Episode 1 Feedback and suggestions!

Samon said:
I cannot believe people are complaining about the length. If you are on of these people, then you are an idiot.
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Look at the bright side, ep2 is supposedly going to be about 2x as long :)


One that that all of these games need is better tactical AI. The AI needs to employ real military stratgies, like covering fire and flanking. The AI needs to stop charging and find good defensive positions and stay there and then have other units move to try and eliminate you. This is really the biggest thing that needs to happen for me.
 
Solaris said:
Hasan, it's your own fault for playing the game first time with commentery on.
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I guess you're right :bonce:
 
Well, I loved the amount of action, the cliffhanger ending, the Episode Two trailer, Dr. Kleiner on the moniters (he was funny... XD), the Zombines, and the jokes Alyx made. My only complaints about it are that I was expecting more new enemies (like the crab and motar Synths, not to mention we barely got to fight any Stalkers...), I wanted to have more of Dr. Breen in there (since he's awesome), and I wish G-Man had more than one line and appearence... Still, great game overall. Can't wait till Episode Two! :D

Edit: Oh, and I also kinda wished you'd get to fight a Combine Advisor... XP
 
Hmmm. LOVED the two first chapters (beautiful), but not the others (mostly in the dark : I think the maps were too ugly to be shown), except for the ending. Expected new weapons, more new enemies, even though zombine was cool (why aren't there any bullsquids, houndeyes, ichtiosaurs, synths in HL2 ?) and more plot details ! Length is not important, if the quality is there : it is not really an "add-on" like Opposing Force was...
 
my only complaints are

the last battle with the strider needed some more upping of the ante. It was just like any other strider fight only this time it attempts to crush you by blasting a piece of cover back at you.

Maybe if it was 2, maybe 3 striders. Or a strider and a gunship. Or maybe just a running battle. Something to make you go "oh shit!"

I was really looking towards fighting the oranged eyed green camo combine and getting it as a model for deathmatch

Was hoping to fight me some mortar and crab synths

Also was hoping to use alyx's kick ass gun at some point.

other than that i had fun. I loved the citadel especially in the ending
 
mbuchkre said:
t is not really an "add-on" like Opposing Force was...
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Because that's not what it set out to be. It's far more practical than Opposing force ever was.
 
Just finished myself. I must say pretty sweet. Just wish they would have give a little hint as to what is next. Maybe a cust scene to give a us a hint on the message.
 
I really enjoyed having Alyx with me, and I found myself being quite protective of her, it gave an interesting change of play.

The length was what i expected, and the whole opening intro and some other parts of the game made me feel almost as if i was within a movie. I really enjoyed it. The only dislike I have is that now I have to wait for episode 2. RAWR!
 
The wmv file doesn't work on my PC. I don't think I can support the resolution :(
 
I liked it. Overall, it was well worth my twenty bucks and the effort of searching stores for the retail version (and failing) and finally buying it off steam. Alyx was an amazing character, and I really, really felt empathy for her. The pacing was great for the most part, except at the end, and most of the puzzles were entertaining. (Exception: falling debris in the Citadel and Escort the Proles=doubleplusungood.)

I only have three major problems.

1. Lack of weapons. I've felt that HL2's arsenal was a little weak, especially compared to HL1's. A couple of extra guns would have gone a long way towards making me happier with E1. That OICW-style gun from the HL2 previews, Alyx's autopistol, and the Combine Sniper Rifle would have been especially appreciated.
2. Lack of new enemies. I was led to believe that we'd see the Crab and Mortar synths (seen in the Citadel pod ride in HL2) in action. Alas, not. The only really new bad guy we got was the Zombine (which I must admit was pretty neat and provided a new challenge.)
3. Length/Pacing. It should either have been longer, or paced differently. The end felt very abrupt. This is perhaps because I slaughtered plenty of Striders in Vanilla HL2, so I didn't really consider another Strider to be a boss... until I saw the ending, but either way, I really expected it to go on a little longer.

A more minor complaint is that they still haven't fixed the inaccuracy of the MP7 and Pulse Rifle. Though it does seem better now, more like 'miss a person standing ten feet away' compared to the old 'miss a barn when you're touching the barrel to the barn's broadest side.' :p

I've got two suggestions for Valve for E2, on the off chance they read this:

1. Add another weapon. Yes, the Tau cannon (and I mean the original HL1 one, not the watered down one we have on the Buggy :p) is a good choice.

2. Make it so that, once all four (or three, or however many) episodes are released and a customer owns them all, they can play the whole HL2 Episodic Saga from start to finish without having to leave the game. (IE the present E1 ending would lead directly into E2, such that the credits won't roll but rather it will load like just another level and the player will continue on.)
 
Cpl_Facehugger said:
1. Lack of weapons. I've felt that HL2's arsenal was a little weak, especially compared to HL1's. A couple of extra guns would have gone a long way towards making me happier with E1. That OICW-style gun from the HL2 previews, Alyx's autopistol, and the Combine Sniper Rifle would have been especially appreciated.
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This is where I disagree. I found myself not wanting new weapons because they simply weren't needed - it's not some expansion pack, it's an episode. Combine sniper rifle? Pretty generic considering you've got the Crossbow. OICW? Cut in real life. Alyx's pistol? Not ours. :p

There was just no need. Everything was more practical. For instance the rollermines, or Alyx herself.
 
