Half-Life 1 - boooring...

[Unfocused]

It's strange. I find Half Life 1 boring. It's not that I am used to all of the new productions. I've had a weak computer for a long time, unable to play new games. I've got my current computer since december 2002. For me the gameplay (sorry if it's the wrong word, I mean the satisfaction you get from playing), not the graphic or the sound, matters the most. I play Counter-Strike which is on the engine of Half-Life and love it. Despite this I don't like HL's graphics (suppose it's the textures), but what bothers me the most is the fact that it has a weak gameplay for me. It's just boring, with few enemies what would be good if the game was frightening but it isn't. I am talking about the first hour(s) of HL when youre stuck after the strange explosion. I didn't manage to get any further because I was simply bored with the game.

Does anybody have the same problem? Or, maybe someone could tell me if its worth trying with HL again even if I'm so bored with the first parts of it? Anyway I'm looking forward to Half-Life 2 :cheese: . Hope it'll be as awesome as I imagine it :E

 

[un om bun]

First time I ever played HL, I didn't think much of it. I still don't...
Crawling through tunnels and shafts didn't excite me at all. I only loved the levels that were on the surface.

 

[Warbie]

That's weird- it was on the surface when I thought the game became too generic and boring.

Guess it just comes down to personal taste.

 

[mortiz]

It's strange. I find Half Life 1 boring. It's not that I am used to all of the new productions. I've had a weak computer for a long time, unable to play new games. I've got my current computer since december 2002. For me the gameplay (sorry if it's the wrong word, I mean the satisfaction you get from playing), not the graphic or the sound, matters the most. I play Counter-Strike which is on the engine of Half-Life and love it. Despite this I don't like HL's graphics (suppose it's the textures), but what bothers me the most is the fact that it has a weak gameplay for me. It's just boring, with few enemies what would be good if the game was frightening but it isn't. I am talking about the first hour(s) of HL when youre stuck after the strange explosion. I didn't manage to get any further because I was simply bored with the game.

Does anybody have the same problem? Or, maybe someone could tell me if its worth trying with HL again even if I'm so bored with the first parts of it? Anyway I'm looking forward to Half-Life 2 :cheese: . Hope it'll be as awesome as I imagine it :E

I love Half-Life. I've played through it almost 4 times and don't find it boring at all. I find it holds my attention more than most FPS's like "Unreal 2" and "Call of Duty" which to be honost I found exceptionaly boring towards the end, and these are "new'er" games than Half-Life. Pure FPS's are difficult to make interesting, and I think Half-Life's one of the few that have suceeded.

 

[Farrowlesparrow]

Half-Life 1 - boooring...

*Banned*


I thought it was great....basically.

 

[Sui]

i feel the same way. the first few levels were great, but once you get a certain way through ur only playing so u can complete the damn thing- and not have to play it anymore, or at least thats how i felt. Its not that the game was bad its just that it was strikingly simple. And the graphics on xen were appauling! i know they couldnt have done it any better with their technology but at least black mesa was MEANT to be square.
i eman i can fully appreciate how the game is good, and i would definately reccomend it to anyone with a spare tenner, but i wouldnt touch it with a 10-foot pole once HL2 comes out. Alkthough saying this i completed it fot old times sake a month or so ago.
One of the things i loved about it was the memorable locations- thinking back, there was some damn good level design in there. too bad ur just shooting the same opponents over and over- even when u get to xen (but now with addad flying babies!!!). and the last boss was a huge anti climax.
and btw stinger, if u disliked the first i would go no-where near opposing force. its like half life but shorter, more boring and with really crap locations. There are no good levels in it. If u enjoyed HL its essential, but even if ur the biggest fan u wont find it anywhere as good. It put me right off blueshift... (well, i started it but they dont have it on steam so the graphics were crap, plus i could see myself playing this for another 6-hours. 6 hours... wasted...)

 

[ComradeBadger]

I loved Opposing Force. So ner Blue Shift wasn't as good, but meh still ok

Half Life bores me now, and I've only ever completed it once

 

[Direwolf]

Half-Life does bore me somewhat, but only because I've played through it at least eight times.
Op4 and Blushift are still fun, but you miss a lot of the signifigance of the game if you didn't play it when it was originally released....at that time it was a game like no other.

