Fragmaster Leaves PHL, Thanks HL2.net(?)

[TheSoupNazi]

Or another way of looking at it is that Frag has an anti-Valve bias and set out to discredit Valve.

But in that case, he would be the absolute worse choice for a position in a site like Planet Half-Life. So I guess things come around full circle in this discussion.
I need a shower. Nice talking to everyone.

 

[Lobster]

There are legal issues when it comes to valve employee's speaking, I reckon they have a big white board with all the things they are allowed to say.

Release Date : Summer
New Infomation: E3
Delays and Hacks: No comment
Favorite Food: Sushi

Theres alot of money involved at valves end, and they have to be extremely carefull, esspeacialy the state things are in, if frag is right and they came out and admitted to it all, it really isnt going to make anything better, all there gonna do is deploy the protective media panic room, and stay quiet till the games released.

 

[Gaemon82]

So what? Why do people make the assumption that because there new cards on the horizon that all of a sudden these 9800/Pro/XT cards are suddenly not going to be able to play HL2 or any new games? It's absolute boll*cks. Oh no you don't have the COMPLETE cutting edge! Those cards will be fantastic for at least the next two years and very competant after that. Christ on a bike...

Tell me where did I mention that the cards won't be able to run the game. Plesa read carefully next time. I just said those who believed to have the best system when the game comes out were fooled.

 

[Axyon]

Tell me where did I mention that the cards won't be able to run the game. Plesa read carefully next time. I just said those who believed to have the best system when the game comes out were fooled.

Maybe they should have used some common sense and waited until the game actually came out. They should have known how prone to change most game release dates are.

 

[Gaemon82]

Pfft, I emailed Valve and there was no naiveté involved, I assure you.

I wanted to hear Valve's side to counterbalance Fragmaster's.

Let people make up their own damn minds.

You just don't get the point, Valve is a company, they have a reputation to lose, and they won't say anything that could harm them, and if that means they have to lie, they will do it, every company does it, I can assure you that. Fragmaster on the other hand is just an individual of the HL community, he isn't risking milions of dollars when he makes a statement.

 

[Tyl3n0L]

Ok I haven't posted in a while (Happy New Year!!!) but I e-mailed valve yesterday about this.. Just to know what they think of this.

-----Original Message-----
From: Jul[mailto [email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, April 21, 2004 4:07 AM
To: Gabe Newell
Cc: Greg Coomer; Erik Johnson; Doug Lombardi
Subject: Ok, I never e-mailed you but...

Hi,

I've been watching all the news related to Half-Life2 silently since the start, in april 2003. I have my favorites HL2 site that I watch each weeks.
But yesterday when I logged on half-life2.net I saw this thread: Fragmaster leaves PHL.... with more than 150reply in about 17hours:
http://www.forumplanet.com/planethalflife/topic.asp?fid=6549&tid=1352802

I didn't read it once, but twice. And I must say. Overall, I agree with him... I would simply like to know what do you think of what fragmaster said.

--------------------

GABE: I haven't read it yet.


Look's like they just don't give a damn... or they're making fun of us. God I gave him the link. why he didn't read it then reply to my e-mail...

 

[BackFyr]

Favorite Food: Sushi

I knew it.. I knew it!! this just proves we cannot trust evil VALVe... favorite food is sushi... thats bout the easiest way to tell true evil.... (read: sarcasm+jokingness)

 

[Pi Mu Rho]

You just don't get the point, Valve is a company, they have a reputation to lose, and they won't say anything that could harm them, and if that means they have to lie, they will do it, every company does it, I can assure you that. Fragmaster on the other hand is just an individual of the HL community, he isn't risking milions of dollars when he makes a statement.

I assure you that I do get the point. I'm staff on a HL2 site. If there's something newsworthy like this, I like to see Valve's stand on it, regardless of whether it may be absolute truth, corporate bullshit or a song about leprechauns.

 

[el Chi]

Tell me where did I mention that the cards won't be able to run the game. Plesa read carefully next time. I just said those who believed to have the best system when the game comes out were fooled.