Oh an opinion thread ok here goes :)


Positive:
  • Price wise it was ok, wouldn't mind if it would cost less of course but money wise it was better spend than HL2.
  • The level design is better because you no longer have the very long levels like you had in HL2 (the boat & car level as you of course know).
  • It was nice to have Alyx on your side, so good points for character
  • design. Performance was also very smooth.

Negative:
  • Story wise nothing really happend, they seem to have taken the LOST route, creating more questions than answers.
  • The loading of a new area still hits you by surprise. One minute your walking down the aisle and then *boom* loading, maybe they should give a headsup of some sort.
  • The ending is pretty much the same as HL2, so again a big cliffhanger. Seriously VALVe we would buy the next one too if you didn't end with a cliffhanger. The story is interesting enough by itself no need for cliffhangers :)

Another negative though not gameplay related is that next time when the game is finished I wouldn't want to wait for it to be unlocked. Especially since I had the retail version (anyone noticed the remarkable absence of the EA logo) a day before (and preloaders even sooner) let us play when it's finished please :)

So enjoyable game.
 
azumi said:
The last strider was HARD! :D I played it on easy and man I had to fight! This strider seemed to be more developed than the ones we saw in HL2, it had some blue light thingy going on and you don't wanna get hit by that ;)
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Oh man, you don't wanna play on Hard...
 
it was better than Half life 2 in almost all areas apart from story (a fairly major area) and length.

i wish theyd STOP BEING GREEDY WITH SOME ANSWERS. for gods sake can we know something about what this is all about?
 
We got answers to -
What happens to Breen.
What happens to Citadel.
How Gordon and Alyx escape.
 
Samon said:
I cannot believe people are complaining about the length. If you are on of these people, then you are an idiot.
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Well, I don't feel like an idiot when I say the game was to short. The game was extraordinary fantastic in all ways, but it just felt a little sad that we all waited for 1.5 year for 2-3 hour game... right?

I mean, they really gotta get Episode Two out in a period of 5-6 months if they gonna keep up the interest. I would recommend Valve to make the next episode 2-3 hours longer, because Episode One ended to fast compared to how long we've waited for it. I don't want to wait one year for another 2-3 hours, then I think the whole episodic release-system has failed. Anyone know the estimated time of the Episode Two release btw?

I think complaining on the lenght is the only thing one can do when the gameplay itself was thrilling all the way through. Samon, didn't you actually feel like it was to short?
 
Samon said:
I cannot believe people are complaining about the length. If you are on of these people, then you are an idiot.
Click to expand...

Well, I don't feel like an idiot when I say the game was to short. The game was extraordinary fantastic in all ways, but it just felt a little sad that we all waited for 1.5 year for 2-3 hour game... right?

I mean, they really gotta get Episode Two out in a period of 5-6 months if they gonna keep up the interest. I would recommend Valve to make the next episode 2-3 hours longer, because Episode One ended to fast compared to how long we've waited for it. I don't want to wait one year for another 2-3 hours, then I think the whole episodic release-system has failed. Anyone know the estimated time of the Episode Two release btw?

I think complaining on the lenght is the only thing one can do when the gameplay itself was thrilling all the way through. Samon, didn't you actually feel like it was to short?
 
Finished it today on Hard (of course ;))

Overall, I thought it was excellent. It has everything that made HL2 great and more. I am now in full support of episodic development. While the play time is shorter for the episodes, it does seem that there is a higher degree of quality - more interactions, dialogue, animations, sequences. Everything seemed to step up a notch in terms of game design.

Well done, Valve. I'm a very happy gamer.
 
Samon said:
This is where I disagree. I found myself not wanting new weapons because they simply weren't needed - it's not some expansion pack, it's an episode.
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I can understand that.

Combine sniper rifle? Pretty generic considering you've got the Crossbow.
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True, but I always find it helpful to have another long-range weapon at my disposal. Heck, even Alyx got to use one, so why not Gordon? :p

Actually, I'd be happy if it was simply a fixed emplacement, ala the Combine LMGs. Let Gordon cover Alyx with one of those babies for a change! :)

OICW? Cut in real life.
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Yeah, hence why I said styled. I don't want the RL OICW, I want an HL equivelent... because while I love the pulse rifle, it's rediculously low ammunition count and fairly low accuracy at anything but short range is very saddening. I mean, I can understand an SMG being that inaccurate (though being based on the MP7, it probably shouldn't be), but assault rifles really shouldn't have such incredible inaccuracy.

Given that E2 looks like it's going to be in a wide open forest, I think that Valve will either have to fix the accuracy problem of the pulse rifle, or introduce a new AR-equivelent, because the pulse rifle is simply impotent at long range.

Either pleases me. :p

Alyx's pistol? Not ours. :p
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She couldn't let us borrow it when she was manning all those fixed guns? :p

There was just no need. Everything was more practical. For instance the rollermines, or Alyx herself.
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I suppose I can understand your sentiments. Perhaps I've been looking at this the wrong way, as a pseudo-expansion pack rather then a very high quality story-related map pack with a few snazzy engine/content additions.
 
