Info received from Valve ONLY - NO questions/discussion

[Apos]

From steam powered forums:
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=5127397#post5127397

Originally posted by Varsity
There are three new scenes, but it is still recorded in the legacy renderer -

Cliffe: All three videos were recorded w/ the same engine build. The different art styles use different shaders though, as appropriate.

Originally posted by Varsity
OK, I'll correct the thread. What's up with the lack of shadowing on the bridge though?

cliffe: WIP

(i.e. short for "Work in Progress")

 

[ríomhaire]

My e-mail to Marc Laidlaw:

Dear Mr. Laidlaw,
I am a great fan of the Half-Life series and an avid follower of the
story.
I have paid great attention to the interviews and e-mails Valve
provides, especially those regarding the story.

There is one thing I have noticed in these though, details regarding the
'Controllers'. Their role in Vortigaunt-Nihilanth-Controller society is
a bit unclear (as is Nihilanth's) and there doesn't seem to be any
mention of them in Half-Life 2 other than the Vortigaunts few lines
regarding slavery.
Will they be explored any more in future games or are Vortigaunts all
that remains of Xenian society?

Thank you for your time,
A big fan,
[ríomhaire]

His reply:

The Xen Controllers were part of the Nihilanth's support network, and
they relied on the Nihilanth to throw them around where it wanted them
to go, so if there are any left, they are probably stranded in what
would not have been their natural native environment (nothing's native
to Xen). However, without access to a steady food supply (whatever it
is they eat), they may well have simply died out.

 

[Ooog]

Sent this email to Gabe:

I have completed 40-45 playthroughs of Half Life 2 (I lost count recently). Now anything associated with that game, whether it be mod or episode, is simply too easy. Because of this, the reduction of difficulty on the Episode 1 elevator battle made me quite disgruntled. In a last effort to make the game harder, I did a playthrough without losing a point of health (using lots of quicksaves). But even that was surprisingly easy. Is there a chance of ever getting a difficulty higher than hard, or will I have to rely on mods?


Got a reply from Robin Walker:

Actually, we're pretty unhappy with our Hard setting. On Ep1 we started working on a harder-than-hard difficulty setting, but ran out of time to get it finished. I'm hoping the Ep2 folks can finish it up. Once it goes in, it'll be backwards compatible, so you'll be able to go back and play HL2 / Ep1 with it as well. Hopefully that'll provide you with more of a challenge.

Robin.

 

[Asknoone]

Interesting.

 

[vasiliypupkin]

Original Message to Harry Teasley
>I'm a long time fan of Half-Life and I am interested in everything about
>this great game. In the very beginning of HL there a picture of a child in
>Gordon's locker - as I found out it's your daughter Isabel.
>
>What I'd like to know is if this picture somehow related to game story or
>it's just an easter-egg like names on other lockers.



From Harry Teasley:

Just an easter egg. Gordon's backstory changed a good deal over
the course of the project, and at one time it might have been relevant, but
by the time the game shipped, it was just an easter egg.

From Marc Laidlaw:

Yes, that is Harry's child, and he put the picture there because it's
the sort of thing level designers like to do--infusing personal details
into the levels they build. Most of the HL level designers signed the
game in some form or other. If you look around you'll find "Driller" in
one of the "On A Rail" areas, and I believe there may still be a big
"Casali" in a detached room in one of the maps (perhaps it was a
multiplayer map).

However, I've been interested to hear that this detail has been
incorporated into people's imaginings about what this all means to
Gordon Freeman. For some, the inclusion of that photo is what makes
Gordon real and distinguishes him from other FPS protagonists.
Therefore, I've since come to believe the picture has some personal
significance to Gordon...perhaps a niece. Until we have reason to
expound on this in a game, it probably won't get any clearer.

 

[Lucid003]

Me

Some people seem to think that the Source Engine is going to receive a “multithreading update,” so to speak. Reasons for this line of thought include the PS3 and Xbox 360’s multiple cores, along with the shift to multiple core PC processors.



