Imagine if...

[Sars]

This though just popped into my head and i thought id write it down.

Imagine if all the delays and what not was just a complete hoax in order to build what will be unprecedented hype when the game is about to be put on shelves.
Im not at all saying that it definately was but as unlikely as it may appear it is definately possible.
All this bs about SDK being released "within weeks" (months ago), the source theft (could have been leaked on purpose), etc etc
Call me a conspiracy theorist if you will but im just saying it could have been done...
See how well the game does in the end i guess...

 

[SMT]

Hmmm... nah.

 

[Harryz]

Yes, imagine.

 

[-JeZ-]

Interesting theory.

 

[PenaE]

I've thought about the same thing like a year ago. Almost.

 

[DigiQ8]

well...maybe

 

[urseus]

Because the hype of a sequal to one of the biggest games isnt enough? Im sure valve love all the delays and being cussed out by people who were expecting the guarenteed release of the game an entire year ago.

Maybe next time jot down your thoughts in your diary.

Dont forget to put a hair on it to see if anyone has been reading it!

 

[AJ Rimmer]

conspiracy theorist.

 

[el Chi]

the source theft could have been leaked on purpose...

People have said this countless times and the countless reply has been that it simply makes no sense whatsoever from a business perspective, if nothing else.
Tin foil hats at the ready...

 

[chriso20]

I think they should say, right it'l be released on sept 30th... then around 10th sept say its delayed, but 2 days after bring it out (so it'd be earlier than 30th) that way we all go ****ING MAD!!!

 

[eber]

hrrmpf . .

 

[Someone]

I guess something like that would be possible for certain types of situations, or if it were a different game: a game which wasn't the sequel to one of the best games ever.

They already had " unprecedented hype " in the way they went about creating HL2 so they really didn't have a need to create more while risking pissing off a LOT of fans. It was a secret for years and then they sprung it on us out of the shadows. AND...was announced to be ready on Sept 30th..only months away. You couldn't ask for ANY better hype than it originally had. It was about as perfect a plan as you could have, in my eyes.

But look at things now. Even with the game getting close (again), you can't feel the same hype anymore;all we hear are complaints. It's just not the same. The hype WILL come once the game is gold/released, for sure, but it will never be as high as it was last year. And with Doom3 around the corner and coming first...that may not help with the hype.

So, yeah, think that would be possible to gain SOME hype for some situations, but don't think that theory would be realistic for HL2 .

 

[Headwires]

why would valve give away their code? lol that would would be stupid

 

[clarky003]

why would they announce a game to be released on sept 30th when it clearly, leak or not wasnt going to make that date,

If the leak didnt happen would we of got an older unpolished version of HL2?

a year delay... I dont think 'we underestimated the time we needed to finish the game off' is acceptable to me.

its still a bit off ,, I think we deserve a better explaination still.

 

[KagePrototype]

why would they announce a game to be released on sept 30th when it clearly, leak or not wasnt going to make that date,

If the leak didnt happen would we of got an older unpolished version of HL2?

a year delay... I dont think 'we underestimated the time we needed to finish the game off' is acceptable to me.

its still a bit off ,, I think we deserve a better explaination still.

It's because of both. Not only did they underestimate the time it was going to take, but the leak forced them to rethink large parts of the netcode and how multiplayer worked, so cheaters didn't get a headstart. Plus, don't forget the large period of demoralisation that happened, as well as extensive playtesting, something that can change a developer's schedule indefinately (unless of course, your publisher is EA...). Oh, and getting Steam to work properly. There could even be personal reasons; people might have been off sick for a large amounts of time, and couldn't get work done, or if they did come into work, couldn't get work done quickly. Maybe some of the designers got a creative block. There are too many possibilities.

