HL: Alyx announcement trailer

[Krynn72]

O yeah and Ennui: the dude with the brain-neuron-synapses avatar who, many years later, made me look up what ennui actually meant (for, like, ten years I just associated that exact word with him without ever actually knowing what it signified [and even though I know it means exhaustion or lassitude I still think of his avatar when I hear the word])

Its the same for me. Any time I read the word Ennui I have to remind myself that they're not mentioning a hl2.net member. I also did not know the meaning of the word (nor its pronunciation) until years later. I just thought it was a name he came up with, and in my head I always pronounced it en-you-ee. Which makes it funny because if I hear the word in real life, I don't make the same connection like I do if I read it.

 

[Ennui]

O yeah and Ennui: the dude with the brain-neuron-synapses avatar who, many years later, made me look up what ennui actually meant (for, like, ten years I just associated that exact word with him without ever actually knowing what it signified [and even though I know it means exhaustion or lassitude I still think of his avatar when I hear the word])

Its the same for me. Any time I read the word Ennui I have to remind myself that they're not mentioning a hl2.net member. I also did not know the meaning of the word (nor its pronunciation) until years later. I just thought it was a name he came up with, and in my head I always pronounced it en-you-ee. Which makes it funny because if I hear the word in real life, I don't make the same connection like I do if I read it.

remember when i was Audiophile?

also i go by hands now, and have been for the last decade

you cant imagine the range of pronunciations of ennui i've heard over the years using this name in games

also its real nice to see you fellas

 

[Cunni]

/takes crowbar out of back of the closet /starts dusting and shining it. LETS ROLL!!!

 

[Xaxor]

Oh look, I have a reason to dust off this account finally. I do need to replace my rig but I can't see myself dropping hundreds on a peripheral I may use for one game. Of course if the mythical 3 should arrive... I expect it to be VR too.

 

[Lizardizzle]

/takes crowbar out of back of the closet /starts dusting and shining it. LETS ROLL!!!

Oh yeah dust it, baby.

Hi! Yes it's true, but with the rise of Steam forum and Reddit, it's harder. It was so exciting back in the day. Steam was in its infancy and we would all ogle on these forums when a new Bink video would be released. Do you remember they'd release those 100mb Bink videos that showed parts of the game in full screen? Man those were so cool back in the day. I remember there were like 5000 people online on here at the same time back in the vBulletin days.Good times.

Unfortunately I feel like multiple factors prevent people from finding, using, and coming back to forums. Twitter, Steam, YouTube, and Reddit all provide vast information and discussion that people may look for, and for most, that's all they probably want/need. They're not going to come across a little forum like this and jump in (unless they do! Do it!) willy-nilly. Forums are a someone different type of internet etiquette compared to other discussion outlets, I think.

And all the accounts that are left over from days of yore are all either forgotten by time, by password loss, or by email loss.

 

[dfc05]

Tentatively excited about new Half-Life content, but I've only had work laptops for the last 10 years and mostly I've only played little adventure/puzzle games during that time. So, I'd need to jump a whole decade in technology.... no clue where to even start on that!

It's nice to see some activity here. Never got into Reddit/Twitter.

 

[Lizardizzle]

Tentatively excited about new Half-Life content, but I've only had work laptops for the last 10 years and mostly I've only played little adventure/puzzle games during that time. So, I'd need to jump a whole decade in technology.... no clue where to even start on that!

It's nice to see some activity here. Never got into Reddit/Twitter.

I'm hoping for some sort of VR rental/ internet cafe-style businesses to start popping up.

 

[Vaapukka]

I'm hoping for some sort of VR rental/ internet cafe-style businesses to start popping up.

That sadly sounds like something that would only be a thing in the states, which is already one of the places where VR is the most accessible. It's going to be a nightmare to get play game in most places outside of Europe and America.

 

[dfc05]

I'm hoping for some sort of VR rental/ internet cafe-style businesses to start popping up.

Yes, that would be great for those of us who got kind of old and don't play games so often anymore. I'm curious what their demographic will end up being.

 

[Ennui]

I'm hoping for some sort of VR rental/ internet cafe-style businesses to start popping up.

these exist in the states a bit but I don't think they tend to last very long.

dfc05 (good to see you!) if you need help/advice on building a VR capable setup look no further... but it's gonna cost a pretty penny

 

[dfc05]

Advice on that would be much appreciated!
I'll probably end up waiting a few months after HL:A comes out, and then try to get everything together, expecting a good setup today should drop in price next summer. Not a big deal for me to avoid spoilers.