I’m not looking for a timeline or anything, but should we expect to see support for multiple threads in the future?

Gabe

Yes.

 

[UseAbuse]

me

Hi Gabe,

Will we be seeing any improvements in the Combine/Rebel AI?
I was a bit disappointed with the AI, not that the AI is "bad", but I do feel that the AI can provide more of a challenge. I loved it when the grunts in the original Half-life would get injured they would retreat and take cover. Also, I find it a bit annoying when Combine soldiers flank you, they would just stop right in front of you, most of the time, in a line. I would like to see them attempt to circle you and spread out (opposite direction of course) when flanking. Maybe it's just me, but I think the Combine soldiers are somewhat slow. Increasing the speed wouldn't hurt that much or would it?

Since Half-life 2: Episode 2 will be more open ended, will the Combine soldiers going from point A-B-C-Z more? I would love to see Combine soldiers moving constantly instead of standing in one spot, heck I wouldn't mind not seeing them stopping at all . How about squad mechanics, will we see/hear more Combine soldiers giving signals (or hand signals) to split up; flank right; and what not?

Sorry for getting off topic, but will the "green Combine soldier" be in Episode 2?

I'm really looking forward to this game! Imjustsoexctied! I know this game won't disappoint.

Best of luck,
Rick

David Speyrer

Hi Rick,

Thanks for writing. I'm the Episode 2 project lead so Gabe thought I should fill you in on what we're up to.

We've implemented a more sophisticated flanking AI in the Hunter that behaves much like what you're asking for. We'll have to run some experiments to see how well that behavior works in the combine soldier AI. It could definitely be an improvement over their current behavior.

We're not currently planning to put the green Combine soldier into Episode 2. I hope that's okay!

-- David

 

[Glo-Boy]

Here's a question I asked about future visual upgrades to source.

From: Caleb
Sent: Monday, September 18, 2006 11:03 AM
To: Gabe Newell
Subject: future source additions?

Good afternoon Gabe,

I will be finishing college this year with a degree in visual effects. Over the past few years, my vsfx professors and my game development professors have both agreed that game companies will be looking more and more for people who are proficient with particles and other forms of dynamics. Also perhaps superior rendering technology. I'd like to know, in your eye, what the next development will be in terms of visual features for source. I was guessing perhaps it might be some sort of ambient occlusion effect?

Also, out of curiousity, is the depth of feild effect we have seen in recent demonstrations going to be implemented into games with a rack focus effect? In case an enemy runs out right in front of you while you are focused on something in the distance, that might be a nice addition.

Thanks a lot- rock on guys!
-Caleb

Jason Mitchell
<[email protected]> to me, Gabe
More options Sep 21 (4 days ago)

Caleb,

Indeed, we are big fans of Ambient Occlusion here and are currently using pre-computed ambient occlusion terms a lot in the look of the Team Fortress 2 environments. Migrating this kind of global illumination effect to real-time on dynamic characters is a very attractive option for us and we will certainly make use of it when it becomese feasible. We're working hard on shadow mapping technology now, as you can probably see in several of the shots in the recent Episode 2 teaser on Steam. The Depth of Field effect that you see in some of our trailers is done using an accumulation buffer, but there are reasonably fast approximations to this that can be achieved with image processing and we're looking at those. The real trick is inferring where a player would like their focal distance to be, so I'm not sure it will really show up in our games, at least during the interactive portions.

-Jason

 

[The Brick]

Just for emphasis..

By default it will be on, but servers can choose not to participate.

-----Original Message-----
From: Gabe Newell
Sent: Saturday, September 23, 2006 9:25 PM
To: Erik Johnson
Subject: FW: Css economy update



-----Original Message-----
From: Daan
Sent: Saturday, September 23, 2006 12:04 PM
To: Gabe Newell
Subject: Css economy update

Hi Gabe,

This has to do with all the commotion about the upcoming changes for
Counterstrike source. Many people are complaining about how this dynamic
economy could have a negative impact on competative matches.
Therefore I have to ask; is the new economy hardwired into css? Or is it
possible for the server to determine whether the new system is applied
(sv_ command)?


cheers
-Daan
a.k.a. The Brick

I sent this before the mp_dynamicpricing was known.