There are many factors at work here. People shouldn't be so quick as to blame the delay on one single thing, where it's more likely that there were a number of reasons for the delay. I do find it funny that some people think the leak didn't contribute to the year-long delay, because many Valve members have said it did. It just wasn't the only contributor. This is most likely why Valve isn't saying anything -- because there were so many reasons contributing to the delay, there's simply no point in explaining it all to the community. Valve would be much better off keeping their mouths shut and finishing the game.

 

[PunisherUSA]

Delays are a bad thing, especially for a game that boasts a new engine. Think about it, now HL2 is coming out after Doom3 and not everyone will buy both. Also, the sooner a developer gets their money, the better. It also allows them to start their next project if any. And lastly, the more time the game spends on shelves, the more units sold. The Source engine is essentially a year old now. If it was a planned delay to increase hype, well, it's a bad one because they would probably earn less and earn it later.

 

[urseus]

Why should they care if the cheaters had a headstart. They have a god dam online auto updating patch program. As soon as they saw a hint of a hack, 2 hours programming, update the file to steam, update to clients. How hard is that.

Obviously the single player part wasnt at all finished last year. Multiplayer is just the single player maps chopped up abit and some netcode. They have steam for christs sake. They can patch every day of they need to.

 

[Ansur]

The Source engine is essentially a year old now. If it was a planned delay to increase hype, well, it's a bad one because they would probably earn less and earn it later.

It may be one year old though its a bit polished up compared to last year.

 

[AJ Rimmer]

It may be one year old though its a bit polished up compared to last year.

Yeah, you notice some very fine adjustments made, it really looks like a game now rather than a tech-demo.

 

[Sulkdodds]

why would they announce a game to be released on sept 30th when it clearly, leak or not wasnt going to make that date,

Because games companies always promise things they can't quite deliver. If you didn't get used to it with Tiberian Sun, Daikatana, Halo, Breed, Duke NUkem Forever and rather a lot fo other games, get used to it now.

 

[@lantis]

The theory is possible because valve like to delay games just look at Condition Zero

 

[DrunkPanda]

I guess something like that would be possible for certain types of situations, or if it were a different game: a game which wasn't the sequel to one of the best games ever.

They already had " unprecedented hype " in the way they went about creating HL2 so they really didn't have a need to create more while risking pissing off a LOT of fans. It was a secret for years and then they sprung it on us out of the shadows. AND...was announced to be ready on Sept 30th..only months away. You couldn't ask for ANY better hype than it originally had. It was about as perfect a plan as you could have, in my eyes.

But look at things now. Even with the game getting close (again), you can't feel the same hype anymore;all we hear are complaints. It's just not the same. The hype WILL come once the game is gold/released, for sure, but it will never be as high as it was last year. And with Doom3 around the corner and coming first...that may not help with the hype.

So, yeah, think that would be possible to gain SOME hype for some situations, but don't think that theory would be realistic for HL2 .

i think the lack of hype is due to most people thinking in the back of their minds that half life 2 is going to get delayed again...... it wouldn't be the first time valve delayed half life 2 a year after being "almost finished"....

 

[Sulkdodds]

The theory is possible because valve like to delay games just look at Condition Zero

No, they don't just delay games because they get a kick out of it. They have their reasons obviously, though I doubt they are very good reasons. CS:CZ was delayed because it shifted developers about twice a year and because they were trying to get Steam up and running before they brought it out. And then everybody reviewed it and thought it was crap so they started from scratch.

 

[KagePrototype]

No, they don't just delay games because they get a kick out of it. They have their reasons obviously, though I doubt they are very good reasons. CS:CZ was delayed because it shifted developers about twice a year and because they were trying to get Steam up and running before they brought it out. And then everybody reviewed it and thought it was crap so they started from scratch.

No no no. He means the version of CZ that is out now. it went gold in like November 2003, and didn't come until march 2004 or something. This was after they had scrapped the one that got all the bad reviews, which was summer 2003.

 

[Sulkdodds]

it went gold in like November 2003, and didn't come until march 2004 or something.

[tone=sheepish]Good point...[/tone]