HL2 - Missed the Bar...

[miked4o7]

If you really believe that the physics in hl2 were nothing more than a tech gimmick then I truly believe you either didn't play the game, or are intentionally deluding yourself for some odd, unkown reason.

 

[Pi Mu Rho]

There's no point arguing with someone that has imbued themselves with the One True Opinion. They are right, you just don't see the oh-so-obvious truth and therefore have your heads in the sand.

 

[Miker75]

They are mostly for show, so it's not a big deal.

mostly for show?? I can't think of another game that has used physics simulation for other than ragdoll simulation. (other than trespasser, but that's better left forgotten).

The simple effects such as sitting concrete bricks on one side of a plank of wood so that you can reach up to a higher level are great fun. And I can't even imagine what could be possible in the future with this technology. Admittedly some of the physics puzzles in HL2 were pretty basic, but considering this is the first use of the Source Engine it's amazing, and we can only look forward to the types of puzzles that Valve will be able to cook up for HL3.

 

[pblse]

There's no point arguing with someone that has imbued themselves with the One True Opinion. They are right, you just don't see the oh-so-obvious truth and therefore have your heads in the sand.

Lots of that going on here, the "One True Opinion" of the site is that HL2 is the greatest ever and Valve is god, never seen so many religious fanatics in one place.

Or it's probably an age thing, I would expect most people here to be around 14.

 

[Pi Mu Rho]

Well, a lot of that could be down to the fact that this is a Half-Life 2 site. You'd be stupid to not expect a heavy bias.

By "the opinion of the site", I assume you mean the forum members as a whole. I assure you, the staff all have wildly differing opinions.

 

[Raz]

Lots of that going on here, the "One True Opinion" of the site is that HL2 is the greatest ever and Valve is god, never seen so many religious fanatics in one place.

Or it's probably an age thing, I would expect most people here to be around 14.

Of course, because everyone that likes HL2 must be a 14 year old 'religious' fanatic. Is it really so hard to believe that some people actually, honestly think the game is good? You've got some of that One True Opinion thing going on yourself, hypocrit.

 

[Soldcar4gasmony]

SoldCar4GasMony:

God almighty - you're STILL here? Geeze - you, Odysseus, and Spartan must either be masochists or incredibly stupid to be constantly posting on a game's fan site despite the fact that the 3 of clearly dislike the game immensely.

Look who's talking about being a masochist, i thought you ignored me...lol.

 

[Soldcar4gasmony]

Let's just forget for a moment that the the reception for the game is resoundingly positive.
Ignore for a minute that it now has the very same MP you whined that it needed.

If you want the game to be "a forgotten", why do you keep talking about it?
Why don't you just let it slide into obscurity, if it's so bad. You shouldn't need to waste your time whining about a game that everyone will have "a forgotten."
What are you going to do? Go around reminding people that you helped make people "a forget" about Half-life 2?
Not only does that make your cause self-effacing, it makes you look fairly stupid too. That goes for everyone whining here.

I've played games that I think are crappy, but I'm not turning my life over to thier destruction.
I'm not going onto the Gungriffon Blaze fansite and spending countless hours bitching and moaning.
Because it's not worth it.
And if you think the game isn't worth it, why are you acting as though it is?

Essentially, if the game as resoundingly awful as you all say it is, then there's even less point to whining about it on an internet forum.
The very fact that you have to come here and try and desperately plead people into not buying it basically proves that the game is great.
Certainly greater than you, in any case. Definitely more persuasive and popular, regardless of it's content.

And guess what? Every post you made here is because of Half-life 2. Every single one. And, not only that, each of those posts is contrasted by a hundred, if not a thousand positive ones.

You just spent several days of your life in the service of a game you profess to hate. And, not only that, you're making it look better by being three people softly whining amid a tremendous crowd of people who are chatting happily.

I can't decide whether (in a strange reversal) a game has owned you, or if you've just wasted yourselves.

