Half-Life2 Expansion Pack - Semi-Announced

Frank

Frank

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http://www.gamereactor.dk/texter/?id=58676


Gamereactor: When Gamereactor visited your HQ in Seattle last spring, Gabe Newell revealed some plans that you guys had about Half-Life3. Can you tell us some more about your plans?

Doug: Of course we're interested in telling more about the universe we have created and therefore we will continue making sequels to the game.
At the moment we're working on a game where you play as Alyx and her well known robotdog - Dog...
 
My German's a bit rusty, can someone translate?

Thnx,
Hulk
 
i don't know why, but i don't really like the idea of playing as Alyx or Dog. Maybe it was just a bit too much of an obvious choice for expansion, not particularly exciting
 
The Hulk said:
My German's a bit rusty, can someone translate?

Thnx,
Hulk
Click to expand...

It's danish...
But most of the interview is about why they left out the hydra etc. but then they ask about a sequel and Doug tells about the expansion pack... that's all you need to know
 
Btw. if this gets to the front page of Halflife2.net then I want to be thanked... :)
 
we already knew that there were going to BE expansions - this doesn't really add anything, does it?

or did we not know for sure that you'd be able to play alyx in one? I know we all thought so anyway.
 
Frank said:
It's danish...
But most of the interview is about why they left out the hydra etc. but then they ask about a sequel and Doug tells about the expansion pack... that's all you need to know
Click to expand...


Oops! I guess my German is more rusty than I thought! Thanks!
Hulk
 
German, lol... But it's an interesting interview! Someone (Frank) should translate it into english so everyone else could read it... :cheese:
 
No news on Shepard... But they are working on Team Fortress 2 and the expansion pack(s)... There's also some background story of the Combine...
 
No it's actually not very interesting. The only part that is slightly interesting is the part about the expansion pack...
 
I want to play as Lammar and a combine
 
Who or what is the Combine?

The Combine is on many ways an overall word for an evil empire, who, like in Hl2, have settled on the earth. The Combine is not a race, but more like a power that lives and developes by their ability to adapt. Their succes as a power comes through their specialization abillities. None of the civilisations that the Combine has invadet and send to captivity has done any resitance, because the Combine strikes with lots of different attacks and with lots of different races. Resistance becomes nearly pointless. The human is just the only race that the Combine has led to captivity - in Hl2 we see that in form of Metro Cops and Combine Soldiers.

Sorry for any spelling and grammer mistakes... I'm just 14yr.... Well you propably all heard this before but I found it interesting...
 
I always thought they were called combine because they were a combination of organic and machine, like bio-mech or something
 
Hm...

Figured it was more ( like Doug said ) the whole adaption thing, using traits from each successive conquered world to enhance themselves as a race. Hence Combine, a combination of races.
 
Well. I have tried to translate it all.
Please don't flame me for bad english :)

The lost gameplays
By Petter Engelin

Petter Engelin got himself a talk with Doug Lombardi about last years best experience, and the things that didn't
reach the final game.
Many of you behind the monitors have ask os about what actually happened with the parts of Half-Life 2
which was shown at the E3 2003, only to disapear later, and be impossible to find.
We called the boys at Valve to hear the history behind it all.

[Question]Half-Life 2 was awarded game of the year in 2004 by a agreed council (not quite sure how to translate "Redaktionspanel". It means thoose behind the news. Thoose who write them) How does it feel?

[Answer] Ofcause it is a great honor for everyone who works at Valve, and I deffiently belive that it is the first award
which Half-Life 2 so far have recived - At least of what I know about.
The first game won more than 50 award. But thanks alot for the award, it is extremly nice to hear.

[Question]There are parts of Half-Life 2 which was shown at the E3 2003 and later ECTS 2003, which never
found itself all the way to the complete game. For example the episode with the Blue waterworm -
what happened to thoose pars of the game?

