Outdoor areas and atmosphere. And cheese on toast.

[el Chi]

One of the most amazing things that contributed to the atmosphere of Half-Life so much was the claustrophobia of being stuck underground for so much of it. It gave the game a real no-way-out vibe (I remember the whole way through thinking: "How can they possibly bring this to a conclusion?" I'm still thinking that...)
Now that so seems to be urban warfare, plus lots of outdoor areas, will the game lose a lot of its atmospheric woder or will it simply take on a new vibe?

Plus does anyone know how, given that there are so many open areas (networks of streets, fields, etc.), Valve will keep the gameplay linear? I am positive that it is supposed to be...

You will receive your cheese on toast when you give me answers.

 

[ComradeBadger]

I really hope it doesn't remove the tension...

But PCGamer and others think otherwise so, I think all t'will be ok

 

[Sprafa]

I want cheese!!!

anwyays, they can do it, just watch the Barricade & Traptown vids, there is that great env & feel and it's stil linear and all.

 

[blahblahblah]

Ever play Call of Duty? I think HL2 will follow the same principle. But, I have a gut feeling that HL2 will be played underground for the majority of it.

 

[Shuzer]

That graveyard shot with the zombies seems to ooze the HL atmospheric feeling.. I think VALVe will do a great job on HL2

 

[el Chi]

But think about Barricade: What's to stop you running away? Same applies in the Strider video - it looks like there are LOADS of roads and streets you could go down, so how is it kept linear? Maybe there is something, we just didn't see it.
And yeah I did play CoD - lot of using small fences, barbed wire and many locked doors :hmph:

 

[G.Freeman]

And yeah I did play CoD - lot of using small fences, barbed wire and many locked doors :hmph:

Suspect it will be the same with HL2 - roadblocks and collapsed buildings.

 

[Crusader]

Tbh when people start arguing about graphics, I look at the screenshots and think to myself: "Which game looks most real, most believable, most 'is that a photograph?'. I think it has to be Half-Life 2.

I think we have gotten so used to spinny, shiny, "look what I can do with my new tech" games, that when we see subtle lighting effects (as with the shimmer of light from the wet wall in these latest shots), we don't even notice it. Most people are like: "omg wtf where are the reflections coming off every single object in the screenshot, I feel robbed!"

When I see screenshots from City 17, it just looks so atmospheric, so believable as a European City, it just blows me away. Maybe you have to go to an Eastern-European city to see this, but it strikes me right away.

Soo yeah, I think it will take on a new vibe, but this new vibe will be even better than the last

 

[Voodoo_Chile]

Maybe they will have something similar to Far Cry.You go too far and a few Gunships get you.Or G-Man might put a little "incentive" in your skull to ensure complience.

 

[Lobster]

The ever growing combine barricade gives valve the perfect excuse to block off streets to create more linear movements, its an old trick to just block an exit but its a much nicer way than just dropping a conveniant truck wreck in the way.

I think half-life 2 will have its own atmosphere as large and deep as that of Hl1, City17 will be the new Black Mesa after all of this, i can just see all the hundreds of little singleplayer maps people are gonna make

 

[Brian Damage]

Or maybe all the streets just eventually lead to the same place....

 

[Murray]

When I see screenshots from City 17, it just looks so atmospheric, so believable as a European City, it just blows me away.

I agree on that. The atmosphere in City17 is very nice. I don't really know how to explain it, but I get this kind of comfortable feeling when I see it.
All these high buildings and telephone wires hanging everywhere, it looks so nice. And with those really high black towers(combine towers?) in the background makes it mysterical too. Truly exciting.
The shaders and all the reflections are a very nice plus too, yet just because you have the technology, doesn't mean you have to overuse it.

 

[EVIL]

I think the whole c17 levels will be a circular maze. you start outside with the combine citadell in the center.

 

[Dougy]

Maybe they will have something similar to Far Cry.You go too far and a few Gunships get you.Or G-Man might put a little "incentive" in your skull to ensure complience.

that would suck.

id rather have a burnt out car blocking the street than some gunship that only cares about me going down a street but doesnt care that im totaly blowing up his pals and shit....

 

[Darkside55]

I think I'm going to like this game's atmosphere much more than the last one. Black Mesa's cramped-in architecture got old to me after running through it all the times I did. I think that's probably one of the reasons I liked Xen so much; it was nice and out in the open. That is, until you got to the factory...which, IMO, was the most "bleh" part of Xen.

City17 is great atmosphere. Destroyed buildings, broken cars everywhere, a prison, a dock, sewers...it's good stuff. I think I'm going to be feeling something like when I used to play DoD in maps like this; even though it was a wide-open space, you still got this tension and feeling of being somewhat boxed-in because there could be enemies all around you that you can't see, hiding out in other buildings or behind some ruined wall, etc. Should be tense.

 

[Mechagodzilla]

Halflife 1 had nice outdoor levels too. The headcrabs in the sand were el roxorx.

 

[Brian Damage]

That was a clever bit... scared me witless first time it happened...

 

[Cunni]

I think lighting and music will really help with the atmosphere of the game. I really liked the feel of the "Docks" video, especially the Hi Res Bink video. But as for cool indoor levels, lets not forget about the Tunnels and Bugbait videos. He he after I finished OpFor, and Black Mesa got nuked, I emailed Valve asking them that when they one day made HL2, that they keep Black Mesa, ar at least a similar facility, part of the game. I almost wish more espansion packs had been made. Blue Shift was FAR too short, hopefully they won't make the same mistake with HL2 expansions.