Sigh, guess you haven't read or got the gist of my previous posts, i'll just summarize.I believe people go to these forums to get a general idea of a game from people who played them.I do,i get opinions from people i know and forums like this.I wouldn't be so anti-HL2 if:It didn't cost so damn much,Was a complete game with MP (not that rehashed CS crap), was a challenging game (not just eyecandy, was way to easy),Didn't require that steam BS, and most of all, i could sell my copy to someone if i didn't like it. That last reason is my biggest peave! i don't like it but i'm friggin stuck with it! Otherwise, i wouldn't give a shit and wouldn't even bother to post about it.This is not the first game i didn't like but is the first i've gone on rants about because I feel screwed over by it.So now, through posts and letting people i know play my copy on my machine, i'm turning people away from it.I have solice in knowing that at least 5 people who have considered this game are now avoiding it like the plague, others will follow.

 

[Kazuki_Fuse]

Have I missed something...? Do you guys have some insider knowledge that I don't have access to...? But IMHO HL2 fails to even meet the bar let alone raise it! I purchased HL2 via Steam and eagerly awaited, like the rest of you, the release - which came and went like a damp firework.

I loaded it up and was expecting something special - no such luck! Nothing is this game is extraordinardy - kill some grunts, kill some headcrabs, solve really easy puzzles. And the ending is so ridiculous, it beggers belief...! The GMan sends you to sleep - AGAIN! Please Valve don't insult your audience. We deserve better.

Then today I forked out £20 for the book "Raising the Bar" - looks nice, contains some background material - but yet again it poses more questions than answers!

The game seems 'rushed' - not complete - and someone please tell me how RavensHolm fits into the game - what does it add to the story - it has no connection whatsoever to the HL or the Combine theme!

Don't get me wrong I enjoyed the game for what it was - but not for what it should have been. I think Valve missed the bar - no doubt you fan boys will think different!

Bullz

Way to spoil the ending you selfish ****. Next time use spolier tags.

 

[Soldcar4gasmony]

Well some of us were waiting until we had got through the game to pack it away and never look back, others are waiting for the continual ****ed up patch releases to actually solve a lot of our issues, so we can then play it 100% as intended and maybe get a little bit more enjoyment out of it.. then pack it away and never look back. It is called wanting a return on your investment. If we paid for the same product we have as much right as you to discuss problems (and highlights) of the game. Once that game is finished (and I think for most people - 2 weeks is enough after purchase to finally give up on it with valves failed promises of fixes) then a lot of us will go away. I am on the last chapter, and my stuttering has returned. It had been fairly ok for the middle part of the game and I enjoyed a large portion of that time. I have kept my eye on all the threads (on various forums) for the latest tweaks/fixes/updates - and they appear to add problem on problem or just do not work for a lot of people. If it works for you then great. if you are 100% happy with the game then great. Do I tell you not to come post here?

"And, not only that, you're making it look better by being three people softly whining amid a tremendous crowd of people who are chatting happily."

HAHA, man you are living in your own world if you think that is the case, get out of the confines of hl2net forum where the fanaticism is strongest and you will see a hell of a lot of people who are not happy, not just a few.

Hint > Check steampowered forums firstly, 1 in 3 threads are about bugs, frustrations, and people pretty pissed at valve/vug right now. I haven't seen that many complaints (on such a scale) on any game forum in recent history. Obviously they have shifted loads of units which means there will be more posters, but also more readily shows how big a lot of the problems are. Problems that when combines == a shitty sub par experience for thousands of people who have paid the same cash as the happy users.

Exactly, Most supporters come off as blind fanboys because they fail to counter what people been complaining about. It's the squeaky wheel that gets the grease. We are the minority on a HL2 forum but were also going to be more regarded as not being fanboys and having a more unbiased opinion!

 

[Soldcar4gasmony]

Wait, you mean you never checked out the Far-Cry forums?
Perhaps the Star Wars Galaxies forums?
Gasp, Doom 3 forums?!
They all had LOADS of bug/glitch/gripe posts in them the first month or two.
Buddy, the game hasnt even been out a full month, of course there are going to be problems with the game. Its not the end of the world, they will get worked out.

-Alix

No offence but this game is been in developement for 6 years, how much longer?

 

[Alau]

If you don't like HL2 then stop playing, stop posting here, and stop giving grief to everyone else that likes the game. I'm PRETTY sure an HL2 based forum does not want or need a flame bait post about how Half-life 2 sux0rs. Bye. Ciao. C'ya. Adios. Sayanara. Jai Jian. Done and done.

 

[ATI4EVER!]

OK, im sick of these assholes. Im sure its been covered as there are 20+ pages but fo once and for all...