 

[Pi Mu Rho]

Yes.

-----Original Message-----
From: Neale Roberts [mailto[email protected]]
Sent: Friday, September 29, 2006 1:54 PM
To: Gabe Newell
Subject: Steam/paypal?

Hi Gabe,

Is it true that you'll soon be taking paypal payments for Steam
purchases? This site (beware long translating URL!) claims so -
http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http://www.hlportal.de/%
3Fsite%3Dnews%26do%3Dshownews%26news_id%3D4621&langpair=de%7Cen&hl=en&ie
=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&prev=%2Flanguage_tools

Regards,

Neale Roberts

So now you know.

 

[MultiVaC]

Me:

Hi Gabe, I just read this article about HL2 at X06 and I noticed the part that says: "That's right, the Xbox 360 version of Half-Life 2 boasts visual enhancements that are available only in the subsequent episodic content on the PC, so regardless of how powerful your PC setup is, the Xbox 360 game will look better."

My question is: Since Valve is retrofitting HL2 with all this great stuff, will you bring the updated version to the PC? I think it would be great to play HL2 with all the Phong shading and rim lighting of EP1, the better particle effects and everything else from EP2, and the new skins on stuff like the Vorts. Maybe even HDR, since you guys have apparently converted the main game to have it on the 360?

Thanks, and I'm really looking forward to EP2, TF2, and Portal!

Gabe:

Eventually, yes.

 

[The Brick]

Hey Gabe,

Is the new portal look (the one with the neon-like edges as shown in the
new IGN videos) also for the PC version? Or will the PC version still
have the tearing effect?


cheers
-Daan
a.k.a. The Brick

It's for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.

.​

 

[586FAC75]

Me

Hello there,

I have heard a vicious rumour that Valve have intentions to produce a Vortigaunt plush doll in reponse to the sucess of the headcrab plush. Is this true?

Ta muchly

Doug Lombardi

Indeed it is.

Cheers

 

[W4d5Y]

Wrote this to Gabe today, James Mitchell replied (30th or 31st oct)

Daniel,

In the Ep2 videos shown in Leipzig, we demonstrated our new shadowing flashlight, which uses shadow depth mapping to cast and receive shadows on all objects in the world. Since the flashlight is an additive blending pass over the scene, we simply multiply the shadow map result with the flashlight before adding the result to the frame buffer. This means that light from other light sources in the scene still reaches areas that are not lit by the flashlight.

With regard to F.E.A.R., while we have of course played that game, their flashlight doesn't cast any shadows (in the PC version that I played...maybe they updated it for 360?) since it is positioned exacty at the eye point. Our flashlight is offset from the eye location and hence it is possible for the player to see shadows cast from the flashlight.

-Jason





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Daniel Wadsworth [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, October 31, 2006 11:57 AM
To: Gabe Newell
Subject: source engine shadowing


Hi,
I've got a question about the shadows, espacially those from the new ep2 Leipzig vids- Does it work like it rendered each of the shadows, computing how they look like, concerning the light sources in the enviroment, OR does it use a rather natural way of simply simulating where light does NOT go to- cause you already created flashlights with goldscr, which could cast illuminations onto dark places, and I wondered wether shadows could be simulated this way:
If there's dynamic illumination of space in goldscr and source, can't you simply put some sort of intransperence to props, entities, whatever, so light can be casted onto everything in its way, but does not go through npcs, props, the map and all that stuff. So, basically this is just an idea for the flashlight, but after all you already created your own system, but I simply wondered why doing it the way I described above would be worse/better etc.
I guess you have to learn pretty much from F.E.A.R., eh?
-Daniel

Jason Mitchell to me
More options 7:16 pm (1 hour ago)


FEAR uses stencil shadows, so the edges are harsh by design. We use shadow mapping, so our shadow edges are softer. We're looking at ways to soften them even more than what you saw in the trailer...