 

[AJ Rimmer]

*lights come on*
Aaah, I remember this. Did I leave anything on my desk? Huh. Alright, let's get this thing fired up again.


Oh man this thing is really gummed up.
*creaking noises followed by a loud clank*
Much better.
*shuffles papers*
Alright. So. I understand there's been developments.

 

[Ennui]

long time no see AJ

 

[AJ Rimmer]

Likewise.
*tips hat*

 

[Krynn72]

 

[Tollbooth Willie]

More footage came out and this shit looks jank as ****. The grabbing mechanics look ****ed. Ladders teleport like an on-rails game. Headcrabs have the same behavior, neutered. No ****ing wonder they canceled 2 ****ing hours before they were to stream the game at The Game Awards. They knew they had nothing to show besides corridors and headcrabs with vr grabbing that barely works.

 

[Shem]

More footage came out and this shit looks jank as ****. The grabbing mechanics look ****ed. Ladders teleport like an on-rails game. Headcrabs have the same behavior, neutered. No ****ing wonder they canceled 2 ****ing hours before they were to stream the game at The Game Awards. They knew they had nothing to show besides corridors and headcrabs with vr grabbing that barely works.

It was underwhelming to me as well.

 

[Pi Mu Rho]

I don't exist.

 

[Krynn72]

I don't exist.

You never did.

 

[Tollbooth Willie]

I don't exist.

I just realized my bo0xers are on backwards.

 

[CombineAdvisor3]

Wow. Can you believe that we're actually seeing new Half-Life material again? after how many years? i'm so stoked and can't wait to see City 17 in the virtual space, it's gonna feel even more immersive, more tense, more unnerving, more terrifying. Is it Half-Life? or is it now Virtual-Life? haha

So, some details worthy of note:
1. The Citadel is in it's early stages of development, there are heavy duty support systems and even more cables 'suffocating' the heart of City 17.
2. The Combine are juicing antlion grubs to produce health charging formula.
3. A new character named Russel who was helping Alyx apparently before Dr Kliener, though it begs the question, where is Russel in HL2?
4. There's a weird Combine ship hovering in the sky almost tantamount to the Citadel's position, is it the prototype for the Citadel's core? why is it not in HL2?
5. Xen flora is covering parts of the city like an infestation, none of this was seen in HL2, so we can assume the Combine did a cleanup job before Gordon's return.
6. Why is Eli's last words echoed in the trailer? seems suspicious for a supposed prequel, is it a vision from the Vortigaunts? did they warn Alyx of what was going to happen to her father in EP2? is it possible that we'll go past EP2 in this storyline and HLA is actually a part prequel, part sequel? maybe it'll link up to Epistle 3 in some way?

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

Wow. Can you believe that we're actually seeing new Half-Life material again? after how many years? i'm so stoked and can't wait to see City 17 in the virtual space, it's gonna feel even more immersive, more tense, more unnerving, more terrifying. Is it Half-Life? or is it now Virtual-Life? haha

So, some details worthy of note:
1. The Citadel is in it's early stages of development, there are heavy duty support systems and even more cables 'suffocating' the heart of City 17.
2. The Combine are juicing antlion grubs to produce health charging formula.
3. A new character named Russel who was helping Alyx apparently before Dr Kliener, though it begs the question, where is Russel in HL2?
4. There's a weird Combine ship hovering in the sky almost tantamount to the Citadel's position, is it the prototype for the Citadel's core? why is it not in HL2?
5. Xen flora is covering parts of the city like an infestation, none of this was seen in HL2, so we can assume the Combine did a cleanup job before Gordon's return.
6. Why is Eli's last words echoed in the trailer? seems suspicious for a supposed prequel, is it a vision from the Vortigaunts? did they warn Alyx of what was going to happen to her father in EP2? is it possible that we'll go past EP2 in this storyline and HLA is actually a part prequel, part sequel? maybe it'll link up to Epistle 3 in some way?