 

[mortiz]

You do realize that HL-2 will have the same gameplay style that HL-1 had, so if you found HL-1 gameplay boring you will most likely feel the same about HL-2?

 

[Sulkdodds]

Urban warfare is somewaht removed from struggling to escape a concrete tomb. I liked HL...and I liked Xen too...and OpFor is good. You didn't like the beach assault? The outdoor areas near the end? The mortar field? The office complex? The tramline? The biodomes? The barnacle grappler? The squad-based action? The bit where you see Freeman? The intro? The final level (at leats before the boss)? None of it?

 

[Sui]

Urban warfare is somewaht removed from struggling to escape a concrete tomb. I liked HL...and I liked Xen too...and OpFor is good. You didn't like the beach assault? The outdoor areas near the end? The mortar field? The office complex? The tramline? The biodomes? The barnacle grappler? The squad-based action? The bit where you see Freeman? The intro? The final level (at leats before the boss)? None of it?

compared to Half life, it all seemed so different and so startingly farmilliar at the same time. OpFor gave no new gameplay elements, few new enimies, and levels which lacked the originality of the first. Thats not to say its a good game- but i played i (and completed it) a few months ago- so to me it felt outdated. The gun that takes you to xen was good, and the hints of freeman were good, and the developers sure did do a great job- its just that the half life gameplay is so dated now.

 

[mortiz]

If you don't like the Half-Life gameplay then why are you here? HL-2 is using the HL gameplay, it was the first thing that the devs stated would be carried over.

 

[Sui]

If you don't like the Half-Life gameplay then why are you here? HL-2 is using the HL gameplay, it was the first thing that the devs stated would be carried over.

Half life has completely different gameplay to HL2. i belive sulkdodds said that "urban warfare" isnt the same as cramped up in a black mesa facility. Theyre both FPS, but HL2 utilises unique phisics and graphics and instead of you running away from something, now your facing it head to head with allies to help you. This isnt one vs. many- this is the human race vs. its doom.
and for ur information, i only post in off topic, art and des, and gaming, no hl2 forums for me.

 

[mortiz]

Half life has completely different gameplay to HL2. i belive sulkdodds said that "urban warfare" isnt the same as cramped up in a black mesa facility. Theyre both FPS, but HL2 utilises unique phisics and graphics and instead of you running away from something, now your facing it head to head with allies to help you. This isnt one vs. many- this is the human race vs. its doom.
and for ur information, i only post in off topic, art and des, and gaming, no hl2 forums for me.

Gabe has already stated that the gameplay will remain true to the original, the change in setting has nothing to do with it. Someone stated they disliked the gameplay from the original, well HL-2 is using similar gameplay (as has been stated by Valve), You can't say the gameplay is completely different from a few bink vids, but I can say the gameplay is the same (or very similar) because Valve have told us it's the same (with a few extras e.g. Vehicles)

It was in fact the gameplay from the original that made it so popular. It certainly wasn't the graphics that were a major holding point(which were already out-dated when it was released) it wasn't really the story (which was interesting and fun but by no means an integral part of the enjoyment) it was the gameplay that made people love it so much, it was a fun game to play. This is the reason Valve are trying to keep the gameplay as similar as possible.

 

[Sui]

Gabe has already stated that the gameplay will remain true to the original, the change in setting has nothing to do with it. Someone stated they disliked the gameplay from the original, well HL-2 is using similar gameplay (as has been stated by Valve), You can't say the gameplay is completely different from a few bink vids, but I can say the gameplay is the same (or very similar) because Valve have told us it's the same (with a few extras e.g. Vehicles)

ah, but changing the surroundings DEOES change the gameplay- this is inavoidable. could you push some matrasses and junk off a ledge to halt your opponents in half life? could you lure an enemy into a pack of antlions, then smoulder him in an offensive smell in half life? could you team up with a band of scientists and security gaurds and use effective flanking techniques with realistic AI in halflife? and could you smash down an alien in a truck, smothering others in bullets in half life? could u hell.

 

[mortiz]

ah, but changing the surroundings DEOES change the gameplay- this is inavoidable. could you push some matrasses and junk off a ledge to halt your opponents in half life? could you lure an enemy into a pack of antlions, then smoulder him in an offensive smell in half life? could you team up with a band of scientists and security gaurds and use effective flanking techniques with realistic AI in halflife? and could you smash down an alien in a truck, smothering others in bullets in half life? could u hell.

