almost the same but the maps were different along time ago, same with most of last years ones.

I very much doubt that...it would be waste of time to build something a complex as this specifically for E3, when what they showcased at E3 could simply use what the game had to offer...

that said I'm sure they've made alot of changes to the game and maps since then....

but it does show that the map layout have changes quite dramatically from its "original" state...and I'm curious now that they entering the tweaking phase of the game, how long it will take them to tweak a problem they find out is map-related...

 

[Cybernoid]

Well it looks fully functional and unobtrusive so its fine with me!

If your after a bigger hud, play deus ex 2 then come back and say sorry

Sure, it's functional, but it seems very crude.

 

[PriNcE oF SpAcE]

Well i think that they may both be on the coast but not the same map, its not even the same at all anymore if they are the same and it wouldnt make sense. I think they are just 2 diffrent areas.

unless Valve use a generic broken bridge the two vids are not to different places in the same environment.

it's the same environment and the action is taking place roughly the same place...but the map has changed alot.

 

[Mountain Man]

What's wrong with the HUD?

 

[Cybernoid]

What's wrong with the HUD?

It's kind of ugly. Half-Life's HUD was much nicer and polished.

 

[RTFMish]

It's kind of ugly. Half-Life's HUD was much nicer and polished.

Thats your opinion.
Personally I like the new Half-Life 2 HUD much better.

 

[Axyon]

The HUD's fine. What I really like is the new crosshair, that tells you both your current health and ammo amounts. I hope they only toggled it off for this years e3 presentations, and didn't remove it completely.

 

[Dougy]

We will never realy know....

Unless Valve release a special DVD after HL2 is completed...

Valve: behind the game

But by then no1 will care about the whats been changed becuase we will be too busy with playing HL2.

 

[ferd]

I dont dislike the new HUD either. And if you look at the hovercraft sequance, you'll find the xhair changes colour when it's on a yellowish/orange background (<--something ive been longing for in fps games for over 3 years now )

Btw, some nice things to point our attention to imo, I find it interesting

 

[NJD2003]

I would kill someone for Half-Life 2. Seriously I did.

 

[PriNcE oF SpAcE]

plz people keep to the topic...

 

[Ghost Freeman]

On a related note, does anyone know if the HUD is final? The one in the videos seems like its just a temporary solution.

Yes, its final. If you like yours with graphics and sounds, please die.

Simplicity is king.

 

[Mechagodzilla]

It could be a different place, for all we know. The only similar parts, to me, are the destroyed bridges.

 

[Shuzer]

I very much doubt that...it would be waste of time to build something a complex as this specifically for E3, when what they showcased at E3 could simply use what the game had to offer..

Hate to say it, but Lobster is 100% correct :|

Anyhow, how can anyone NOT like the new hud? The old HL hud is SO 6 years ago

 

[SubKamran]

Thats your opinion.
Personally I like the new Half-Life 2 HUD much better.

Me too. It looks the same to me, btw. I like it how it is, though it wouldn't make much difference to me. The HUD is the least important thing on my mind.

 

[Alec_85]

I very much doubt that...it would be waste of time to build something a complex as this specifically for E3

Excuse me but wasn't that EXACTLY what Bungie did with Halo 2? The biggest gamesnewspaper here in Sweden reported about H2 this month & according to them, Bungie stopped working on their game for 4 months (might be a slight exaggeration (sp?) there I don't know) so they could build that E3 movie (or whenever they first showed it...). AFAIK, the paper said it was all staged just like the first showing of HL2 (to some extent).

Not 110% certain about this info but I doubt I'm the only one who has heard this

 

[Voodoo_Chile]

The HUD is fine.It conveys the information to you quickly and easily.Why would you need anything else to get in the way and create blind spots.Also would a HEV suit ment for science expieriments have a HUD icon for when the cup holder is in use or warn you with big flashing lights that the urine bag is full.(If anyone tells you that Gordon could go through BM with all that danger and adrenilane and not stop to take a slash,they are lying)

Just as a side note.In some of the moveies in the bottom right hand corner an "Aux. Power" icon poped up.Any idea what it means?