Seeing as Half-Life has no official canon, there's no such thing as canon--they can do whatever they want and create a universe apart from Half-Life 2

 

[CombineAdvisor3]

Seeing as Half-Life has no official canon, there's no such thing as canon--they can do whatever they want and create a universe apart from Half-Life 2

The hell? the games do have a set canon, that's why Black Mesa is still referenced in HL2, or the Test Chamber, or why Barney says he's from Black Mesa, i'm not even sure what to say to that. I'm so confused, all i did was note some (i thought) interesting things from the trailer.

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

The hell? the games do have a set canon, that's why Black Mesa is still referenced in HL2, or the Test Chamber, or why Barney says he's from Black Mesa, i'm not even sure what to say to that. I'm so confused, all i did was note some (i thought) interesting things from the trailer.

I guess I just mean to say that there's no official canon in the disney sense, Valve doesn't do any gate-keeping. If they want to change the story retroactively (retcon) that's fair game because there is no person to say that any particular game or piece of half-life media is "official story / canon"

that is to say, Valve doesn't have to answer to a bunch of screaming lore nerds for inconsistency because there's no "official" lore for Half-Life, Alyx is meant to be enjoyed as a work in itself apart from any other Half-Life like other Valve game launches.

We used to endlessly debate the canonocity of Opposing Force, Uplink and the tons of obscure HL Canon released by Valve when they made more games. Links to the world of Portal to HL2 quickly became popular, but the idea is that not even the creators know the answers to these questions.

Perhaps a powerful God on a border planet like Xen has the ability to change time and have them launch a counter-attack thus the Xen flora. The G-Man and Vortigaunts are capable of what amounts to "magic" having been known to do things like make people indestructible, revive people from death, warp people, and reach across galaxies. Half-Life is very appropriately a series whose narrative concerns time, given the definition of the word itself. It also makes wonderful sense because of how much time it takes Valve to develop games.

I would honestly appreciate a re-telling of the series at this rate. I think Episode 2 was a decent conclusion though, a series ought not drag.

hue

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

efc

 

[CombineAdvisor3]

I guess I just mean to say that there's no official canon in the disney sense, Valve doesn't do any gate-keeping. If they want to change the story retroactively (retcon) that's fair game because there is no person to say that any particular game or piece of half-life media is "official story / canon"

that is to say, Valve doesn't have to answer to a bunch of screaming lore nerds for inconsistency because there's no "official" lore for Half-Life, Alyx is meant to be enjoyed as a work in itself apart from any other Half-Life like other Valve game launches.

We used to endlessly debate the canonocity of Opposing Force, Uplink and the tons of obscure HL Canon released by Valve when they made more games. Links to the world of Portal to HL2 quickly became popular, but the idea is that not even the creators know the answers to these questions.

Perhaps a powerful God on a border planet like Xen has the ability to change time and have them launch a counter-attack thus the Xen flora. The G-Man and Vortigaunts are capable of what amounts to "magic" having been known to do things like make people indestructible, revive people from death, warp people, and reach across galaxies. Half-Life is very appropriately a series whose narrative concerns time, given the definition of the word itself. It also makes wonderful sense because of how much time it takes Valve to develop games.

I would honestly appreciate a re-telling of the series at this rate. I think Episode 2 was a decent conclusion though, a series ought not drag.

hue

Well, the Citadel is present, Alyx is present, Eli is present, City 17 is present, Xen flora and fauna is present, Vortigaunts are present, i'd say with 100% certainty that HLA is within the canon of Half-Life 1, Half-Life 2, etc. That's an imaginative theory you've got there though. :O Maybe the Borealis if included in the game, could mess with the timeline somehow, having to play EP2 before playing HLA as the team has recommended and all. Hmm.

 

[Shem]

Well, the Citadel is present, Alyx is present, Eli is present, City 17 is present, Xen flora and fauna is present, Vortigaunts are present, i'd say with 100% certainty that HLA is within the canon of Half-Life 1, Half-Life 2, etc. That's an imaginative theory you've got there though. :O Maybe the Borealis if included in the game, could mess with the timeline somehow, having to play EP2 before playing HLA as the team has recommended and all. Hmm.

All he's saying is that the presence of shared materials/assets across games doesn't necessarily mean that the one work in a series will officially expand upon or follow the other(s) story-wise (although there's a good chance this one will). Just having the same characters or location is not an exclusive measure of/for canonicity.