Sorry I didn't mean you specifically. I'm simply observing that the people who complain they they didn't get to upgrade to the highest spiffiest systems which is Valve's fault because the game got delayed is nonsense. These systems are fantastic and will run games extremely well for ages to come - why bitch? It just seems a bit like: Well you were gonna spend a similar amount of money in a few months or whatever for something slightly better that would have become "obsolete" (or so it would seem, the way some people gripe) in a similar amount of time. You'll still be able to play HL2 at top settings on silly resolutions, and the same goes for all games for a good while (a year and a half at the very least). It might not the cutting edge, but the speed things change what does it matter?

 

[Murray]

.... lol, look's like they just don't give a ****... or they're making fun of us. God I gave him the link. why he didn't read it then reply to my e-mail...

Yep, they serously don't seem to have any respect for the fans, not even Fragmaster. (Well, ex fan)

 

[Gaemon82]

I assure you that I do get the point. I'm staff on a HL2 site. If there's something newsworthy like this, I like to see Valve's stand on it, regardless of whether it may be absolute truth, corporate bullshit or a song about leprechauns.

Ok then, just thought you might have misunderstood me. You make a good point there too, its good to hear from them, regardless if its true or not.
Well, I don't believe anyone, and seeing how things are going, I might not even believe it when i finally hold a copy of the game in my hands.

 

[Pi Mu Rho]

Yep, they serously don't seem to have any respect for the fans, not even Fragmaster. (Well, ex fan)

Gabe replied to me about it:


I have no idea where Fragmaster thinks he gets information.

-----Original Message-----
From: Neale Roberts [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 2004 12:58 PM
To: Gabe Newell
Subject: Fragmaster's comments

Hi Gabe,

After reading Fragmaster from planethalflife's comments in this thread:

http://www.forumplanet.com/planetha...549&tid=1352802

I suspect that most people are going to pick up on the part where he
says " I do know that content has been cut from the game in an attempt
to get it to ship sooner."
Can you confirm or deny this? If it's true, do you plan on releasing the
additional content at a later date?

I seek only clarification for our readers.

regards,

Neale Roberts

halflife2.net staff
www.halflife2.net

 

[Murray]

Gabe replied to me about it

Uhh, yeah, mabye because you put the part you wanted them to read in your post.

 

[Pi Mu Rho]

Well, it made sense to do so. That was the part that seemed most pertinent to me, and I didn't expect Gabe to drop whatever he was doing and read the whole article before replying.

 

[Murray]

Well, it made sense to do so. That was the part that seemed most pertinent to me, and I didn't expect Gabe to drop whatever he was doing and read the whole article before replying.

Precisely, and therefore he hasen't read the entire post from Fragmaster.
That was the point of my reply.

 

[Apos]

As I said, I dont' think we are going to get much out of Valve on this suject. They haven't wanted to confirm or go into detailed or evidential denials of the various accusations floating around, and without the latter, we can't really be sure what's up or what's what. We are just going to have to wait and see if the Prima guide is more forthcoming, or if they are going to be more forthcoming after the release of HL2 and the end of all the secrecy.

 

[Sprafa]

they always leave some things they wanted to do bbehind or for time/money issues or maybe b/c the tech wouldn't handle it properly.


It's always been done. Nearly no one with a mega-ambitious project is going to do all they want. If they do half of what they set up to do it's good enough.

 

[fabricated]

I figure I should register finally instead of lurking and state my only real complaint about Frag's pretty well-written farewell.

Every game ever made and produced has had stuff cut from it in some fashion or another.

To be honest I'd start worrying about feature creep than stuff being cut out.

 

[Xenome]

And besides, gabe already replied, saying "i don't know where fragmaster thinks he is getting his information"..so it's probably untrue.

 

[fabricated]

And besides, gabe already replied, saying "i don't know where fragmaster thinks he is getting his information"..so it's probably untrue.

I think the point of what Frag was trying to say was that you can't really trust Valve on anything about the game, and if you want it, just chill out and wait. There's plenty of stuff out there to keep you entertained.