But you have no idea how much of that will actually be part of the game. I would certainly imagine that for the most part you'll be on your own fighting the combine, and there are Black Mesa type scenario's (as seen in the bug bait video) so yes all that will be in the game, but there will also be a lot of good old Half-Life stuff in there as well (that everyone loved so much, except it seems for a few on these boards), they would be insane NOT to include it. Let's face it, being able to push a matress or a barral in somebodies way doesn't make a game, what makes the game are a combination of elements that are fun. Half-Life had this combination, and Valve will be using the same basic "glue" for the second game, with the extra things you mentioned stuck in with it. If you don't like the "glue" that Half-Life produced then I think this might be the wrong game for you.

 

[PvtRyan]

But you have no idea how much of that will actually be part of the game. I would certainly imagine that for the most part you'll be on your own fighting the combine, and there are Black Mesa type scenario's (as seen in the bug bait video)

Actually, Gabe said it was rare in this game that you were totally alone, so expect a lot of barricade scenes.

Oh yeah, ontopic now:

To the topicstarter: INFIDEL! HEATHEN! HERETIC! :flame:
Thou shall burn in Xen Hell!

 

[Sui]

I never said anything about disliking the half - life foundations, i only said i found half life boring. This does not have to include gameplay, it can be a combination of many other things, including the graphics and occasionally appauling allied AI. Plus the fact that although the level design is excelent, a descolate research facility in the middle of nowhere followed by an 'organic' enviroment made from very few polygons isnt exactly the most exiting enviroment. Half life 2, however, features a city that has far much more potential, (ahem, adding to the gameplay) and amazing visuals. and gameplay is nothing if the game looks crap.

 

[MultiVaC]

Well there's your problem. You're too caught up on graphics. Gameplay is still good no matter what the graphics look like. In fact, here's a list of games that I'm currently playing/replaying: OP4 (finished HL again a few days ago), Battlezone, Freespace 2, Myst, System Shock 2, and Commander Keen. And all these games are still great, despite what they look like. I'm guessing you didn't play HL when it first came out, otherwise you wouldn't have these complaints.

 

[mortiz]

It seems that most people who didn't play Half-Life when it first came out didn't find it that impressive. I have a friend who played Half-Life way after it came out but got bored of it after a short period of time.

And Graphics wouldn't be anything without gameplay, just look @ Unreal 2. I'm just saying that Half-Life is keeping the same basic gameplay (i.e. Run, Shoot, Think) and I find it highly probable that there with be Half-Life 1'ish sections in Half-Life 2. It won't all be about coordinating attacks against the combine with the resistence. On a basic level if you didn't find HL1 interesting HL-2 won't last as long for you as those who did find HL-1 interesting.

 

[Sui]

On a basic level if you didn't find HL1 interesting HL-2 won't last as long for you as those who did find HL-1 interesting.

i agree with everything apat from this. Simply put, i know i will find HL2 interesting, and u cant judge my opinions on whether i liked HL1 or not. its not all about the graphics, i agree, and after a while HL2's shine WILL wear away. But the point remains that the little things in a game CAN changer the gameplay, and apart from the story in HL, all that there is - is running around shooting aliens. no tactics- no innervasion. just shooting. but if you had a huge, non- linear world with interactive enviroments- that feel and look REAL, the gameplay will be SIGNIFICANTLY improved. nearly everyone loves HL2, but i know loads of ppl who dislike the origonal- so im afraid your theory must be flawed.

 

[mortiz]

but if you had a huge, non- linear world with interactive enviroments- that feel and look REAL, the gameplay will be SIGNIFICANTLY improved.

Not necessarily true, sometimes non-linearity can seriously hinder a game. You'll find that although most people rave on about games being non-linear when they get it they moan because people want to be led through a game, they want to be led through an involving plot. Obviously non-linearity to some extent is great, but you've to walk that fine line otherwise a game can become too "open", which is why I believe Gabe and the team will make it like Half-Life 1 in that you can easily be led through the plot if you wish, but perhaps open up more options or go different routes along the way. I still believe the core will be the same however.

 

[jonbob]

When I first played HL, I thought 'meh' but things started to look up a little when the soldiers showed up. Still far from the best game ever though.