Cpl_Facehugger said:
I suppose I can understand your sentiments. Perhaps I've been looking at this the wrong way, as a pseudo-expansion pack rather then a very high quality story-related map pack with a few snazzy engine/content additions.
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Yeah, I feel alot of people look at Episode 1 the wrong. It's not some Opposing force, you know? Also, you are absolutely right - the pulse rifle is pretty inaccurate, but I find it extremely useful if you fire really short burts. And yeah, more ammo for it would be nice because it's a very meaty weapon that's fun to use.

Other than that, I'm satisfied with HL2's arensal.
 
i was hoping to use the combine sniper rifle :p
fantastic episode nontheless
 
OK, I commented on the game play, but on the episodic-release strategy.

Length: I think the length of the episode is justified. It took me 7 hours to complete the game, in easy mode. I usually take my time to look around, listen to NPCs, nagivate dark areas, etc.
It seems however, that alot of "pro" players just rush in as fast as possible without looking around or bothering to listen to NPC dialoge, so .. I dunno. I found the length to be OK, but keep in mind I'm not a hard-core gamer.

Content: It seems to me that doing an episodic development allows Valve to focus on a relatively smaller game, thus they can make it better than if they had to make a long game (like HL2). I think that's why EP1 was more entertaining.

so I'm all for the Episodic release strategy!
 
was all good except it didnt answer anything. imo, for the mythology to go forward we need some answers. i hope they dont drag it out for every penny its worth...
 
Just finished the game

I absolutely loved HL1 and HL2 and was amazed at the length of the gameplay, graphics, ingenuity and diversity.

I was a little surprised at the episodic approach, I had not really been looking for info on the next installment. My gut reaction when I first started playing it was that they changed the way things attacked. In the other episodes, you rarely had more than one direction to look for things attacking you - this one almost always has them coming at you from different directions at once. This did give more challenge to the game, but I personally prefer the other way.

The graphics were super, but then they always were. I found that the area loads were a little faster in this version, but they still took some time to load. I did not experience any stuttering of the game in this version - great! Sometimes in HL1 and HL2 it was really bad.

Overall, very pleased - price was reasonable - can't wait for the next installment.
 
the only bad thing about this awsome game is they said for the **average gamer** it should take about 6 hours, well im not the best gamer, but not horrible and it took me about 4.5-5 hours, so hopefully the next episode will have 6-7 hours, other than that it was a truly amazing game, cant wait for episode 2
 
About the weapons - I certainly hope the arsenal is altered or expanded in future episodes, and from Dr. Kleiner's speech, it seems like this will be the case. I know it didn't make much sense for new weapons to suddenly appear in this ep given when and where it took place, but I don't think I'd like to go two or three more episodes with the same old weapons.
 
Took me about 6 hours on Hard. I'm going back to listen to commentary for sure.
 
Episode 1 was pretty close to a perfect continuation of the HL2 story line. The only part that kinda got on my nerves was the part after getting out of the Citadel. Where you had to use your flashlight the whole time. It was still fun, but I couldn't wait to get on that elevator to shed some damn light on what I was doing. Also, I was excited to see some new scenery, but you couldn't using your flashlight the whole time. All in all, that part was still entertaining and the whole episode met and exceeded expectations. Now I have even more expectations for Episode 2 because the trailer looked so awesome.
 
Strider fight was really tough. Especially since I had to "cheat" by grav-chucking grenades at the thing after getting too low on health to climb the ladder to the rockets. Also especially because I discovered that if you kill it too early, another one comes out and picks up where the first one left off! D:
 
Suggestion: Make the commentary available AFTER the first playthrough. It makes no sense playing through the game the first time with commentary, because it destroys the atmosphere and contains spoilers.
 
Well then you could just not click the button that says "activate commentary", eh?
 
Yeah, I did just that. But it would prevent some people (accidentally) messing up their first-play-through-experience (like "hasan" in this thread for example). And you get a nice reward for playing though the game... they shouldn't give that cool feature away for free. You have to earn it! :)

And another (small) glitch/error in consistency: The chapter titles were all caps in HL2 and HL1... they weren't in Episode One (sometimes they didn't appear at all like "Exit 17")... they should change that.
 
I'm still annoyed that the "Exit 17" title never shows up. As for the commentary, I still think it should be left to common sense whether to hear them on the first run or not. Much like how DVD commentaries operate as a matter of fact.
 
You know, Zombines are awesome. Extremely fun to fight against.
 
My head still hurt when Alyx came up with the term. Since Gordon doesn't give a pity laugh it makes for a face-buryingly awkward moment.
 
MuToiD_MaN said:
My head still hurt when Alyx came up with the term. Since Gordon doesn't give a pity laugh it makes for a face-buryingly awkward moment.
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I believe that's the whole point. It shows Alyx being embarassed, and that's a not so subtle way to illustrate for the player just how realistic her character is.
 
She gives a nervous chuckle after coining the name "zombine". That was amazing :)
 
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