 

[slapdragon]

And besides, gabe already replied, saying "i don't know where fragmaster thinks he is getting his information"..so it's probably untrue.

but like most gabe answers that response doesnt say anything really. remember when spidcodfry asked him if hl2 was coming out 9/30 and he said "we'll see?" this "i dont know where fragmaster thinks he is getting his information" response is similar to the "first time ive heard of it" response he made to the july vivendi delay its pr speak that doesnt really say anything

gabe didnt answer if fragmaster was or was not working on the prima book if he was not working on the prima book then i would tend not to believe what frags says but if he was he then its silly to think he didnt have inside information since he was working on an OFFICIAL behind the scenes book for the game

gabe has said in the past that fragmaster is an ok guy who just speaks his mind

 

[Sorze]

What about the people who bought a Radeon 9600XT or a 9800XT, a new PC, etc.... I mean, come on, how can you defend Valves attitude in this regard. They said: Go out and buy yourself a Radeon, because it will be the best card to run the game!
Wow, what a load of crap, back then they knew how long it would aprox. take to finish the game, and they knew there would be new GFX cards out by the time the game goes gold. Other companies don't tell you to buy new hardware now, when they know their game will be under developement for a few months more.

Just thought I should point out the obvious Valve-ATI link here...
Maybe Valve had some kind of deal with ATI (from when they did think they were going to release in sept?), that forced them to withhold (sp)information of a delay as long as possible, so as many ATI cards as possible would be sold before the delay became public knowledge.

I know it's kind of a conspiracy theory, but maybe worth considering.
maybe...

Oh! And on topic: I never really cared about Fragmaster (stupid name btw ), one way or the other. I'm not sure where he gets his info, or if he just makes crap up on the spot, but I do know one thing:
E3 can't get her fast enough!!

 

[alehm]

I agree With FRAGMASTER. He is a MASTER of FRAGS. That means he is cool.

Valve is a lieing bunch of loser gamers that with Fragmasters help can PROVE is working with President Bush to fight terorrism in the Phillipines and Taiwan so they can drive the price of RAM up and run NVIDIA out of business. Then they will combine forces with Halliburton and Microsoft to make computers than are gas powered and Gabe will be laugh all the way to the Quiznos.

 

[chimpmunk]

Well, in the end, it seems fragmaster is not a jerk after all...
his post made me realize i had lost my faith in VALVe too...

 

[Jarman]

I'm prepared to bet Gabe wouldn't deny that the game wasn't ready for release by the 30th

Click here.

People should not place the blame solely on Valve when they havn't even heard Valve's point of view.

Your declaring them guilty without hearing their defense.

Is it supposed to be heard at E3 2004 or later?

*takes notice*

 

[Zodak]

All I know is, there is about 10 DOOM 3 preorder boxes on the shelves of my local Electronics Boutique, and Todd Hollenshead was quote recently as saying "It's getting close".

So Valve had better get a move on...

 

[Sporky]

All I know is, there is about 10 DOOM 3 preorder boxes on the shelves of my local Electronics Boutique, and Todd Hollenshead was quote recently as saying "It's getting close".

So Valve had better get a move on...

Somewhere he even used the words 'pretty imminent'. :naughty:

 

[ferd]

Fragmaster needs a life, he really does, how can someone get so aggitated over what people say/think about a game

 

[ferd]

I agree With FRAGMASTER. He is a MASTER of FRAGS. That means he is cool.

Valve is a lieing bunch of loser gamers that with Fragmasters help can PROVE is working with President Bush to fight terorrism in the Phillipines and Taiwan so they can drive the price of RAM up and run NVIDIA out of business. Then they will combine forces with Halliburton and Microsoft to make computers than are gas powered and Gabe will be laugh all the way to the Quiznos.

what do you think is happening?

really, it is happening accept those gas powered computers

 

[Varsity]

Because to him it is a livlihood.