[Answer]
It was actually more than 10 scenes we showed at E3 and ECTS, which was later cut, or changed a lot
in relation to the complete game. We proberbly have had more than 30 other enemies and a bit more vehichles,
we also had to cut. The main reason to why it was cut, was actually that we found another and better way to
create a feeling of drama, or thrill. That's the way it is with games. It is a flowing proces, where changes and improvments always happen.
Sometimes stuff must be changed for a better result. When we are talking about the Water Worm also know as "The Hydra"
then it was actually a quite painfull decision both for the design team, and Ken Birdwell, who was behind the grafical challenge, and the AI,
to drop the idea.

Most of all it hurt because a whole chapter of the game actually was build around that odd creature.
We had created som big enviroments which The Hydra could move in, and there was a lot of exciting stuff included
in that meeting. At last we dropped it all. We also had to cut a Combine-Executer called "Cremator", a
so called Stalker, a flying vehichle called Synths, and a creature from the spaces, which is captured by the combined
and is later used in the battle against Gordon. Until a Year ago the little boat actually was a Jetski, with a machinegun attached.
The reason why it was changed was because i actually felt more like running or driving in sted of sailing.

[Question]Half-Life 2 have allready sold really good, and the total gamepress descrive the games as the best ind the world.
The best action game ever. Did you expect that?

[Answer]When we are talking about the game-sold-number-thing (I don't know in english. The number of how many copies of the game there has been sold)
then we are offcause always hopping for the best. But we had not expectet that it would sell that good, and that fast.
We where, as always, very nervous just before the game was released. When it comes to thoose incredible nice reviews
, then it feels nice to have reached your goal we had decided.
We wanted to give the gamers a follower which lived up to it's name, a follower that made some movement in the
game development in the game buisnes. And in the same time gave thoose many who played the first half-life a
incredible continue, excatly as the wanted. A good game is infact, by us, a little like a good movie. Except the main person doesn't know the scdript.
Of what we have heard and read, well then we seem to have acomplished that.
The development of the game, was a large task, and it has taking a lot of time to finish it.
It has taken all the employers of Valve a lot of work, and in the last months we have worked hard to make it perfect. And it has been worth it.
You can feel that clear enough, when you see the reactions we get back from the many gamers.

[Question]What is the idea behind the registration proces on steam?

[Answer]
Our goal with the registration on steam, was to limit the pirating of our game.
In the lates years we have seen how some of the greates expectet games, from the other companies have been
laid of for download weeks before the release date. And we did not want that to happen for Half-Life 2.
We had some problems with the large number of gamers who suddenly all regged there game on the same time on steam the 16. november,
but we quickly solved it, and haven't had problems since.

[Question]Excatly how long did the development of Half-Life 2 take?

[Answer]
We started in february 1999.

[Question]Who, or what is the Combine?

[Answer] The Combine is in many ways a word for a evil empire which in half-life 2 has invaded Earth.
The Combine isn't a specie, but more like a power (force) that live and develop in advance of there strength of apdaption.
Their way to do so, comes in form of there specialisation ability.
None of the civilizations the Combine so far have invaded, and inslaved have made a lot of resistance.
Because The combine hits with a lot of different attacks, and a ocean of different spicies.
Restistance seems almost meaningless. The humans are just the latest race which the Combie has lead to inslavement.
We see that in Half-Life 2 in form of the Metro Cops and Combine Soldiers.

[Question] When Gamereactor last spring visited your office, Gabe Newell almost said to much.
He revealed in fact parts of the plans you at Valve had for Half-Life 3.
Can you tell us a bit more of thoose plans?

[Answer]
Of course we're interested in telling more about the universe we have created and therefore we will continue making sequels to the game.
At the moment we're working on a game where you play as Alyx and her well known robotdog - Dog...
I can't tell more at the moment.

[Question] When will we get to play Team Fortress 2?

[Answer]We work on full steam (get my translation joke? HAHAHSWOAWLRIJ) on realising Team Fortress 2, which ofcause wil run on the same game engine as Half-Life 2.
We will tell more in the spring.

[Question]Here at last, are there anything you wish to say to Gamereactors many readers?

[Answer]That must be, Thank you all who have bought the game, and enjoyed it. We love to create these expansions
and will, as said, continue to develop games in that universe.
I hope the many games vil continue to play them.

