HalfLife2 Must Go Gold This Monday Or Tuesday To Be On Time

[Feath]

Originally posted by kinggi
more than likely the email was late in coming. although 200,000 isnt that many.

Why are you making excuses? "Well, Half-Life has gone gold, should we tell Valve?" "Nah, we'll e-mail them in a few days".

 

[el Chi]

Steelhed... What ARE you talking about?

 

[Deadline]

Originally posted by Steelhed
You Might get the Delay Notice Monday Or Tuesday! Don't expect the game til next year Somewhere around Mar 2004... Don't be disappointed, They'll start with a delay til November, Then It will get delayed til Christmas, Right on up to Mar 2004 or So.. Hey, They gotta keep you guy's around Don't they? You don't think they're just gonna shoot ya straight and tell ya when it's really going to be released Right? Otherwise you might leave, and developers/Publishers Like to start counting their money way ahead of time....

Steelhed, please give us some Hard and Official backup to your claims, then and only then will we believe you.

 

[Alzxul]

You're overestimating the demand. HL1 has "only" 5 million copies sold over the whole years.

More like 10 million +

You don't think they're just gonna shoot ya straight and tell ya when it's really going to be released Right?

Well Gabe and other members of Valve have told us on numerous occasions that it's going to be September 30th.

You Might get the Delay Notice Monday Or Tuesday! Don't expect the game til next year Somewhere around Mar 2004... Don't be disappointed

You really think it's going to take all that time to play test a game?

 

[kinggi]

you better hope your right or im making a thread on release day with all your qoutes along with others.

 

[Feath]

Originally posted by Steelhed
It's by word of Mouth, What do you want me to do have the guy write you a letter.. I'm not trying to burst anyone's bubble, I'd love nothing more than to see this game out sept 30th, The game is going to be great, But I don't believe in keeping paying customers in suspense, in order to Hype up the game( Like it really needs it), Then to let them down But it is a tactic usually typical of Publishers, But think Valve is O.K. with this.. Valve is my personal favorite game dev, Right next to DICE. A Dev/Publisher team wants to see how much they are going to make on the game as it's in the works, SO they give out phony release dates to see the anthill grow, Start counting their expected profits roughly, Then Repeat the process until there is a Huge Following bye the time the game is released.. With Valves support of Mods, They do not need this Hype, So I don't understand why they are doing it...

So you've accused them of doing something then claim to not understand why they are doing it.

You've just summed up the argument against you. It doesn't make sense, does it?

EDIT: "Tony Blair eats live babies! I don't understand why he does this because he could lose some support of the public and there is plently of normal food to eat".

 

[Guest]

Lol, thats what I was thinking.

 

[manny_c44]

Originally posted by Feath

EDIT: "Tony Blair eats live babies! I don't understand why he does this because he could lose some support of the public and there is plently of normal food to eat".

 

[Alzxul]

you better hope your right or im making a thread on release day with all your qoutes along with others.

Can't wait to read that post

 

[Chris D]

Steelhed, if Valve was one of your favourite developers, you'd know that they aren't the type of company that a) needs to do deceptive publicity stunts b) needs the money that a deceptive publicity stunt would gain.

There are no external investors. The company was started by Gabe Newell and Mike Harrington who pulled the money out of their own bank accounts. Gabe and Mike are pretty much millionaires from the money they earnt and invested in Microsoft.

What you're saying makes zero sense. Especially considering the direct engine feeds we're seeing are from a fully functioning version of the game. The content for the game was finished a while ago and now they're in play test stages. I sent you a PM trying to get you to come clean about who your source was, but forget, I know whatever you say is a load of bullshit.

You won't get any respect for your word here Steelhed unless you can back it up with some reputable proof.

 

[Andy018]

Originally posted by Chris_D
I sent you a PM trying to get you to come clean about who your source was, but forget, I know whatever you say is a load of bullshit.