 

[Sporky]

I think it was more to do with the bile directed at him by the community at large when he came out and said 'it's not going to be out' and I can imagine knowing as it seems he did that was the case, but basically having that denied by people who should have known better and having people declare they hated him for it would be pretty depressing to say the least.

 

[Edcrab]

One thing that puzzles me (due to the reactions I've percieved) is the whole content-cutting scenario. Hadn't Gabe already said on some site that they were aiming for a Sept 30th release, and they were conforming to that so strongly that they were throwing aside unfinished content and labelling it HL3?

If anything that implies that they were going to complete something new to add with all the extra time they've given themselves. Even if they do remove something, here's hoping its not a feature that they've promised and/or shown us. The "what they don't know can't hurt them" mindset seems to have served them well enough for now

 

[BoNeLeSS]

I dont care about frag... He is an asshole. VALVe made some serious errors last years but he (fragmaster) didn't give a shit for PHL... All their sections except the news itself (most submitted by modders) were frozen and PHL forums are terribly boring... :hmph:

Way to go, fragmaster...! Get another job and earn some mony for doing nothing more than bitching!

 

[spitcodfry]

My 2 cents on the whole idea that what was leaked was ALL they had (which may be irrelevant depending on what's come to light since I last visited hl2.net): A friend of mine who lives in the Bellevue area (where Valve is located) got to see a neato preview of Half-Life 2 because of connections his mother has with local game companies. Apparently this was a preview that has NOT been seen by the public before (i.e. not part of the E3 demo).

What struck me as odd was my friend said the same demonstration had been shown to Matt Groening, creator of The Simpsons, who was shopping around for some new tech in order to implement towards the animation of the series. South Park, for instance, can cover current issues rather quickly because of the digital system they use to animate. Groening and Co. still use the ol' frame by frame formula, which obviously takes considerably longer to generate. The Source engine, because of its facial animation technology, or animation tech in general, I should say, would be ideal for his purposes.

So there you have it. Again, this info may neither be here nor there depending upon what's come up hl-2 related since I last came on here. Thought it may pique the interest of some. I don't think that's all they had, but it was probably pretty damn close.

Oh, and btw, good luck to you in your future endeavours Kevin. Hope your upcoming role in the gaming scene is a good one---Spitcodfry

 

[zex]

That guy liked himself way too much anyways.

 

[kelisis]

It's a good post and I agree with him on some statements. But, let's face it. The guy was a asshat, annoying and sometimes just rude.

 

[PvtRyan]

A friend of mine who lives in the Bellevue area (where Valve is located) got to see a neato preview of Half-Life 2 because of connections his mother has with local game companies. Apparently this was a preview that has NOT been seen by the public before (i.e. not part of the E3 demo).

Ermmm multiple personalities? I thought it was you who visited Valve, or did a friend of you also go on a Valve trip?

There was one video that the press did get to see last year and we didn't. Magazines described it as an antlion guard batteling an APC and it's soldiers. Was it by any chance the video your friend saw?

That Matt Groening part is interesting, Simpsons powered by Source in the near future? That would rock

 

[Kadayi]

Because to him it is a livlihood.

Seems when you read his letter he couldn't decide whether he was coming or going with his job, he kept on leaving and then returning. Hardly the behavour of someone who has a genuine interest in an endeavour, or should be heading up a fansite forum. If your into a subject you stick with it, I'd say that running PHL was nothing more than a paycheck to him. I'd also say he resigned to pre-empt being fired (he probably got fired from the strategy guide also), still we will never know. I can't take the rest of what he says with any seriousness, given that he's a habitual quitter. There might be some truth in what he says, but it's hard to accept that his descriptions aren't coloured to support his stance.

 

[Kadayi]

It's a good post and I agree with him on some statements. But, let's face it. The guy was a asshat, annoying and sometimes just rude.

Agreed, if he is an obnoxious in real life as on PHL then no wonder he ran into problems at Valve. I'm sure they have little patience for that sort of behaviour.

 

[mortiz]

lol we win!

edit: What's with this message size limiter thing, can you remove it please, it's very annoying.