According to Gabe Newell, who is in charge at Valve, the company is allready working on Half-Life 3, which takes place some time aftes the latest game. They are also working, as Doug Lombardi revealed, a expansion where you take control over Alyx. Some rumors says that this expansion vil give the gamer the opporunity to play Half-Life 2 as a Co-Op experience. One as Gordon, and one as Alyx.
 
Frank said:
Btw. if this gets to the front page of Halflife2.net then I want to be thanked... :)
Click to expand...
Well you do deserve more credit than gamereactor ever will, oh that also means that you should stay away from that piece of shit also known as a gamesite.

Still this is no new information, it's been mentioned before and it has never been a statesecret that Half-Life 3 of course would be made, neither was it a leak.
 
Lemonking said:
cool finally I get to shoot with that Auto-pistol
Click to expand...

Or you can just type give weapon_alyxgun.

We, or at least I... allready knew there would be expansion packs with Alyx and Dog - it's been posted many times before that there would be expansion packs.
 
I mean this has always been something we knew we'd get.

There was no way we'd get hl2 and then wait 5 years for hl3, Valve have always been about expansions - I love it.
 
azz0r said:
I mean this has always been something we knew we'd get.

There was no way we'd get hl2 and then wait 5 years for hl3, Valve have always been about expansions - I love it.
Click to expand...

it wont yake that long for HL3 Gabe said 3 years at most
 
I would much rather have an expansion pack for the Combine or Barney in the resistance, then Dog.
 
tembleofbu said:
Who or what is the Combine?

The Combine is on many ways an overall word for an evil empire, who, like in Hl2, have settled on the earth. The Combine is not a race, but more like a power that lives and developes by their ability to adapt. Their succes as a power comes through their specialization abillities. None of the civilisations that the Combine has invadet and send to captivity has done any resitance, because the Combine strikes with lots of different attacks and with lots of different races. Resistance becomes nearly pointless. The human is just the only race that the Combine has led to captivity - in Hl2 we see that in form of Metro Cops and Combine Soldiers.

Sorry for any spelling and grammer mistakes... I'm just 14yr.... Well you propably all heard this before but I found it interesting...
Click to expand...

G-man says he is impressed by those who adapt and survive. They rather remind him of himself.

Therefore you can hazard a guess that G-man used to be in association with the combine, but he adapted and survived beyond them, now using this to fight the combine.

A rogue combine agent if you will. Just one of my speculations, of many.
 
Ennui said:
we already knew that there were going to BE expansions - this doesn't really add anything, does it?

or did we not know for sure that you'd be able to play alyx in one? I know we all thought so anyway.
Click to expand...


Really? How did ya know that it was confirmed an expansion pack?

Don't you see that everyone in this thread didn't know?
 
Playing as Alyx would be cool... but actually playing as Dog? That would suck...
 
hmm...playing as Alyx? well i suppose it would be interesting but i would rather play as Adrian Shepherd :)
 
Playing as dog would be cool cos of his built in grav gun.

Now if Alyx added a machine gun :LOL: :LOL: :LOL:
 
There are new pictures in this article, some of them awesome.
 
MigaS_tX said:
Really? How did ya know that it was confirmed an expansion pack?

Don't you see that everyone in this thread didn't know?
Click to expand...

it was announced even before HL2's release.
there were rumours that Alyx would be playable in HL3, but that was all about HL2 expansion packs.

as you can see not everyone in this thread didn't know that:p

SHIPPI said:
Playing as Alyx would be cool... but actually playing as Dog? That would suck...
Click to expand...

I think that playing as DOG would be mighty cool. no weapons - just G-gun and DOG's mechanical power. so more Traptown-like puzzles, more Combine-ragdoll-fun, vehicle-soccer and stuff.
that would be nice IMO

on those early screenshots Kleiner looks like some drunkard and Mossman looks like a nazi wolfenstein-like mad scientist babe.
it's good VALVe updated them;)
 
what are these pictures of ?
Click to expand...

Some of them, are actually from raising the bar.

Playign as dog would be ace, picking up cars, usign his in built grav gun, smashign combine....wow.
 
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