-Jason




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Daniel Wadsworth [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, November 01, 2006 10:15 AM
To: Jason Mitchell
Subject: source engine shadowing


Sorry for waisting your time with continuing my last mail,
but I (also) read (and saw) your shadows were rather harsh. I also noted that prob in the fear engine, so though F.E.A.R. has a brilliant engine concerning the use of shadowing, I wondered wether you could do even better...by creating a natural look, where the shadows' edges are softened, depending on size and distance to the lightsource the shadow is derived from.
-Daniel

 

[UndeadScottsman]

Got confirmation of Episode 4 from Gabe himself.

From: Gabe Newell
To: ME!
Date: Nov 5, 2006 11:54 AM
Subject: RE: Half-life 2: Episode 4

It's correct.

From: ME!
Sent: Sunday, November 05, 2006 8:21 AM
To: Gabe Newell
Subject: Half-life 2: Episode 4

Awhile back, PC Gamer attributed you as saying that there was going to be an Episode 4 for HL2 in an article titled "The World According to Gabe." This episode was said to have a stand-alone plot (Not part of the 1-3 trilogy of episodes) and would be made outside of Valve. Is this still the case, or was the quote just incorrect or mistaken in the first place?

Thanks for reading this.

 

[trineas]

Asked Valve guy Jason Mitchell about the Dx10 rumors. (http://www.gameinformer.com/News/Story/200703/N07.0305.1818.53359.htm)

We have started work on a DX10 path, but it's not clear that we'll have that finished before we ship Episode 2. Based on the stats we're seeing, there are VERY few customers with Vista and even fewer with Vista and a DX10 graphics card, making it hard to justify doing the work to port to DX10 when that effort could be used to improve the graphics on DX9 for millions of other customers. The DX10 work will happen, it's just a question of when.

-Jason

 

[UseAbuse]

got another emial from valve about shadows and such. Probably nothing new.

Rick,

Indeed, alpha-tested geometry (such as foliage, gratings and fences)
casts correct shadows in Ep2. The shadow mapping tech that we've built
for Ep2 would not be complete without it. Areas with several nearby
clumps of foliage are especially compelling with the new shadow-casting
player flashlight as the foliage casts and receives soft foliage-shaped
shadows. This gives an added sense of depth in the scene and also a
heightened sense of creepiness in dark areas. Left 4 Dead, for example,
really benefits from the shadow-casting player flashlight.

 

[Kadayi]

Hi Gabe

Q: Just watched the TF2 Meet the heavy trailer, very funny and very impressive. Given that you have reworked the facial animation system, are we likely to see this tech at work in EP2? If so are you also retrofitting EP1 and HL2 with it as well?

Either way looking forward to September ;D

Kadayi


A:Not in time for the Orange box release.

Pity..but at least it's planned which is something

 

[Przemek]

An email concerning DirectX 10 to Gabe Newell:

Q: There's a lot of rumours about Episode Two (including Team Fortress 2
and Portal) fully supporting DirectX 10.

Is this true?
If is is, to what extent is DX10 used?

ANSWER:
We use DX10 hardware features that are accessible through the DX9 API.
Right now there are about twice as many people with DX10 hardware
running on Windows XP as there are running Vista, so we'll probably
stick with DX9 for the API until that shifts over.

 

[Tuskin]

I have one

Older maps should still run with the newer engine, but the Ep2 engine will not work with existing mods due to interface changes that are not backwards compatible. The older version of the engine will still be available so that existing mods don't stop working, but we will encourage mod authors to migrate to the new engine since the older version will not be bug fixed once the newer version is out.

-Mike



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Gabe Newell
Sent: Friday, June 29, 2007 4:51 PM
To: 'Kori'
Cc: Mike Durand; Erik Johnson
Subject: RE: Ep 2 Engine Update.


Not that I know of.



Mike? What?s the answer?



