Is it possible to skip the boring dialogue?

[superstition_fre]

I don't like having to wait through all the long drawn out conversation scenes. After seeing this stuff once, I just want to skip it and get to the action. Is there a way to do this? I sure hope so. Surely the game designers don't think people like to repeatedly sit through this junk.

 

[JUL3]

Exactly what 'boring dialogue' are you referring to?

& what platform are you playing on?

 

[xombine]

Bad mouthing one of the reasons the entire HL series is so good? Get out.

 

[Emporius]

Bad mouthing one of the reasons the entire HL series is so good? Get out.

Not reading the full OP? Get out!

 

[McGooTheWise]

I don't like having to wait through all the long drawn out conversation scenes. After seeing this stuff once, I just want to skip it and get to the action. Is there a way to do this? I sure hope so. Surely the game designers don't think people like to repeatedly sit through this junk.

Once you beat the game you can select which levels you want, or save an instance at your favorite action parts. Until then, if you want to fast forward, or slow down the game, here's a little trick you can use.

Go into the developer's console, and type in "sv_cheats 1". (No quotes.)

After that, type in "host_timescale 2". (Again, no quotes.) This should be quick enough for you to motor through it. If not, experiment. Real time in all source games is "host_timescale 1", so if you want to use that information to your advantage, then it's your choice. I personally like slowing the game down to "host_timescale .3". Makes for some Matrix-style instances.

But if you haven't listened to what they're talking about, or don't know what's really going on, I implore you to suffer through the dialogue. The story of Half-Life is one if its strongest points, if not its strongest.

 

[kineaesth]

You are the reason video games are shitty

 

[Colonel Kernel]

You are the reason video games are shitty

I couldn't have put it better myself.

 

[Emporius]

You are the reason video games are shitty

Do you reread an entire book to get to the chapter you want?

 

[Ennui]

Bad mouthing one of the reasons the entire HL series is so good? Get out.

You are the reason video games are shitty

I couldn't have put it better myself.

You guys are the reason video game communities are shitty.

Read the OP, he's talking about playthroughs subsequent to the initial one. It's hardly something to flame him over... I sure bet that on your 10th or 20th playthroughs of HL2 you guys don't sit there slackjawed and intensely focused on listening to Alyx and Eli banter back and forth in Black Mesa East while waiting for Ravenholm to get going. I sure don't (I ignore them completely and run around breaking things and taking suggestive screenshots of Alyx's crotch). Wanting to skip the non-action portions is perfectly reasonable for someone who has already absorbed the story and dialogue once or a few times.

OP, what McGoo said is your best bet, there's no built-in way to skip through dialogue.

 

[Colonel Kernel]

You guys are the reason video game communities are shitty.

Read the OP, he's talking about playthroughs subsequent to the initial one. It's hardly something to flame him over... I sure bet that on your 10th or 20th playthroughs of HL2 you guys don't sit there slackjawed and intensely focused on listening to Alyx and Eli banter back and forth in Black Mesa East while waiting for Ravenholm to get going. I sure don't (I ignore them completely and run around breaking things and taking suggestive screenshots of Alyx's crotch). Wanting to skip the non-action portions is perfectly reasonable for someone who has already absorbed the story and dialogue once or a few times.

OP, what McGoo said is your best bet, there's no built-in way to skip through dialogue.

We've got totally different characters then.. it's not what I understand from re-plays. If I'm going to do it, I'd better be interested again, first - If I'd want pure FPS action, I would go play a game that offers primarily that.

Oh, and the reason I supported Kinetic's post was the OP's attitude towards the subject i.e.

Surely the game designers don't think people like to repeatedly sit through this junk.

 

[superstition_fre]

My intention is not to bad mouth the game. I think it is a great game! My point is that after you've played through it a few times, you've heard the conversations and know it by heart. I was just looking for a way to skip these parts and quickly get back to the action. I'll try the cheats mentioned above.

 

[Colonel Kernel]

With all said, I'll accept that you didn't want to say what you said. If you're really eager towards playing in that manner, it's OK, I was trying to express personal preferences.

 

[flamingdts]

With all said, I'll accept that you didn't want to say what you said. If you're really eager towards playing in that manner, it's OK, I was trying to express personal preferences.

Last time I checked he didn't ask for an opinion, he asked for an answer.

And what's with the condescending POV? He could play a game anyway he wants. For that matter, he could RE-play a game anyway he wants. He doesn't need to be absorbed into the dialogue again if he already knows what it is. He doesn't need to go play some other game because he refused to sit and listen to what every character has to say.

If he wants to skip dialogues, that's his prerogative. If he misses out, thats his lost.

 

[superstition_fre]

I probably was too harsh with words in my OP. It was due to frustration built from having to wait through all the dialouge scenes which I've now seen at least fifty times. I now just want to improve my play performance and not have to sit hear waiting. At some point, this diminishes the game experience, IMO.

 

[Colonel Kernel]

Last time I checked he didn't ask for an opinion, he asked for an answer.

And what's with the condescending POV? He could play a game anyway he wants. For that matter, he could RE-play a game anyway he wants. He doesn't need to be absorbed into the dialogue again if he already knows what it is. He doesn't need to go play some other game because he refused to sit and listen to what every character has to say.

If he wants to skip dialogues, that's his prerogative. If he misses out, thats his lost.

Ahem, are you trying to list all the opposites of my post or what? I mean, he wasn't the one to ask me for an oppinion, I stated it on another person's post - not his. And I was clearly relating to the fact that he wasn't using the proper words in his post - he himself said that he had been too harsh.. no big deal.

 

[kineaesth]

Go into the developer's console, and type in "sv_cheats 1". (No quotes.)

After that, type in "host_timescale 2". (Again, no quotes.) This should be quick enough for you to motor through it. If not, experiment. Real time in all source games is "host_timescale 1", so if you want to use that information to your advantage, then it's your choice. I personally like slowing the game down to "host_timescale .3". Makes for some Matrix-style instances.

This is a good solution - an even more effective way of doing it would be to bind a key to the command host_timescale 2 (or 3, or 4) and then another key to host_timescale 1. That way you've basically got a fastforward button that you can hit to skip dialogue scenes, and then a "normal speed" button when you go back to action segments.

 

[MaddoxMcveigh]

I think that the "boring dialogue" that you are referring is called a "plot".

 

[lefty]

Spawn headcrabs and shit to kill until they're done talking. Bonus: spawn combine and try to kill them before they kill the NPCs that are talking.