THE HALF LIFE 2 ENDING IS SUPPOSED TO BE A CLIFFHANGER. IF YOU DIDNT LIKE THE ENDING, DON'T PLAY HALF LIFE 2. IT'S SIMPLE. HALF LIFE 2 IS MADE FOR PEOPLE WHO LIKE SUSPENSE, IF YOU DONT LIKE IT, DONT BUY IT.
(read my sig now...)

As for the story, i give it an 9/10 thats 90% not perfect but pretty good.

 

[Alix Mcdean]

No offence but this game is been in developement for 6 years, how much longer?

And how long was Doom 3 in the making?
Any highly hyped title?
Ontop of that, there is no way there is NOT going to be people griping their arse off due to bugs/glitches.

-Alix

 

[Pulsar]

HL2 didnt miss the bar, and it is getting better and better.

 

[genocide604]

Here is my question, if dog can throw cars around, wrestle a alien ship... why cant he move a few boulders fallen in the hallway... seriously..

 

[AudioStar]

LoL. You guys are so lame. It's a game. LoL.

 

[Cyclis]

Apparently it's not cool to think HL2 is best first person shooter you've ever played anymore.

Ah, well. I never was cool anyway.

 

[4est]

.....I wonder when the trend of calling people fanboy is going to end. :dozey:

Amen. Every differing opinion does not mean that a person is a HL2/Halo2/Doom3/CS "fanboy". That word has been beaten into the ground.

 

[4est]

You chose your example really poorly. A very large portion of that timeline is pure speculation and fabrication. And why is it that way? Because we don't know anything, we have to fill the (huge) gaps with our own imagination, which is normally fine but severely overdone in this case.

That's odd. One of the HL2 makers said it just about covered everything.

Most of the "speculation and fabrication", as you call it, is actually a series of subtle clues given during the game. You just have to look for it.

 

[huff]

LoL. You guys are so lame. It's a game. LoL.

ok thats like saying its just a movie ... people will still give there opionon and back it up till the end. People argue about so much stuff its just the way we are, we dont care if its just a game , movie, or w/e . People have opionons and they will express them.


oh and btw i do beleive that the hl2 storyline was weak , should of explained a bit more and i think everything is told way 2 fast .. and i thought that slow 1 week time warp thing was pretty rediculious thanks for showing how the whole revolution started

 

[Styloid]

Why is this thread still around? How can HL2 miss the bar? There is no better FPS out than HL2 right now and for the next little while. No other FPS matches it in variety/originality of gameplay, character interaction and physical interaction (these are facts). I also think that it has the most fun gameplay in an FPS to date and the most immersive, the best looking and the best designed single player FPS ever (these are opinions). The bar has been raised-- room clearing just isn't good enough anymore. We will see, in the next while to come, games using gravity guns (with many dynamic, realistic props), characters that deliver lines and act straight at you, larger, more complex/imaginative action sequences and lots more because of HL2 (just like how HL1 inspired great games afterwards like Doom3).

No doubt there will be those who insist that the HL2 is nothing special--just like there were when HL1 came out. People will think whatever they want to think. I do feel, however, that they are being slightly narrow minded because the future holds more than just non-linear gameplay. When we start seeing HL2 influenced games will be proof that HL2 raised the bar at least a little.

 

[Sparta]

The way the story is told in HL2 reminds me of the way its told in Metroid Prime.

The story is there, but it isn't served to you on a plate like most FPS games, you have to go looking for it.

 

[Mechagodzilla]

Here is my question, if dog can throw cars around, wrestle a alien ship... why cant he move a few boulders fallen in the hallway... seriously..

Two reasons, really. First, it wasn't just a few boulders. The entire ceiling was collapsing. Right after Alyx leaves, even more of the roof falls down. That could be tons of rock, firmly stuck. Dog can't move things unless they are movable to begin with.

Second, it would be much faster for him to just climb out through the scrapyard instead of digging, giving him more time to save Eli.

Also, there's the big reason:
Alyx ordered Dog to do something else. Maybe Alyx made an error in judgement, or maybe she was more concerned that Gordon escape safely, with a section of collapsed ceiling preventing the combine from reaching him. Either way she told Dog to open the Ravenholm door and circle around, and that's exactly what he did.