From: Kori
Sent: Friday, June 29, 2007 4:19 PM
To: Gabe Newell
Subject: Ep 2 Engine Update.



Hey, a fan here. I have read a rumor that the update for source engine in Episode 2 will make it impossible to run Maps from the engine version before it, is this true? because one of the first things I do with a mod when it comes out is slap in a flat map and test it's npcs and weapons. Thanks in advance..



- Kori

 

[leib10]

Here's a reply where I asked how long it took Merle Dandridge (voice of Alyx Vance) to record her voiceovers:

Hi Justin,

Thanks for writing. We did four sessions with Merle, four-hours each, to record all of her dialogue for Episode One. We tend to keep the virtual tape rolling throughout most of each session, so we end up with lots of takes and options to choose from.

Best wishes,

Bill Van Buren
Valve

 

[Tagaziel]

Ted Backman responded to my query about the mysterious sniper rifle.

Mikael,

The Combine Sniper Rifle does make a brief appearance in Half-Life 2: Episode Two. We took this opportunity to design an entirely new weapon that fits squarely within the distinctive combine technology family; but also clearly looks the part of a high power, high accuracy infantry weapon.

You'll be able to get a good look when the orange box is in stores later this year.

Thanks for taking the time to write.

Ted Backman
Valve Software.

 

[DelaZ]

Van: Kim Swift <[email protected]>
Verzonden: maandag 16 juli 2007 18:21:33
Aan: "Gabe Newell" <[email protected]>, "Delaz" <*******@hotmail.com>
Cc: "Erik Johnson" <[email protected]>
Onderwerp: RE: Portal & Insurgency

Ha!

No, it most certainly is not me (thank the heavens!). Our model
reference is a woman named Alesia that we came in contact with through a
local talent agency. If there is any resemblance my best guess is it's
probably because we both happen to be half-Japanese.

In any case, good luck with your mod!

-Kim

-----Original Message-----
From: Gabe Newell
Sent: Sunday, July 15, 2007 3:22 PM
To: 'Delaz'
Cc: Kim Swift; Erik Johnson
Subject: RE: Portal & Insurgency

No, it isn't as far as I know.

Erik is a better person to ask for feedback as he has been compiling it
from various people.

-----Original Message-----
From: Delaz [mailto:*******@hotmail.com]
Sent: Saturday, July 14, 2007 3:47 PM
To: Gabe Newell
Subject: Portal & Insurgency

Hey Gabe,

I was watching some footage from E3 on Gametrailers, when I noticed the
main character looked A LOT like Kim Swift!
(http://users.pandora.be/desert/delaz/kim_swift.jpg)
Any chance you could confirm the model was based on Kim? Thanks! Can't
wait to get my hands on that episode 2 box!

By the way, I'm a dev from the Insurgency team and I was wondering if
you tried out Insurgency? And what is your honest opinion about it. We
know we there is a lot of work to be done, but I just wanted to know your
opinion about our mod!

Best Regards,

DelaZ

see above

 

[ríomhaire]

From: [me]
To: Gabe Newell
Sent: Thu Aug 23 14:08:08 2007
Subject: Prospero

http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Gabe_FAQ#Jun_2006

"Would you still like to do Prospero?"
"Yes. Right after TF-2."

I'm afraid I'm going to have to hold you to your word Mr. Newell.

Your slightly psychotic fan,
[riomhaire]

Quick! Change the wiki!

D:

 

[Xendance]

1). 12:01 am PST world-wide.

2) All fixed.

----- Original Message -----
From: ***** <*****>
To: Gabe Newell
Sent: Fri Aug 24 07:36:13 2007
Subject: Questions regarding Episode Two's release, and the stutter bug

Hi Gabe.

I was looking at looking at the Bioshock release on Steam, and it appeared to come out in (North) America two days before Europe. Now since (from what I heard) the Orange Box is being released retail in Europe on October 12th, whilst in America it will be October 9th. Will it be released for EVERYBODY on Steam October 9th, or, just like Bioshock, European users have to wait till October 12th to download it on Steam?
The thing I'm worried is spoilers. Anyone on any forum could easily create a topic saying "ALYX DIES LOLOL" and thats it. Spoilt for me, just cause some jackass thought it was funny to spoil it.

