Info received from Valve ONLY - NO questions/discussion

[Operational]

Hello Robin,

I was just wondering what was happening with the "harder-than-hard"
difficulty setting. You previously mentioned to someone else that you
were hoping that it would be ready for Episode Two but it appears that
it didn't make it. I am looking forward to it so I'm hoping it hasn't
been scrapped altogether.

Thanks, Steven

PS. I'm really enjoying TF2, Soldier criticals FTW!

It was something that the Ep1 team wanted to do, but after Ep1 finished
up, and we spread out amongst TF2 & Ep2, it got lost in the shuffle. I'm
hoping it'll show up one day too. I'll remind some of the folks working
on Ep3 about it (as I'm on TF2 right now).

Robin.

Reply received a few hours before this post.

 

[MattyDienhoff]

I got these replies over a week ago.

From: Matthew <[email protected]>
To: Gabe Newell
Sent: Tue Dec 11 04:47:20 2007
Subject: Questions: Source engine updates and Lost Coast voice actor

Hi Gabe and the rest of the team,

1, will the Source engine improvements introduced in Episode 2, (dynamic shadows, new particle system, etc.) come to the PC versions of Half-Life 2 and Episode One like they have on the XBOX 360 ports?

2, who voiced the Fisherman in the Lost Coast tech demo? It'd be interesting to know as there were no credits and I don't think the name was mentioned in the commentary.

Thanks in advance.

Regards, Matty

From: Gabe Newell
To: '[email protected]'; Bill Van Buren
Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2007 7:22 AM
Subject: Re: Questions: Source engine updates and Lost Coast voice actor

1). Yes.

2). Bill. Do you have the answer?

From: Bill Van Buren ([email protected])
Sent: Wednesday, 12 December 2007 5:06:28 AM
To: Gabe Newell ([email protected]); [email protected]

That would be Jim French, who also gave voice to Father Grigori.

 

[Snort]

Questions on Steamworks... I shortened my original message to contain just the questions for easier reading. I am 99% sure that no interviews asked these exact questions... If they did, moderators, please delete.

Hi Mr. Lombardi,

1) Will developers have access to the statistic tracking used in HL2: Ep. 2 that lets the devs see where players get stuck/die the most, when they give up, etc, if they take the time to code it up? Some devs can't seem to realize when part of their game is frustrating or annoying for players, and if they can see that more easily, it makes games more fun if/when they fix it.

2) Do you think publishers/developers will use this system as proof of purchase in case I lose my game disc(s) and need to reinstall? Basically, I don't want to have to buy something again when I manage to lose my CD under the piles of rubble in my room!

Hi,



Thanks for mailing us.



The answer to both your questions is up to the developer/publisher, but the overall answer is yes -- Steamworks allows for both the collection of data during product testing, etc., and for gamers to download their games to any PC from their Steam account, eliminating the need to have the disc with you at all times.


Cheers

 

[Andrew LB]

I e-mailed Gabe a few months ago regarding the fate of Barney and received a few replies from Marc Laidlaw.

Here are the e-mails. Start with the one at the bottom, my original question.

_________________________________________
From: Marc Laidlaw [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2008 11:55 AM
To: Andrew Kalionzes
Subject: RE: Barney Calhoun... alive or dead?


Thanks for your understanding.

(PS: Barney lives.)

________________________________________
From: Andrew Kalionzes [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2008 10:59 AM
To: Marc Laidlaw
Subject: RE: Barney Calhoun... alive or dead?
Dear Mr. Laidlaw,
Thank you for your very fast reply. I definitely agree with your position that resolution to this issue surrounding a very important character can only be made in-game.

Best regards,
-Andrew Kalionzes

_______________________________________
From: Marc Laidlaw [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2008 9:38 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: RE: Barney Calhoun... alive or dead?

Dear Andrew,

We have learned that answering individual letters to fans does not ever clear up anything in the HL2 fan community. Short of a public announcement regarding Barney's fate, nothing will reach all the people, and nobody will believe anything you say I said to you. So resolution of this matter will have to wait until it is made officially--and the only way these things ever become official is when they are in the game.

________________________________________
From: Gabe Newell
Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2008 8:39 AM
To: Marc Laidlaw
Subject: FW: Barney Calhoun... alive or dead?

________________________________________
From: Andrew Kalionzes [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2008 3:03 AM
To: Gabe Newell
Subject: Barney Calhoun... alive or dead?

Dear Mr. Newell,
If you have a second, I'd greatly appreciate it if you can clear up an ongoing argument among the Half Life 2 fan community regarding Barney Calhoun. Did he or didn't he escape City 17 before the Citadel exploded? I believe that one citizen @ White Forest says that he was on the train that got out just in time before the explosion. And considering Gordon's train left even later (but did indeed wreck), can we assume that was Barney's train and he is still alive?
I believe that Barney is an outstanding character in the Half Life series and don't believe that he would be killed off without any mention in the game itself considering Valve's amazing attention to detail and storytelling. If you can answer this for me, it would end a ton of bickering by the fans.

Thanks in advance!

-Andrew

 

[levio91]

Levi - me
I see my mom watching celebrity interviews and stuff and I cant help but think "man I wish I could see Gabe newell Have some interviews and stuff" thatd be awesome it would like open a whole new world of celebrity magazines for males but maybe you might get covered in poperatsee but its just somethingn to think about maybe steam/valve should make a magazine or tv show or website devoted to getting the latest news/gossip/interview.

