Stop hating on valve just because of their development time

[Sgt.Mays]

Look at Companies such as EA, massive money hungry company that makes what could be good games look like garbage with locking out half the game and then charging you 20 dollars on top of the 60 bucks you paid for the game to get it. Or Activision that uses the same game makes DLC and calls it a new game charging full Price.

Look at valve, They put time and effort into making their fans happy not just to make money. I am more then happy to wait the time for a amazing game as long as valve does not go the way DNF did (studio closing etc) it will be amazing when it comes out.

 

[Acepilotf14]

Yeah, it's not like they just released a TF2 update that makes you pay to play the challenging mode while the piss easy mode is free, or anything. It's not like their business model makes way more money and they are clearly doing it all for the money now or anything. Yeah, nah. Nah.

But Ace you don't have to pay!
**** you, yes you do.

 

[sharkyshu]

I prefer Valve not giving information to the fanbase during development. Why should they?

Because that is how you loose your fans . We are not talking about screenshots, trailers etc. we are talking about a simple "Yes guys we are working on EP3, expect more information ... (sometime in the future) ..." . That's all I need .

 

[Rorschach120]

Yeah, or about to release the same game for the 3rd time except more shiny, and with more little nuances for all those poor "hardcore" CS players to cry about. I think their policy on customer feedback is getting harder with every release and they are having a hard time knowing which fans to listen to any more.


You wouldn't call Valve money hungry because 1. They already control most of the PC gaming market through Steam and 2. They understand how connected they are to their customers and they have been banking on it every chance they get. From modders working there, to now the workshop, to creating ARGs that get the serious fans involved and rallied and ready to buy the game without even thinking about the cost. They have crunched the numbers and worked out that being this way has made them more money. They would stop doing it if it didn't. Just look at what they did with the Portal 2 release... Something very similar will happen when the next episode comes out.

The point I'm trying to make is that trusting a company to do what will please you every time is what a naive gamer does. Trusting a company's business plan to create awesome experiences and to continue looking to the WHOLE community for feedback is a dynamic relationship that should involve you as an individual not being happy every once in a while. Otherwise it's not working. Valve has been pioneering this idea and I will be a devoted fan until the day comes when it is clear that they have stopped listening.

On another note: there's no way they would delay the third episode for this long and invest this much money into it unless it was going to be completely epicly mind-blowing...

Dota 2 will be released and blow over by the next year and all will be well in the Half-Life universe again. That just might be me being naive though...

 

[Edeslash]

Because that is how you loose your fans . We are not talking about screenshots, trailers etc. we are talking about a simple "Yes guys we are working on EP3, expect more information ... (sometime in the future) ..." . That's all I need .

We've gotten a ton of that. Just no official announcement.

"These things... They take time."
"When we do announce something, we want to do it in out own way." (or something like that)
And something about the storyline being so massive they want to think carefully what they do with it.

 

[Acepilotf14]

If they didn't already know what they wanted to do with all three episodes then that is a MAJOR design failure on their part. You don't announce a trilogy and then go ok guys lol what should we do?

You plan that shit out before making promises. Valve is smarter than that. Or, apparently not.

 

[Vegeta897]

If they didn't already know what they wanted to do with all three episodes then that is a MAJOR design failure on their part. You don't announce a trilogy and then go ok guys lol what should we do?

You plan that shit out before making promises. Valve is smarter than that. Or, apparently not.

I think they had a plan, but then after episode 2 realized it wasn't such a good idea.

 

[Inanimate]

I applaud them for taking their time. Everyone wanted HL2 badly as well but they took their time to develop (at the time) breathtaking graphics and an awesome story. I'd rather wait the same amount of time it took between HL1 and HL2 rather than seeing anything HL-related at all using todays Source engine for example. They might even be working on something for Gen4 consoles which is why they are extra secret about everything.

 

[dogboy73]

I don't come onto the forums much these days, dropping in once in a blue moon to see if by some miracle there might be some news on the next Half Life installment. I've been playing games since I was a kid. I'm 40 next year and now have two children of my own. It's been a while since I played the original Half Life when it came out. The thought occurred to me that given the time scale the series has spanned my own children might be playing Half Life 3 before me! The further thought occurred that if a series spans generations like this ..... Is it taking just a bit too long?!

I'm thinking now I might not even get an opportunity to play Half Life 3 because by the time it appears my interest in gaming may have long since completely evaporated! Valve games are really the only thing that keep me interested in PC gaming as it is, not that I get much time for this stuff these days. My Half Life days are numbered! I appreciate the time & effort Valve put into their amazing games. I just hope I get the opportunity to play the next installment of the Half Life series!! Interesting to think as well that many people playing Half Life 3, if & when it sees the light of day, would not have been anywhere near born when Half Life 1 first appeared! Imagine if film trilogies spanned such time scales.

 

[TrevorMag]

Friends, I think it we need to face the facts. And the fact, blindingly obvious for the past five years, is that Valve is stuck.
Now as a player of modest skill (or less) I have ample experience of being stuck in HL2 (& the eps). A few times per game, I've had to resort to hint sites, and in some cases, YouTube walkthroughs. And I've felt demoralised, and annoyed that they didn't put enough sub-elite types in their play-testing sessions.
But when poor Valve get stuck, there aren't any walkthrough sites or YouTubes to help them out. They're really stuck. I wonder how they're feeling... I must admit, my impatience is mixed with a touch of Schadenfreude.

 

[Vegeta897]

I don't think they're stuck. They've had to deal with a lot of changing variables over the years.

What's the point in this speculation anyway? Save it for the HL3 announcement, where we actually have something of substance to speculate about.

 

[MFL]

They've spent all this time tweaking the code to make the hydra work. :3

 

[Absinthe]

Yeah, it's not like they just released a TF2 update that makes you pay to play the challenging mode while the piss easy mode is free, or anything. It's not like their business model makes way more money and they are clearly doing it all for the money now or anything. Yeah, nah. Nah.

But Ace you don't have to pay!
**** you, yes you do.

This is a month late, but I had to address this.

You do know that the hard modes were available on public servers, yes? Mann Up mode only gives you the drops. All the achievements that reference MU mode can be completed on a regular server running advanced difficulty. I don't think Valve was very clear on this, but your ticket fees are pretty much only going towards botkillers.

(Haven't played MVM since the last update, maybe shit's changed)