I hope you understood.

Anyway, onto my second question. Is there any possible cure for the stutter bug most users have? I was playing Garry's Mod, and shot a headcrab. Garry's Mod crashed. If this happens for Episode Two, I'm not going to enjoy it as much as I am meant to.

Thanks for your time.

D:

Also:

iogg: Does Gabe contribute to coding at all?
Greg: No. That would be disastrous.

 

[el Chi]

Original Message -----
From:
To: Gabe Newell
Sent: Thu Aug 23 06:30:06 2007
Subject: TF 2 animations

The "Meet the Heavy" and "Meet the Soldier" videos look fantastic (not
to mention hilarious) but I was wondering just how many of the
animations seen in these videos are in-game?
Does the Pyro actually wave his flame-thrower above his head and laugh
maniacally? Is there a "taunt" button or is it something else? Same goes
for the Soldier shouting "MAGGOT!"; the Heavy roaring and laughing as he
carves a path through his puny foes, or the Scout's frightened look at
seeing the Demoman's explosives next to him (one of the trailers
available a while back) How are these worked into average gameplay?
It's looking great - I'm looking forward to the 12th of October!

All the best

And the response was...

Robin Walker <[email protected]>

Hi.

Most of the animation in the trailer is directly out of the game. The
animation you mention of the Pyro raising the flamethrower above his
head is indeed a taunt. Each class has a unique taunt for each of their
weapons. The Demoman drinking from the bottle is his melee weapon taunt.

The facial animation in the trailers is also using the same system that
the game uses, and many of the same lines. It's tied to a system that
tracks game events to try and spice up the action with appropriate
lines. For instance, the Soldier's "Maggots!" battle cry has a random
chance of being played (along with other appropriate lines) whenever the
Soldier finds himself doing particularly well in battle.

Robin.

 

[FISKER_Q]

Orange Box Achievements:

FISKER_Q: I don't know if you mind me asking, or if you're even allowed to tell, but is it correct that the Achievement System á la Xbox 360 is coming to the steam community with Orange Box?

Greg: Something like that. It'll start to be visible / usable next week.

 

[FISKER_Q]

And another confirmation.

-----Original Message-----
From: John Cook
Sent: Friday, September 14, 2007 11:24 AM
To: Gabe Newell
Subject: RE: Regarding TF2 Achievements

TF2 has the same achievements on the PC as it has on xbox. You'll be
able to view all the achievements you've acquired on the Community web
site, as well as extended stats on how you play the game.

-----Original Message-----
From: Gabe Newell
Sent: Friday, September 14, 2007 11:01 AM
To: John Cook
Subject: FW: Regarding TF2 Achievements



-----Original Message-----
From: Thomas Larsen [<ohnoznotmyemail>]
Sent: Friday, September 14, 2007 8:13 AM
To: Gabe Newell
Subject: Regarding TF2 Achievements

Hi Gabe,

Was wondering if you could clear something up for me, when you said in
your press release that the Steam Community would feature TF2 Stats and
Achievements, are we then talking Xbox Live-style Achievements?

Best Regards,
Thomas Larsen

 

[Tagaziel]

I really shouldn't post when I'm half-dead and should post to sleep.

Hello,

I'm watching through the available TF2 character clips (the definition of awesome, by the way) and upon watching again the HWGuy's one, something finally clicked and I noticed the Valve marketing asset number: 00201.

201 assets? Does the count include also the marketing for HL1? Is it really a count? Is it a serial number? Or maybe it's something much more sinister, like the id number of another insidious plot for Valve to take over the world? D:

--Mikael Grizzly, geek who really should go to sleep now.

TF 2, #1.

So, Meet the Heavy was done before all other promos...?

 

[MoD]

We Israeli players were wondering if there is an official word about using FF in TF2 servers?