 

[SupahFly]

The first time I saw the E3 movie I even didn't notice the hud ... which I consider being the proof that it's a very good hud.

Hud's aren't suposed to be flashy & over-detailed.

A sober & discrete hud benefits to the realism

 

[phantomdesign]

I watched borh videos. The bridge is deffinetly similar, but the buildings you metnion are diffinetly completly diffiernet parts of the map. I do distinctly remember that the magazines played through the area shown in the E3 2003 video (driving up a ramp..then later through a glass window...jump a gap in a bridge???) meaning that it wasn't cut or dramatically altered.

The bridge is deffinetly similar, however the terrain, buildings, water, sand, etc is COMPLETLY different. Models are reused ALL THE TIME in games.

These are DEFFINETLY NOT the same areas.

 

[evil^milk]

The areas might be different, but they look much better. The landscape looks so realistic it's even beautiful

 

[SubKamran]

I watched borh videos. The bridge is deffinetly similar, but the buildings you metnion are diffinetly completly diffiernet parts of the map. I do distinctly remember that the magazines played through the area shown in the E3 2003 video (driving up a ramp..then later through a glass window...jump a gap in a bridge???) meaning that it wasn't cut or dramatically altered.

The bridge is deffinetly similar, however the terrain, buildings, water, sand, etc is COMPLETLY different. Models are reused ALL THE TIME in games.

These are DEFFINETLY NOT the same areas.

Yah, that's what I was thinking. They look nothing alike...

 

[aFireInside0016]

yeah, there are tons of new things i noticed, such as how you meet Eli with that woman who is with you....its diff from the pre-alpha..

 

[Asus]

They are very different indeed but I see what he was talking about.
If you could put an overlay over this map with the one from last years E3 then the road above and the bridge area that circles the map's outer edge look like they would match perfectly. Not just models but the that part looks untouched while sitting in a completely changed landscape.

If they were the same map then that means they totally re-did the landscape.

 

[Asus]

Just so you guys can see what resemblances he was refering to.
E3 2004, he came in close the water's edge and low in on the docks.
E3 2003, he came in farther away from the water with distance between him and the ship.
Take note of that when looking at the perspective the player has between different 2003 and 2004.
This post was brought to you by the Banana Phone song.

 

[Feath]

Just so you guys can see what resemblances he was refering to.

This post was brought to you buy the Banana Phone song.

Thanks. I'm convinced that they are the same area.

I don't know why people think that they are different areas. It's been a year, and Valve didn't spend that time just sat around.

Does anyone else think that the Rollermine demo takes place after the player drives along the cliff?

 

[Asus]

I didn't come out and say they were the same. I just pointed out the resemblances.
They could easily have created a new map and yet inported many of the same landscape hills/roads/ship/bridge from the first or they could have used the same map while deleting and editing parts of the docks etc.

The entrances for 2003 and 2004 come at completely different angles in comparison with the dock.
2004 from the right.
2003 from strait on.

 

[UKchaos]

Im 100% convinced both videos show different versions of the same level.

The biggest change i noticed was the tide, its much higher now. If you pause at point where the buggy is driven under the ramp (2003 video) you can see lots of stuff in the distance. The long rail bridge with the supports trailing off into the distance (the one the buggy starts beneath) and a ship which looks like an ocean liner. I presume these changes were made to keep the action contained without the dock, rather than letting the player drive out across the deserted sea bed

Does anyone else think that the Rollermine demo takes place after the player drives along the cliff?

Yeah, it looks like it and right after that, the combine house.

 

[Cybernoid]

Yes, its final. If you like yours with graphics and sounds, please die.

Simplicity is king.

I was thinking more along the lines of Half-Life. And no, I won't die.

 

[712]

Well Asus you convinced me.

Since the codes were stolen, the graphic and level designers might have been restless and look at the maps for improvement. Isn't that a possibility?

 

[Dead-Inside]

I would kill someone for Half-Life 2. Seriously I did.

So... You don't like fat people and.. you already killed someone for HL2, before it's even out?

 

[UKchaos]

So... You don't like fat people and.. you already killed someone for HL2, before it's even out?

I guess Gabe is next on his hit list then