 

[Ennui]

That's odd. One of the HL2 makers said it just about covered everything.

Most of the "speculation and fabrication", as you call it, is actually a series of subtle clues given during the game. You just have to look for it.

Yeah, but Spartan wouldn't be intelligent enough to look. Actually, Mark Laidlaw, who WROTE and CAME UP with the HL and HL2 story said that the timeline guy was "pretty darn close".

I loved Half-Life 2... call me fanboy, but it's pretty much the center of my computer life.

Not my real life though.

 

[Soldcar4gasmony]

OK, im sick of these assholes. Im sure its been covered as there are 20+ pages but fo once and for all...

THE HALF LIFE 2 ENDING IS SUPPOSED TO BE A CLIFFHANGER. IF YOU DIDNT LIKE THE ENDING, DON'T PLAY HALF LIFE 2. IT'S SIMPLE. HALF LIFE 2 IS MADE FOR PEOPLE WHO LIKE SUSPENSE, IF YOU DONT LIKE IT, DONT BUY IT.
(read my sig now...)

As for the story, i give it an 9/10 thats 90% not perfect but pretty good.

Hard to see if you don't like it unless you buy it.Then when you buy it, your stuck with it. maybe a playable demo would have prevented me from buying it but then gabe wouldn't have cashed in on my sale.

 

[Soldcar4gasmony]

And how long was Doom 3 in the making?
Any highly hyped title?
Ontop of that, there is no way there is NOT going to be people griping their arse off due to bugs/glitches.

-Alix

Yup, exactly!!!! Doom 3 took entirely too long and was over hyped. many forums said this, therefore i didn't buy Doom 3, nor do i support it.

 

[GRIMEY]

Yup, exactly!!!! Doom 3 took entirely too long and was over hyped. many forums said this, therefore i didn't buy Doom 3, nor do i support it.

You know there's a Doom 3 demo right?

 

[Dario D.]

Yeah, I don't know what happened... Im guessing 1/2 way though development they just randomly decided that the story would go even more up the wazoo than the first one. I JUST realized that hl2 could have been done way better. Unless I missed something... Did anyone find physics traps like in "traptown" other than a few at the beginning? Imo it was an AWESOME game, but it could have been SOOO much more with some work.

I second that. HL2 was awesome, but so far short of what it could have been.

- I also agree, "traptown" wasnt anything like what they hyped it to be... for obvious reasons... where are the cool traps they were showing off? Where are the zombies that bust open doors and walk circles around the house banging on windows?

While a mess in very many ways - on my 3rd run through the game I realize so many missions are completely boring or empty as far as gameplay, and even *un-fun* to replay - it still managed to knock several pairs of socks off the first time through with "best game ever" scores.

But after that, it's like riding the same roller coaster for the 5th time; nothing left. No tickle.

The only shooter that even comes close to HL2, Halo, makes up for the roller-coaster jawdropping by being really replayable, and having rock-solid gameplay oriented missions, where it's even recommended to play co-op; something you could never do in HL2, because "there aint nobody to shoot". The guy in front would get all the business.

 

[Pi Mu Rho]

Traptown was an E3 tech demo. It got turned into Ravenholm. The "zombies that bust open doors and walk circles around the house banging on windows" weren't zombies, they were combine in the tech demo.
Things get changed.

I really can't think of many games that have the same impact the third time around. What exactly are you looking for here?

 

[Dario D.]

Let's just say the tech demos and the game itself show that far more realism (and solid gameplay) is possible than present in the actual game.

HL2 raises the bar, and falls short beneath it. The Strider missions raise the bar... the coast missions fall beneath it... <imo

Gimme a Ravenholm where zombies bust into buildings, smash open doors, and crawl through windows in actual relentless pursuit of you, and you'll have an HL2 Game of the Decade Edition.

What you have right now is a game where you're the one who's always just finding guys with their pants down, give or take the Combine, who IMO are the best part of HL2.

 

[Pi Mu Rho]

There's just no pleasing some people.

 

[subtlesnake]

I would say that 95% of the gameplay from the tech demos is present in the final game, in various forms.

 

[Pesmerga]

Why didn't dog move the rocks so you could get to alyx??? He can freaking lift 10000 lbs, I guarantee he can move a few rocks.