Some of you valve guys came into our server the other day and said that every time a server sets FF on, an angel weeps.

Would love to hear from you, Tzafrir - [TD]MoD.id

TF2 was never intended to be played with FF on. It was an oversight that the convar was left in. It'll be going away shortly.

Robin Walker.

5char

 

[leib10]

RE: New Gib effectsDavid Speyrer [[email protected]]
To: Stevens, Justin
Cc: Gabe Newell; Scott Dalton


Hi Justin,

This is in fact the first complaint we've heard about the new blood
effects, but I can see how they might come off as bit much and possibly
less realistic. Some of this was due to hit-registration feedback for
the player, which often wasn't visible with the old effects, while some
of it is just different aesthetics and choices made possible by the new
particle system.

We'll do another A/B comparison with the old blood effects and see if
there's any tuning that can be done.

Thanks for the feedback,
-- David


-----Original Message-----
From: Stevens, Justin [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2007 3:45 PM
To: Gabe Newell
Subject: New Gib effects

Hey Gabe,

This is in response to the new gib/blood spray effects seen in Episode
Two preview videos. It is of near-unanimous consent between me and quite a few other experienced gamers that the old effects were much better than the new, and also more realistic. It really seems
like a step backward, something we would've seen in games from the 90's.
We all feel that it has to go or at least be turned down a notch or two.

I'm pretty sure that this is not the first email Valve will receive in
regard to this matter, and I feel that it is my duty as a longtime
Half-Life fan to point this out. Should it be deemed necessary to make
the changes, it shouldn't pose a problem through the Steam updates. I
hope that you will make the right decision, be it against my opinion or
not.

Thank you very much for your time in this matter.

Justin

 

[[Dragoon]]

Me:

Hey, I remember reading somewhere that Portal does take place in the Half-Life universe. Given that fact, would you recommend playing Portal and Episode 2 in a specific order?

Thanks for your time.

Gabe:

Either order is fine. I'd probably play ep2 first.

 

[darkeye]

Me: I just have one question... when will pre-loading for Episode Two and Portal start?

From: Sten
------------------------
David: Hi Sten, we'll start preloading Ep2 and Portal in about a week.

 

[doomed]

updated Source

From: ***********@gmail.com
Sent: Friday, September 28, 2007 4:53 AM
To: Gabe Newell
Subject: Half Life 2 - updated Source

Hello Gabe, a year ago you've stated that the PC version of Half - Life
2 will get updated with the "Source 2007" graphics (HDR, soft shadows,
etc.), at some point in the future after the release of the Orange Box.

Is this update still planned?

Thank you very much.


Gabe Newell to Erik, me 1:25 am (17 minutes ago)
Yes.

 

[Duracell]

From a question revolving around server IPs, Alfred Reynolds very kindly dropped this lovely bit of information...

We are looking into moving away from IP's and to assigned ID's for server identification to help users follow their favorite servers around.

- Alfred

 

[Kadayi]

Portal related so I'm putting it in spoiler tags if you haven't played. Question I posted to Gabe shortly after finishing the game.

Spoiler

Gabe

kudos to the team, that was a fun afternoon, and a real mind bender at times to work out what the hell needed to be done. A lot of head slapping and cursing your teams ingenuity and deviousness occurred (I'll not lie..you're all cunning bastards). One thing I wasn't really clear on was whether the test subject truly escaped, or whether she was killed in the explosion as such (the sideways angle made me think she was maybe dead or dying..which would be a pity) any chance of a clarification on that one?

Anyhows I've started on EP2 and I'm cursing you all as I'm working my way tentatively through the antlion caves ..those acid spitting ones...their just plain evil (evil !!! I say), and the distant roar of the Antlion Guard (I assume/fear) through the tunnels...is doing nothing for my nerves or hair colour. Having seen what evil the Hunters are capable of (poor Alyx..) I can't say I much looking forward to them either... where's Dog when you need someone to cower behind.