 

[Sui]

Not necessarily true, sometimes non-linearity can seriously hinder a game. You'll find that although most people rave on about games being non-linear when they get it they moan because people want to be led through a game, they want to be led through an involving plot. Obviously non-linearity to some extent is great, but you've to walk that fine line otherwise a game can become too "open", which is why I believe Gabe and the team will make it like Half-Life 1 in that you can easily be led through the plot if you wish, but perhaps open up more options or go different routes along the way. I still believe the core will be the same however.

what can i say, the reason i will like HL2 is because Valve has LOTS of money, and if they dont make the game very very very very fun, theyre probally not as good as im expecting. and in order to make as much money as possibel, the will FORCE me to like it, even if by phisical torture.

 

[mortiz]

To be honost, nothing has beaten my experience I had when first playing Half-Life. At the end of it you feel like you've come on a journey.

 

[Sui]

To be honost, nothing has beaten my experience I had when first playing Half-Life. At the end of it you feel life you've come on a journey.

i suppose. i prefer final fantasy- because then you have gont on a jeorney! a very long one! and after playing 500 hours of console adventures, HL didnt make me feel like id been on a jeorney much- just ran arround shooting things.
and btw, just because im saying i find the game boring, doesnt mean i dont like it. i loved the game the first 2 times i played it, but i wouldnt anymore.

 

[Foxtrot]

After I finished Half-Life I tried tracing all my actions through in my mind. I was thinking how every where I go is logocil and there aren't any skips.

 

[Unfocused]

I agree with most of what Suicide42 says. The exception is that I don't think a game has to have good graphics to have a good gameplay. It's true that I didn't like HL's graphics but the problem isn't the graphics engine. It is what they did with it. I don't like the textures for example. Counter Strike has the same engine but I have no problem with it's graphics. The map makers just made interesting maps with good textures (I mean most of the official ones). I know I've seen just the videos of HL2 but it looks dynamic. HL 1 definitely wasn't dynamic (I mean the part before you get to the surface-that's where I played, but for some it's the best part). Half Life 1 was sort of... blank.

 

[MultiVaC]

Except for in HL you did more than just shoot things. Remember the tentacle in the blast pit, or that big ugly thing at the rail system? Have you noticed that the Bullsquid and the Headcrab are natural enemies? A Bullsquid can effectively clear an area of headcrabs for you. For once, you don't try to shoot everything that moves. You run, you hide, you let things unfold around you.

 

[Sui]

when i was talking about graphics i meant its good that HL2s graphics are good, opposed to it being bad that HLs graphics are crap.
I didnt mean a game NEEDS good graphics to ply well- i meant it complements tha gameplay.
*edit* A) you dont need to let things unfold around you and
B) i was using an extreme example. MOST of what you do it shoo things, not all of it.
and btw you can just run and shoot past the tenticles, just u use grenades

 

[A True Canadian]

I didn't even realize that Half-Life even existed until the summer of 2000.My friend and I borrowed the game and spent the better half of 2 full days trying to beat it.
My friend would be the one playing, and I would be the one to look for alternate routes or try to solve the problems that came our way. It was one of those experiences where we did not want it to stop.

What added to it was the loading times. There was no real stoppage in play, just a few seconds of loading and that was it. The story kept going; there wasn't really a time where we could stop and take a break because the game wouldn't let us.

The story was also quite impressive. Without cutscenes we were forced to explore and socialize with the survivors to try and piece the conspiracy together (and there was this strange man in a blue suit following us around). Once the military intervined I knew that this was the best game that I had experienced.

Boring? At the time I would have wanted to injure anyone who had said that about Half-Life.
Boring? At the moment, yes. The reason it seems boring to people now is because they have too much information about the sequel. Seeing a sequel, or learning about a sequel will ruin the original. All the tension will be gone, all the excitement will be gone beacause many can already piece together what has happened. You know the survivors, you know of the villains, and you have already been told the most important points (Gordan has been imployed and the world is being destroyed). With this information, why would you want to go back to the original?

Take the Star Wars trilogys. Episodes IV, V, and VI were released first and it became a hit. This was because we had no idea where the story would go. Episodes I, II, and III aren't as engaging because we know where the story is going and we know which characters make an impact.