You won't get any respect for your word here Steelhed unless you can back it up with some reputable proof. [/B]

LOL his "source" is probably a friend of a friend who knows where Gabe has his lunch whos has a friend who is a waiter there

 

[DaveKap]

You know, Valve could always pull an "Electronic Arts" and package/ship/announce gold on this awesome game when it's really still beta, then hopefully get work on a patch done in time for the actual date when everybody is buying it in stores/downloading it from Steam. And if they really want to 100% pull the "Electronic Arts" move, they won't have the patch out in time and the game will play like crap.

:dork:

 

[JimJimBinks]

You really think it's going to take all that time to play test a game?

It's possible.
Play testing can take a looooooong time depending on the game.

 

[Chris D]

lol Andy. I've always said that.

I've got a source that tells me that Half-Life 2 has been cancelled. I know because my mother's work colleague used to work at PC Gamer and they had a meeting with Sierra one day who publish Half-Life and a person that had spoken to this Sierra guy in the corridor that works on the 5th floor who knows my mum too said that the Sierra guy said it was cancelled and was being replaced by the Half-Life engine that will have biozeminades and they make themselves look good.

I trust my mummy. My mummy wouldn't lie to me... again.

 

[Feath]

Originally posted by Steelhed
"you better hope your right or im making a thread on release day with all your qoutes along with others."

I will humbly eat my words, In fact I will eat a bowl of sh!t, with Chopsticks, If for some strange reason they actually release it on the 30th, I will take a picture of me eating it, and post it here.. It may look like a bowl of rocky road ice cream though.. No honestly, This guy doesn't bullshit, I don't think He's lying to me, and He seems pretty sure this will be the case.. My own speculations though fit right in with what he is telling me.. Think About it, Doom III keeps aligning its release date with HL2, they're both now slated for Mar 2004, and have changed release dates together a couple of times now..

Well, a major flaw in your argument is that Half-Life 2 has NEVER EVER changed it's release date. It was 30th September 6 months ago, it's the 30th of September now.

Can you honestly imagine this meeting at Valve:

Newell: "Okay, Doom3 has been delayed, I guess that means why have to delay Half-Life 2 as well."
Birdwell: "Damn, and we were going to make this release date as well."

 

[Direwolf]

I do have to say I hate to see the ol' CZ argument being dragged out again. HL2 and CZ are entirely deperate products and we have heard explicitly from Valve that CZ's date will NEVER impact that of HL2.
The point really is that Mar 2004 is an incredibly bold statement, and without anything to back it up no one here will ever believe it.

 

[kinggi]

i just cant wait to see him eating shit

 

[Feath]

Originally posted by Steelhed
Point 2, What good is Condition Zero gonna be if HL2 comes out before CZ? Might as well scrap that 5 year mission... The Mods will destroy CZ... They are in the business to make money as well as have fun.. Point 3, Typically a game has gone gold by now in this stage of the process... Too many things point to a significant delay, This is aside from My inside source.. Whether the game is finished or not, It wouldn't be smart marketing strategy to Release HL2 In sept, and CZ in November.. The fact that they have not given an official release date is questionable.

30th of September, perhaps? And Gabe has said before that they wouldn't change Half-Life 2's release date for Condition Zero.. It's in the archives of Planet Half-Life.

Originally posted by Steelhed
There have been time when you guys here on the board knew things Gabe didn't know yet.. Like I said, expect some good excuses... Either way, One day though, HL2 Will hold the market again with their classy style of programming, and support for the Mods.. I'm not saying marketing strategies are evil, Just, Lets think of the people who are going to be paying them back for this project, The end-user.. I really hope they change their mind and release it on the 30th, cause I have alot of respect for them, and would hate to lump them in with other DEV/PUB's..

"Classy style of programming" is an amazing phrase. I can see a lot of gamers going "Wow, this programming is so classy". I think you mean gameplay.