BTW my friend had an issue with a sound bug in that when he played Portal he didn't get any GlaDOS voice at all (god knows how he knew what to do at all tbh), I think a few other people have had similar problems.

Anyhows just wanted to say, top job and looking forward to finishing EP2 then replaying everything though again. keep up the good work.

Kadayi

Response:-

Spoiler

Hi Kadayi.

The test subject is injured enough to pass out at the surface, but she certainly isn’t dead. Sorry to hear that your friend missed out on GLaDOS’s voice. If he uninstalls, then reinstalls the game it should solve the problem.

-Jeep (one of the cunning bastards)

[email protected]

Sweet response :cheers:

 

[leib10]

Not much, but it is what it is.







Hi Justin,

Thanks for the note and the feedback. Glad to hear you're enjoying the
Orange Box and Episode 2!

Cheers,
Jeremy Stone
Valve

-----Original Message-----
From: Stevens, Justin
Sent: Saturday, October 13, 2007 8:14 AM
To: Gabe Newell
Subject: Episode Two Final Battle

Hey Gabe,

First off, my heartfelt congratulations and appreciation on the
incredible success and delivery of the Orange Box, especially Episode
Two. Once again Valve has proven that it is still the leading developer
in the world. Especially impressive was the story progression and the
final battle between Gordon and the Hunters and Striders. That being
said, I felt that the battle was a bit "incomplete" with the lack of
other Combine forces, such as Combine soldiers and Gunships. Although I
could see how the Gunships would make gameplay suffer in that battle, I
think that Combine soldiers would fit in very nicely with the grand
scheme of things. Would it be possible to add a few per "battle group"
to even things out a bit?

I know that this email comes at a time when Valve wants to take a break
(a completely deserved one) and receives a lot of emails, but I know I
can count on you guys to at least take my idea into consideration, as
you have done with my other emails in the past.

Thank you very much for your time and for putting out the best game
package in history! I really, really look forward to kicking some
Advisor ass with a vindictive Alyx in Episode Three!

Justin

 

[Barnz]

Something I found on the internet.

Hi, Ben, I am going to swear off contributing to this bizarre argument
about canonical versus noncanonical works. If we can make good
entertaining use of the elements of OpFor in future games, then we may
well do that, and at that time I guess folks will have a better idea of
where we stand on all this. We can't speak about story ideas outside of
the games themselves--it's meaningless. The games must stand on their
own, contradictions and all. My only hope is to keep unreeling the
story in such a way that it will continue to please the fans and spark
interesting conversations. Thanks for writing!

Marc Laidlaw

 

[charybdis]

Glad you're enjoying the game, Kevin. We're focusing on getting fixes
out of the way first, but then we plan to add a bunch more stuff to the
stats, including some new achievements. This seems like a good one, so
thanks for the suggestion!

Robin.

-----Original Message-----
From: **********************************
Sent: Thursday, October 25, 2007 8:56 PM
To: Robin Walker
Subject: new statistic idea for pyro

Hello Robin,

First off, congratulations on the success of TF2 along with the whole
Orange Box. I have an idea for a new statistic for the pyro class. I
mean statistic in the same vein as headshots for a sniper and backstabs
for the spy. I enjoy playing the pyro and I think a sort of "ignites"
statistic should be kept that should let the player know how many people
he or she has set on fire during play. I think many people would find it
interesting to know exactly how many people they have "lit up" during
their tenure as a pyro on a given round. Thanks for the taking the time
to read my suggestion and I await your response. Thanks for your work on
the Orange Box and I wish you success on future work.

 

[AciD]

From: Wiktor Deresz [mailto:*******@gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, November 11, 2007 12:56 PM
To: Gabe Newell
Subject: 100 achievement



In source 2007 shared materials.gcf I found a texture file for achievement Find One Gman its hidden achievement or it has been cut from final product?

Hi Wiktor,

The One Gman achievement was cut from the final product. It was problematic to know whether players actually saw the Gman rather than just looked in the right direction.

Cheers,
-- David