I have HL2, and so do you!

[Paintballer]

Well, I just read that all of us have HL2 really, we are actually waiting for HL3. Check out this gamespot feature just after HL was released. Towards the end you will understand what I mean by the title of this thread. Also, for those of you that are mad at the delay, this little article bit will help you understand why you shouldn't be:



It wasn't to be. By August of 1997, Valve recognized that finishing the game for the holidays would mean making major compromises on the product. "We realized that to make Christmas, we would have to give up a bunch of stuff we wanted to do," explains Newell. "We had to make a decision about what way we wanted to go, and it was a scary decision. We're a self-funded company, so when we pay people's salaries, I write a check out of my personal checking account."

Money wasn't the only concern. The relationship with Sierra Studios was also conceivably at risk. Half-Life was supposed to be its biggest game of the year, but it wasn't going to be ready. The massive wheels of promotion and PR had already started to turn, and now the company had to put the brakes on. It seemed like a disaster.

Actually, it was the best thing that could have happened. With the holiday pressure off, Valve could spend time evaluating its progress, painfully reviewing every aspect of the game. In essence, the work on Half-Life was weighed in the balance. And it was found wanting. Near the end 1997, privately and behind closed doors, Valve decided that most of its work - including the work on levels and AI - would be completely scrapped. It just wasn't working.

"Last year, we had a lot of great technology," explains Ken Birdwell, "and it would have been a really competent game, but it wouldn't have gone over the edge anywhere. In the middle of last year, we got some inklings of what we really could do with the game, and by late last year, we had seen what the game should be - we just had to do it."

Not surprisingly, this "voyage of discovery" (as Harrington describes it) caused massive turmoil on the project. "The net result is that we threw out just about everything," admits Birdwell. "All the AI was gone, and we gutted the levels. In reality, Half-Life got delayed because of Half-Life." In Birdwell's estimation, what players are now experiencing on their PCs, "is really Half-Life 2. It's an incredible game."



So there you have it, stop worrying, HL2 will be even better. This isn't for those of you that know whats really going on, its for those of you who think Valve is out there just to punish us. (oh, and the part about us already having HL2 was a crappy joke, deal with it :rolling

-Paintballer

 

[Chris D]

I first read that article in about July/August (and it was posted on here too so old news ) and I found it fascinating. I knew a lot about the history of it anyway; but going back in time 5 years was quite an experience. A lot of the knowledge I had was just information that I'd picked up from place to place that was probably written long after the event; but an article like that written during/just after its release was amazing.

The history of Valve is quite a unique one; that's why I still have faith.

 

[Paintballer]

Aww I was late lol oh well, maybe someone who hasn't seen it yet will see it, and maybe straighten them out a little.

 

[mrchimp]

I havn't seen it, I did know valve scraped alot of the game but i didn't know which parts.

 

[Sai]

that's a really cool article, so they kinda re did the whole game ehh....and if the end product was one of the best games of all time then i'm pretty glad hl2 got delayed then...hehe

 

[PvtRyan]

The coolest thing is that id first had no confidence in Valve, but I guess they showed who's boss. :cheers:

 

[Chris D]

They started the game, scrapped it, delayed it then released it.

 

[LoneDeranger]

By the same token you can say that they are working on Duke Nukem Forever 5.

 

[Spiffae]

It wasn't to be. By July of 2003, Valve recognized that finishing the game by September would mean making major compromises on the product. "We realized that to make September 30th, we would have to give up a bunch of stuff we wanted to do," explains Newell. "We had to make a decision about what way we wanted to go, and it was a scary decision. We're a self-funded company, so when we pay people's salaries, I write a check out of my personal checking account."

Money wasn't the only concern. The relationship with Vivendi Universal was also conceivably at risk. Half-Life 2 was supposed to be its biggest game of the year, but it wasn't going to be ready. The massive wheels of promotion and PR had already started to turn, and now the company had to put the brakes on. It seemed like a disaster.

Actually, it was the best thing that could have happened. With the pressure off, Valve could spend time evaluating its progress, painfully reviewing every aspect of the game. In essence, the work on Half-Life 2 was weighed in the balance. And it was found wanting. Near the end 2003, privately and behind closed doors, Valve decided that most of its work - including the work on levels and AI - would be completely scrapped. It just wasn't working.

"Last year, we had a lot of great technology," explains Ken Birdwell, "and it would have been a really competent game, but it wouldn't have gone over the edge anywhere. In the middle of last year, we got some inklings of what we really could do with the game, and by late last year, we had seen what the game should be - we just had to do it."