Are you suggesting that you may know it's been delayed but GABE NEWELL himself wouldn't? Can you not see that's completely absurd. And I can't recall one instance when we knew something about Half-Life 2 and he didn't. Though, at one point he said he had no idea where other release dates come from. And the fans have a pretty good idea where some people get their release dates from. (Clue: It rhymes with "Farce")

 

[Chris D]

"you better hope your right or im making a thread on release day with all your qoutes along with others."

I will humbly eat my words, In fact I will eat a bowl of sh!t, with Chopsticks, If for some strange reason they actually release it on the 30th, I will take a picture of me eating it, and post it here.. It may look like a bowl of rocky road ice cream though.. No honestly, This guy doesn't bullshit, I don't think He's lying to me, and He seems pretty sure this will be the case.. My own speculations though fit right in with what he is telling me.. Think About it, Doom III keeps aligning its release date with HL2, they're both now slated for Mar 2004, and have changed release dates together a couple of times now.. Point 2, What good is Condition Zero gonna be if HL2 comes out before CZ? Might as well scrap that 5 year mission... The Mods will destroy CZ... They are in the business to make money as well as have fun.. Point 3, Typically a game has gone gold by now in this stage of the process... Too many things point to a significant delay, This is aside from My inside source.. Whether the game is finished or not, It wouldn't be smart marketing strategy to Release HL2 In sept, and CZ in November.. The fact that they have not given an official release date is questionable. There have been time when you guys here on the board knew things Gabe didn't know yet.. Like I said, expect some good excuses... Either way, One day though, HL2 Will hold the market again with their classy style of programming, and support for the Mods.. I'm not saying marketing strategies are evil, Just, Lets think of the people who are going to be paying them back for this project, The end-user.. I really hope they change their mind and release it on the 30th, cause I have alot of respect for them, and would hate to lump them in with other DEV/PUB's..

You ever seen that big button that says "ENTER" on it?

1) I look forward to seeing you eat your own shit.
Who the **** is "this guy"? Who is he, what is he, where is he, and how the **** would he know anything?

2) Gabe has said on many occasion that Half-Life 2 will not be delayed because of Counter-Strike CZ. He said that CZ would be out before HL2, unless CZ is delayed until after September, in which case they'll keep CZ until they decide to port it over to the Source engine. Ritual finished CZ months ago, and now Valve has it back. In house at Valve works the CS Team including Minh Lea (Gooseman) and Cliffe who are currently working on a CS related project. Most probably CS2. Why delay a much anticipated game for one that costs half the price and already had reviews of nothing higher than 70%?

3) Everyone official at Valve is still saying that the release date remains unchanged. I'd just like to clarify:
I look forward to seeing you eat your own shit.

 

[Feath]

Originally posted by Steelhed
Vise-Versa On that meeting Feath.

Ahem:

So you imagine this meeting at id?

Carmack: "Oh no, Half-Life 2 is delayed, we'd better delay Doom3. Because we wouldn't want them to come out at different times or anything."

Does Logic not appeal to you?

 

[Andy018]

They dont need a massive supply of disks for the initial launch they may have 20 - 30 000 pre orders.

I wouldnt expect huge demand like say PS2 but I would expect a large demand for a PC game. i think it could go gold this week of next week and still make it out on the 30th.

Plus it depends how many CD dupe' companies Sierra have working on the title too.

 

[coax]

yeah.. mar 2004??
i mean ok, 2 weeks delay. sure. but ****ing 4 months?
i SERIOUSLY doubt that. the only way that could happen is for some reason they missed a really huge bug that affects alot of the engine/game..

i think right now they are finebrushing it, and they're probably pushing and working to get it out just in time.
in other words, they're trying to do the best they can, and not rush it out too early. they wanna get it out as fine polished and bug free as they can so they're releasing the gold JUST in time.

(optimistic of course)

 

[Chris D]

Yeah that comment was pretty stupid Steel. Half-Life has never officially been delayed so Doom 3 hasn't been delaying their game parallel to HL2 being delayed.