Gabe Newell
Yes, but then there?d be the partying, rehab, the Barbara Walters interview?

 

[Barnz]

Here's a reply from Marc Laidlaw explaining what the Combine is:

The Combine is a combination of different species (including humans) working (or forced to work) together. Other than that, you?ll have to stay tuned for more information as we work it into the games.

From: boris vanderbeek [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Monday, October 27, 2008 4:57 PM
To: Marc Laidlaw
Subject: Re: 7hr

Yes, but the Roman Empire were all humans and as far as I could tell the Advisors and the Striders are two different species. What I'm trying to ask is if there is some evil overlord apart from Dr. Breen that drove the combine into conquering the human race?

From: Marc Laidlaw <[email protected]>
To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 27, 2008 4:18:49 PM
Subject: RE: 7hr

Hi, Boris,

The Combine is a name for a large organization. So asking if the Advisors are the Combine is like asking if a Roman Senator is the Roman Empire . There's no one creature called The Combine.

Marc Laidlaw

From: Gabe Newell
Sent: Monday, October 27, 2008 4:10 PM
To: Marc Laidlaw
Subject: FW: 7hr

From: bris vanderbeek [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Monday, October 27, 2008 4:04 PM
To: Gabe Newell
Subject: 7hr

Are the advisors the combine in their true form since striders and gunships are robots (I think), or will the true form of the combine be revealed in ep3?

 

[Satans_Offspring]

My E-mail to Gabe Newell

My Email:

Hello Mr. Newell



First of all can I just say how big a fan I am of Half-Life & Portal- I still play Half-Life everyday because it's so incredibly Kool!



I've been thinking about the end of Half-Life 2 when Dr. Breen attempts to teleport to the Combine Overworld & I was just wondering: did he die? or Did he manage to teleport to the Combine Overworld before the Dark Fusion Reactor Exploded & if he did will Gordon meet Dr. Breen in his 'host body' when/if he reaches the Combine Overworld?



Thanks for reading & keep up the good work!



A huge fan, Julz

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marc Laidlaw's Reply:

Dear Julz,



We can?t answer these sorts of questions because they may relate to events we will address someday.



Yours,

Marc Laidlaw

 

[MattyDienhoff]

My email to Valve

From: Matthew [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, January 13, 2009 11:18 PM
To: Gabe Newell
Subject: Odell voice actor and Source engine updates

Hi Gabe and the rest of the team,

I have two questions:
1) Who voiced the cut character Odell from the leaked Half-Life 2 beta?

2) You've stated in the past that the improvements to the Source engine made in the Orange Box would be ported back to the PC versions of Half-Life 2 and Episode One. Is this still on the agenda or has it been axed for some reason?

Thanks in advance!

Regards, Matty

Response from Bill Van Buren

RE: Odell voice actor and Source engine updates‏
From: Bill Van Buren ([email protected])
Sent: Thursday, 15 January 2009 6:05:45 AM
To: [email protected] ([email protected])

Hi Matty,

Thanks for writing. We never actually got around to casting a voice actor for Odell, and as I'm sure you know, we stole and tweaked his model to use for Odessa Cubbage, who was voiced by John Lowrie. We had some very funky temp dialogue for Odell for use in testing our leading or 'tourguide' AI design - if that's what you're referring to, it would have been voiced by one of us here at Valve. As for the second question, we do still plan to integrate the improvements to Half-Life 2 and Episode 1 in the PC version, but we don't have a date for when it will be available.

Best wishes,

Bill Van Buren

 

[theroadtonowhere]

-----Original Message-----
From ------------]
Sent: Thursday, April 16, 2009 10:28 PM
To: Gabe Newell
Subject: Half life Related

Hey Gabe, I wrote a question back in I think it was 2006. Not sure if you are still replying but anyway I had a few quick questions. First off, did you see the youtube video "What's in the box?" Based off the HL universe, and if so did you like it? Second I know your not going to tell me when EP3 is coming out but is valve going to release any info this year? Also one thing that was really cool about HL2 when it came out was the physics. They are still cool, but don't have allot of features you see in other games, in EP3 are you planning on doing something new with physics again?

Yes. Yes. Correct. We are continuing to work on physics. Thanks, -------.

Gabe

 

[Jintor]

Dear Gabe,

Please make some kind of TF2 movie or something awesome feature-length.

I would pay for that kind of thing.

Thanks,

Patrick.

Thanks, Patrick.



Gabe

GODDAMNIT THEY'RE TOO SMART

 

[Ascension]

I've been thinking about the end of Half-Life 2 when Dr. Breen attempts to teleport to the Combine Overworld & I was just wondering: did he die? or Did he manage to teleport to the Combine Overworld before the Dark Fusion Reactor Exploded & if he did will Gordon meet Dr. Breen in his 'host body' when/if he reaches the Combine Overworld?








Even if Breen didn't die, his voice actor did, so it seems likely that we won't hear from him again. If he did survive, then he would probably still be on Earth, then he would have to worry about the Citadel explosion. He is probably dead.

 

[kineaesth]

Hi, if I may direct you to the title of this thread - this is not a place for discussion, but for posting information received from Valve.