Not surprisingly, this "voyage of discovery" (as Harrington describes it) caused massive turmoil on the project. "The net result is that we threw out just about everything," admits Birdwell. "All the AI was gone, and we gutted the levels. In reality, Half-Life 2 got delayed because of Half-Life 2." In Birdwell's estimation, what players will be playing on their PCs, "is really Half-Life 3. It's an incredible game."

 

[Cutey_Kaite]

It wasn't to be. By July of 2003, Valve recognized that finishing the game by September would mean making major compromises on the product. "We realized that to make September 30th, we would have to give up a bunch of stuff we wanted to do," explains Newell. "We had to make a decision about what way we wanted to go, and it was a scary decision. We're a self-funded company, so when we pay people's salaries, I write a check out of my personal checking account."

Money wasn't the only concern. The relationship with Vivendi Universal was also conceivably at risk. Half-Life 2 was supposed to be its biggest game of the year, but it wasn't going to be ready. The massive wheels of promotion and PR had already started to turn, and now the company had to put the brakes on. It seemed like a disaster.

Actually, it was the best thing that could have happened. With the pressure off, Valve could spend time evaluating its progress, painfully reviewing every aspect of the game. In essence, the work on Half-Life 2 was weighed in the balance. And it was found wanting. Near the end 2003, privately and behind closed doors, Valve decided that most of its work - including the work on levels and AI - would be completely scrapped. It just wasn't working.

"Last year, we had a lot of great technology," explains Ken Birdwell, "and it would have been a really competent game, but it wouldn't have gone over the edge anywhere. In the middle of last year, we got some inklings of what we really could do with the game, and by late last year, we had seen what the game should be - we just had to do it."

Not surprisingly, this "voyage of discovery" (as Harrington describes it) caused massive turmoil on the project. "The net result is that we threw out just about everything," admits Birdwell. "All the AI was gone, and we gutted the levels. In reality, Half-Life 2 got delayed because of Half-Life 2." In Birdwell's estimation, what players will be playing on their PCs, "is really Half-Life 3. It's an incredible game."

Is that a lil preview of what valve is gonna say there spiffae? :cheers:

 

[OCybrManO]

Spiffae, if HL was really "HL2"... that would mean what we call HL2 is really "HL3". If they overhaul "HL3" it would then be "HL4".

EDIT: I wonder if they could make the same relative level of improvement with this delay that they did with HL's one year delay. If they could I would gladly wait.

 

[Cutey_Kaite]

Spiffae, if HL was really "HL2"... that would mean what we call HL2 is really "HL3". If they overhaul "HL3" it would then be "HL4".

Ahhh being confused is fun! :afro:

 

[Mr-Fusion]

Hmm

I wonder if Valve made the same mistake of working on a game for a long time, reaching a point where they hate it, scrap everything, then start again --> At around September/October last year??

Could they really make the same mistake twice?

What if they're completely changing all the levels and story because a lot of people have already had a real good look at it with the Beta?

What if they're re-writing gigantic chunks of source due to the leak?

It's probably a combination of the above things which is why they don't want to tell us. Admitting that would create a sense of chaos and loss of direction at Valve. Probably better to keep us oblivious to the huge amount of work they now have to do to reach a 2004 release date....

 

[Paintballer]

I would guess that Valve really wants HL2 to be an amazing, surprizing game. With the leak, a lot of the surprizes are gone (for some people, not me).

As I was reading through that, I also realized that the paragraphs could almost be about last year and this year's happenings. No matter what, I know that HL2 will be awesome. Hopefully we have it this spring though.

 

[OCybrManO]

What do you mean "Could they really make the same mistake twice?"

If you saw HL (with the Gordon people nicknamed "Ivan the Space Biker") before they overhauled it you would not call it a mistake. That delay made the game go from looking like just another FPS to the game of the year.

If they can make that much of an improvement over what HL2 already looks like I will be amazed... but at the same time I also want to play HL2 now!

 

[Shuzer]

What do you mean "Could they really make the same mistake twice?"

If you saw HL (with the Gordon people nicknamed "Ivan the Space Biker") before they overhauled it you would not call it a mistake. That delay made the game go from looking like just another FPS to the game of the year.

If they can make that much of an improvement over what HL2 already looks like I will be amazed... but at the same time I also want to play HL2 now!

When he said mistake, I think he means it as making the mistake of making a sub-par game in the first place, not the mistake of redoing the game for the better.