It would actually make best marketing if they released the games seperately. I don't have £80 to spend in one week on games. So if HL2 and D3 came out together, one of them would have to wait. That'd be the same for many people. If they were released within months of each other a) one company can get their game out sooner and wow the market b) the other company can delay their came so it doesn't clash with their competitors, monitor the views of the community after the first game is released, and then use the delay time to make their game better. I'd say it was a good decision from Carmack to delay the game.

 

[Gunner]

LOoLRoFL Im Steelhed... I is teh sh!t cuz I no sutff u dont! HL2 iz delaydd till novemlber 2009 my inside sourse told me so! lOOlmaoROFl!!11

Classic AOL syndrome

 

[JimJimBinks]

I resent that. I do bother to check my facts and I don't lie.

And it's 4 days before the release date.

So, according to the story you linked me to, and your post, it went gold November 7th. The release date was November 19th (According to IGN.com) That's not 4 days.
Why am I going from IGN.com's release date and not Gamespot's?

Because Gamespot lists the Release Date as 10/31/1998, which would require a time machine if the game went gold on November 7th

 

[Andy018]

also i can Fed Ex something from the UK to america within 2 days if i pay for it.

infact quoting the Fed Ex Website here

FedEx International First
The fastest way to more of the USA

FedEx International First is a major breakthrough in transatlantic distribution.

A service that offers delivery before 8 a.m. to nearly 5000 zip codes across the USA.

We are so confident in our 8 a.m. service that, even if we are as little as 60 seconds late, you can request your money back*. Proof of our commitment to providing reliable express delivery.

So i could theoretically send a few thousand copies to each distrubuter in the UK from the US and it would get there over night. DONT you just LOVE fed ex!

I just wish Wilson would come back LOL

 

[Feath]

Originally posted by JimJimBinks
It went gold November 7th. The release date was November 19th (According to IGN.com) That's not 4 days.
Why am I going from IGN.com's release date and not Gamespot's?
Because Gamespot lists the Release Date as 10/31/1998, which would require a time machine if the game went gold on November 7th

Well, I asked someone the release date and obviously they told me the wrong one.

Unreal Tournament 2003 went Gold a week before the release and that was in a high demand. (I don't have a source for this but it seems to be accepted knowledge).

 

[Andy018]

Originally posted by JimJimBinks
So, according to the story you linked me to, and your post, it went gold November 7th. The release date was November 19th (According to IGN.com) That's not 4 days.
Why am I going from IGN.com's release date and not Gamespot's?

Because Gamespot lists the Release Date as 10/31/1998, which would require a time machine if the game went gold on November 7th

thats twelve days.


HL2 is 17 days away

Thats 5 days so they have to announce gold on friday for or it may delayed

 

[Feath]

Originally posted by Andy018
also i can Fed Ex something from the UK to america within 2 days if i pay for it.

infact quoting the Fed Ex Website here

So i could theoretically send a few thousand copies to each distrubuter in the UK from the US and it would get there over night. DONT you just LOVE fed ex!

I just wish Wilson would come back LOL

They would press the CDs for the UK in Europe (if not in the UK itself). So this isn't really a problem. The other thing that would need to be sent over is the master CDs.

 

[Direwolf]

Or it may be secret.
Sneaky bastards.

 

[Chris D]

Originally posted by Andy018
They dont need a massive supply of disks for the initial launch they may have 20 - 30 000 pre orders.

I wouldnt expect huge demand like say PS2 but I would expect a large demand for a PC game. i think it could go gold this week of next week and still make it out on the 30th.

Plus it depends how many CD dupe' companies Sierra have working on the title too.

Any that are part of the Vivendi Universal Games network, which is massive. Vivendi are the parent company of many many publishers.

Universal Music Group who publish all these record lables:
Interscope Geffen A&M
Island Def Jam Music Group
MCA Nashville
Mercury Records
Mercury Nashville
Lost Highway
Polydor Barclay
Universal Motown Records Group
Decca
Deutsche Grammophon
Philips
ECM
Verve Music Group

I'd imagine most of them would have the facilities to publish computer games too.

Universal Pictures Group that would surely have the facilities to produce games too.