Maybe he was distracted on the other end? I dunno, maybe he just really hates you for throwing the metal ball over the edge of the map. (Did anyone else do that? I kinda freaked out when I did it, I thought I had like broken the game or something when Alyx said "Uh oh" and Dog looked at me weird.)

Half-Life 2 is the only game that has literally made my face lit up. I was smiling the entire time.

Not only will I continue to play this game, but there are going to be a hundred great fun mods to play between now and 5 years from now.

 

[BetaMaster]

You threw it over too?!
I felt so bad when I did that...I mean, it was an accident!

 

[pomegranate]

A couple of points....

Comparing Doom 3 to Half-Life 2 for linearity doesn't really work - Doom 3 is for the most part set in closed, limited interiors. In the game's 'reality', there wouldn't be much choice about what route to take. Half-Life 2 is set in big, wide open areas, and the game would have been better, if you had had the choice to take a different route through these areas.

Responding to criticism of HL2 by saying "what FPS is better" is misguided. It's a Half-Life game. It's not about whether its marginally better than other games. Its about how it compares to 'itself', so to speak. What I mean is, and what my problem is, is that it might be 50% (to pick a random measure) better than every other FPS out there. The problem is, Half-Life 1 was a HUGE leap over it's contemporaries. I don't feel that the same margin of distinction was achieved this time.

People use the most trivial qualities to big up HL2 - facial animation and lip-syncing, for example. Well, scuse me while I soil myself in excitement, aren't we missing the point? This is just normal development of graphics that some other game would have featured a couple of months down the line if Valve hadn't developed Steam. Did anyone say HL1 was great because of the skeletal animation? No, they raved about the AI, because it was something that actually made a difference to how fun the game was.

And....scripting is getting pretty inexcusable these days. If this really was the milestone development it's supposed to be, we would have the AI resulting in the same events that game about through that scripting would have done, but with variation depending on what actions the player takes, instead of the exact same events and timing, no matter what.

Sure, HL2 is great, but I for one just felt there were too many missed opportunities in the game.

Oh, and there is no argument against the fact that it was TOO EASY. Even on hard. I'm not that great at games, and completed HL2 in about four (working) days. For measure, Call of Duty took me about a week of pretty solid playing over the Christmas holiday .

 

[Pesmerga]

A couple of points....

Comparing Doom 3 to Half-Life 2 for linearity doesn't really work - Doom 3 is for the most part set in closed, limited interiors. In the game's 'reality', there wouldn't be much choice about what route to take. Half-Life 2 is set in big, wide open areas, and the game would have been better, if you had had the choice to take a different route through these areas. .

non-linear gameplay makes for a far less interesting experience, imo. Multiple paths not only confuse the player as to where to go, but also distract the player from the main focus of the game. Sure, dynamic gameplay is a huge factor when determining how fun the game is, as using your own creative thinking to solve problems is awesome fun. But I assume you're talking about the game itself, that HL2 is too 'linear' for you. Machines simply aren't powerful enough to handle every possible action a player might resort to, and too much time would have to be put into mapping to make sure everything works how it would realistically. So, to an extent, you're right, linear gameplay is less fun than what could happen in real life, but as for now, it's considerably more enjoyable than trying to figure out what paths the developers -might- have made for you to explore.

 

[pomegranate]

I'm not suggesting that the whole environment should be modelled and populated (I realise that would be a whole different type of game), just that there should be a BIT more freedom of movement and choice of experience than was in the game. The developers would only need to set up a few different paths from every A to B in each map, with subtle variations of encounters and puzzles along those paths, to make it more fun.

 

[epmode]

Gimme a Ravenholm where zombies bust into buildings, smash open doors, and crawl through windows in actual relentless pursuit of you, and you'll have an HL2 Game of the Decade Edition.

try resident evil 4. it does all of these things. very intense game and much better than i expected it would be.

 

[Pesmerga]

I suppose having 2 paths to the same destination may increase replayability, but to what end? Just like any RPG game, you worry that you'll pass something up because you chose the 'wrong' path. Even if there was nothing to pass up but a different puzzle, players would still worry that they missed something, and might be driven to replay the entire game just to see if that particular path unveiled any new weaponry, enemies, or peice of story. Of course, this is only my view on single-player games, as multiplayer should most definitly have multiple ways to get to your destination. But that's a whole new conversation.