 

[<RJMC>]

I dont understand very well(because I dont speak english)
that means Valve delayed HL2 because the game wasn't be complet ready?
and this moment they are making the game again but much beter to we know,because they think HL2 will be not a great game?
if is that,all we know of HL2 will not are in the "HL3"?(I hope no)

 

[Shuzer]

I dont understand very well(because I dont speak english)
that means Valve delayed HL2 because the game wasn't be complet ready?
and this moment they are making the game again but much beter to we know,because they think HL2 will be not a great game?
if is that,all we know of HL2 will not are in the "HL3"?(I hope no)

The article is referring to Half-Life (1). The game was originally created, then VALVe looked over it, wasn't satisfied, scrapped it, then ended up delaying the new project, then finally releasing it.

The article has nothing to do with Half-Life 2, it was just interesting to point out that VALVe said we actually got Half-Life 2, when in reality it was Half-Life (1)

 

[Baal]

write a check out of my personal checking account.

Last time I CHECKED, it was spelled cheque.

 

[Kincaid]

Last time I CHECKED, it was spelled cheque.

Depends on whether you are talking American English or Canadian English.

 

[Jhahn2k4]

lol, all I know is:

:dork: HL1 has been out for years

:dork: HL2 is NOT out yet

:dork: <- This dork smiley face is great.

 

[Baal]

Depends on whether you are talking American English or Canadian English.

Yea, I realized that after I posted.

I went out to get a drink and on the fridge was a ticket for the movie "Paycheck"

And I thought....oh yea..American....

 

[Dougy]

I would guess that Valve really wants HL2 to be an amazing, surprizing game. With the leak, a lot of the surprizes are gone (for some people, not me).

As I was reading through that, I also realized that the paragraphs could almost be about last year and this year's happenings. No matter what, I know that HL2 will be awesome. Hopefully we have it this spring though.

having played the beta extensively i can safely say nothing has been spoiled.

 

[Blad3]

Not surprisingly, this "voyage of discovery" (as Harrington describes it) caused massive turmoil on the project. "The net result is that we threw out just about everything," admits Birdwell. "All the AI was gone, and we gutted the levels. In reality, Half-Life 2 got delayed because of Half-Life 2." In Birdwell's estimation, what players will be playing on their PCs, "is really Half-Life 3. It's an incredible game."

A fascinating article there, really if they have made that many improvements this is going to be better than anyone, at least myself, could have possibly imagined. I absolutely couldn't wait, but after reading that I'm more enthusiastic than ever.

So in actual fact we're all going to be playing Half-life 2.5...

 

[OCybrManO]

*Ahem*... that was a joke. The article was really about HL... not HL2.

 

[Frosty]

Have you been to the nostalgia project at PlanetHalfLife? It has plenty of images from the early versions of Half-Life. Oh yeah, and if you take a look in Pak0.pak, you can see some of the gutted models, like the Archer, chumtoad and construction worker.

 

[Blad3]

d'oh

But still we will be playing half-life 2.5 because they will have improved it

I wasn't sure which was the original and if the originally posted one was the joke and you were showing the real version or something

 

[mrchimp]

Hmm

I wonder if Valve made the same mistake of working on a game for a long time, reaching a point where they hate it, scrap everything, then start again --> At around September/October last year??

Could they really make the same mistake twice?

What if they're completely changing all the levels and story because a lot of people have already had a real good look at it with the Beta?

What if they're re-writing gigantic chunks of source due to the leak?

It's probably a combination of the above things which is why they don't want to tell us. Admitting that would create a sense of chaos and loss of direction at Valve. Probably better to keep us oblivious to the huge amount of work they now have to do to reach a 2004 release date....

*Mrchimp kicks Mr-Fusion in the nuts for being a pessimistic little bastard

 

[Brian Damage]

/me becomes a temporary me-too-ist, and joins in.

 

[Epsi]

Depends on whether you are talking American English or Canadian English.

Don't forget good old fashioned English English.

 

[ReZeroX]

having played the beta extensively i can safely say nothing has been spoiled.

what struck me as strange after playing the beta is that it seemed like it was put together as a demo, because some levels come in and end at points that leave you with just a little info, but still dont know what is happening. the points are perfect for getting you hooked into whats going on, like the first episode of 24.

 

[jimbones]

yeah let't not hope we're already waiting for hl4 hl5 or hl6 not to mention tf3 tf4 or 5 ...