 

[Sui]

i agree completely with true canadian, but i have to say playing the game with a freind increases the playability so much. playing any games with a freind makes it more fun, even more fun than when ur against them. I have some pretty darn good memories of sleepovers i had where we stayed up till 2 in the morn trying to beat games those were the days...

 

[A True Canadian]

Another reaason why games like Halo are so much fun. When you play anything with a friend, the game can be so much better.

This may also be why people like stinger.aim92 prefer Counter-Strike over Half-Life. The game is basically shooting at things, but playing with your buddies makes it quite fun.

 

[PvtRyan]

Hands down for A True Canadian :cheers:

I've never had a moment where I was bored, the enemies were always challenging. It wasn't like you could just press the mousebutton and storm through the levels, you wouldn't survive against a group of grunts. And it wasn't all shooting, the puzzles were also a lot more interesting than just getting a keycard to open a door where you would find a keycard for another door. Puzzles were just cool, like the one with the tentacles and the one with the laserbeam you had to divert to blow up a wall.
And even if there were not so many different enemies, they relieved eachother, at one time you were fighting the grunts, and some time later you were fighting the aliens again, which required a totally different strategy. That kept it interesting, I wouldn't last fighting against waves and waves of grunts for 30 hours.

 

[mortiz]

I'm currently playing through the game on hard (I normally go for normal) and it has renewed my experience some what. Though there are only so many times you can play a game before it gets boring, and this isn't just restricted to Half-Life, this happens to all games.

 

[Direwolf]

Oh yeah, when I first played through Half-Life it took over my life. When the credits rolled I dropped right back in again. It was a hell of an experience that was far more immersing that almost anything out there (at the time we were seeing Quake clones like Heretic etc).

 

[Styloid]

HL1 boring? The beginnig was the best beginning I have ever played in an FPS. I had never seen anything like the way they created the disaster before or how the people acknowledged you and seemed to know you or how everyone seemed kind of nervous and it makes you even more tense while you're in the chamber. It was also incredibly well paced between action events. They built tension by giving immersive actions like watching zombies tear people apart, solving 'plausible', intuitive puzzles, talking to scientists, simply walking around surveying the damage. They made exciting fights with marines with (for its time) amazing AI that were fun to fight because of well polished controls and weapons and twitchy scare moments with headcrabs and zombies. The settings also kept me wanting to play because they had variety, were well designed, had fluid transitions and
didn't get monotonous. Overall the plot was well laid out and balanced and made the whole game feel, to me not like a journey, but just an incredibly hectic couple of days.
To me no one can really call HL1 boring but I also realize that there are people who feel that talking to scientists, riding in a tram ride, watching people get killed by aliens, exploring the environment, turning on generators, etc are not fun things to do and that shooting things is the only fun thing (and I enjoy Serious Sam so I have to partially agree). To that I think you are entitled your opinion.

 

[Sulkdodds]

Personally, I find people who find HL boring as incomprehensible as Suicide 42 finds people who dislike DE:IW. From beginning to end it was a carefully crafted thrill ride, a hyper-action movie with a limitless budget, a cast of hundreds and you as the star. Even after the first time, when the novelty is all but gone, it's still entertaining the second, third and seventy-fifth time I play it. Just so many magic moments and stand-out set-piece battles, when added to the thrilling sense of being there make it an unforgettable experience. THough both Final Fantasy and Half-Life are extremely linear, only Half-Life made me feel like I was doing everything for myself. FF just made me feel I was doggedly following the path laid down by the developers.

 

[Stormy]

lol if everyone thought hl was so boing with is everyone gettng so excited over the second one

hl was great no linier play at all, it just flowed so well. but i never like the alian bit at the end

 

[Mr-Fusion]

I never said anything about disliking the half - life foundations, i only said i found half life boring. This does not have to include gameplay, it can be a combination of many other things, including the graphics and occasionally appauling allied AI. Plus the fact that although the level design is excelent, a descolate research facility in the middle of nowhere followed by an 'organic' enviroment made from very few polygons isnt exactly the most exiting enviroment. Half life 2, however, features a city that has far much more potential, (ahem, adding to the gameplay) and amazing visuals. and gameplay is nothing if the game looks crap.

When did you first play through it?

I bought it in December 98 and i can't remember ever having complaints about the visuals AT THE TIME.