"Black Label Games, Blizzard Entertainment, Fox Interactive, Knowledge Adventure, Sierra Entertainment, and Universal Interactive in North America, and Coktel, NDA Productions and Massive Entertainment in Europe" are all part of VU Games, any one of them would surely be able to publish the game too.

They're all part of the same network, for gigantic releases like this, surely VU would let Sierra titles to be published at anyone of the above places if they have the right facilities to do so?

 

[Andy018]

Originally posted by Feath
They would press the CDs for the UK in Europe (if not in the UK itself). So this isn't really a problem. The other thing that would need to be sent over is the master CDs.

didnt think of that

but in that case would still only take a day to get here

 

[Marauder]

Um, guys, the Gold Date is not neccessarily the same date they begin mass produced the manuals, boxes, and CD's. It is actually the date in which the Q/A (Quality Assurance) department of their respective publisher gives the go ahead to produce it. The gold date is simply announced to tell people its good to go. They do NOT have to tell anyone about it.

Also, just because a game went gold does not mean it is or will be mass produced within the same day or week. They can tell everyone it went gold, and already have 1 million copies made if they felt like making it a surprise. Or, they can tell everyone the same day they get the Gold go ahead and begin producing then.

HL1 was official announced as gold 3 days before it hit shelves where I live.

 

[Andy018]

Originally posted by Chris_D
They're all part of the same network, for gigantic releases like this, surely VU would let Sierra titles to be published at anyone of the above places if they have the right facilities to do so?

LOL with all them companies (i didnt realise it was so many but i knew Vivendi was big) im pretty sure they are able to meet demand. LOL

 

[Andy018]

Originally posted by Marauder
Um, guys, the Gold Date is not neccessarily the same date they begin mass produced the manuals, boxes, and CD's. It is actually the date in which the Q/A (Quality Assurance) department of their respective publisher gives the go ahead to produce it. The gold date is simply announced to tell people its good to go. They do NOT have to tell anyone about it.

Its not a matter of wanting to or "having" to its news like that that would simply be leaked.


Q/A is already going on this we know because in the Valve info post Erik Johnson gets asked "what are you guys doing right now? "Play testing testing testing"

 

[Seikeden]

hey don't forget they could probably have theg ame gold on the 29th and still manage to get it on steam on the 30th. But only if they wanna piss off Vivendi/Sierra

 

[Joneleth]

http://www.shugashack.com/archives/n14_n8.htm

Check under "November 9th", and here's the quote from Gabe himself:

Half-Life has gone gold, and is in manufacturing.
I'd like to say how extraordinarily grateful all of us here at Valve are for the support and enthusiasm you have shown Half-Life over the last two years. We are very proud of the product, and hope it lives up to your expectations.
Sierra will be sending out a media alert tomorrow giving more details on the street date.

Note for those who can't read good: This is for HALF-LIFE, not half-life 2. Also note that it went gold on the 7th (Saturday), but CD didn't start duplication until the 9th (Monday).

 

[Feath]

Originally posted by Andy018
Its not a matter of wanting to or "having" to its news like that that would simply be leaked.


Q/A is already going on this we know because in the Valve info post Erik Johnson gets asked "what are you guys doing right now? "Play testing testing testing"

Actually, that was a Doug Lombardi quote from ECTS. It may not be leaked.

Anyway, if it was leaked by "a friend of a janitor" or something, not many people would believe it.

 

[qckbeam]

I don't think that Valve will tell us when the game goes gold. I honestly believe now that this delay stuff is a brilliant marketing ploy. If they tell us this week that the game has gone gold than there will be more time for the hype over the delay to die down. They would want to keep people in anticipation for as long as possible. The moment they announce gold status they kill the delay rumours and suspense.

 

[alco]

agreed, qckbeam, half-life 2 would barely sell 50,000 copies without the delay hype.

Not to bash on your post, though. But I don't think Valve would resort to that. It's not like it would bring in much more sales or anything. The community would still be excited as hell about HL2.