Who has the best chance of being in an expansion pack?

[Sanius]

this has bothered me for awhile, and i'm sure it's been discussed.. but i think that adrian shepard could be the most possible person for an expansion pack, and barney being second (you are gone for a week when you enter the teleporter, and barney is gone that WHOLE time. something tells me that could spark an expansion pack..)

What do you guys think?

 

[Axyon]

Well, since it's already been mentioned that Valve wants to explore the Alyx and DOG side of things, I think they have the best chance.

 

[Sanius]

Well, since it's already been mentioned that Valve wants to explore the Alyx and DOG side of things, I think they have the best chance.

I..guess. How would that be done? DOG is gone when you enter ravenholm, and alyx doesn't see dog again till she is with you..unless it was seperate expansion packs

ah well, if they do another blue shift/opposing force expansion pack, i'll be happy :cheers:

 

[Axyon]

I..guess. How would that be done? DOG is gone when you enter ravenholm, and alyx doesn't see dog again till she is with you..unless it was seperate expansion packs

ah well, if they do another blue shift/opposing force expansion pack, i'll be happy :cheers:

Well, they may shift between the two characters... I'd imagine DOG got upto a lot while he was away from Alyx. Although it'd be more likely that they wouldn't make DOG playable, since he can't handle weapons or anything like that.

 

[Walter]

Yeah , Opposing Force rules and Blue Shift is cool too .

 

[Asknoone]

Hopefully the expansions will be set before half life 2, i would rather they fleshed out the 7 hour war/portal storms scenario and explore such as eli losing his leg to a bullsquid whilst trying to get kliener into a combine city etc...

 

[Sanius]

Hopefully the expansions will be set before half life 2, i would rather they fleshed out the 7 hour war/portal storms scenario and explore such as eli losing his leg to a bullsquid whilst trying to get kliener into a combine city etc...

yeah. being able to play AFTER gordon destroyed black mesa would own. it would tell us alot about what happend.

 

[Asknoone]

yeah. being able to play AFTER gordon destroyed black mesa would own. it would tell us alot about what happend.

Since when did gordon destroy black mesa

But yes, we know what happened technically,but only a brief outline, i think it would own as well

 

[Walter]

It woud rock playing Barney after the destruction of Black Mesa .
He's the only main character in HL1 who wasn't imprisoned/hired by Gman .

 

[Asknoone]

It woud rock playing Barney after the destruction of Black Mesa .
He's the only main character in HL1 who wasn't imprisoned/hired by Gman .

That way you can see Dr. Rosenbrug huh

 

[Walter]

Well...yeah .

 

[beam]

Adrian Shepard will return.....either in the expansion or HL-3

 

[Asknoone]

Adrian Shepard will return.....either in the expansion or HL-3

Not so, many have stated he will but Marc Laidlaw says it all...

Originally Posted by Marc Laidlaw
Hi, Solver, I'm assuming whatever I tell you is going to get posted somewhere, so I'll be very careful in answering.

I will not talk about the meaning of the game or clear up stuff that has yet to be clarified or revealed; it only makes sense to do this in the context of the games themselves. Stuff that hasn't been revealed is that way because we're not ready to reveal it. Everything that's there is there for a reason; ditto for everything that isn't there. I can only say, "Stay tuned."

Race-X was Gearbox's creation, and likely would only be continued if Gearbox were to do more episodes in the HL universe. There were gameplay modes they wanted to explore, and their designers wanted to make some new monsters; Race-X was a great way for them to do this. The universe is expansive enough to allow this without conflicting with the core story. Remember, these are games first and foremost, and the story really is there to open up and extend (rather than shut down) possibilities for fun gameplay. We did coordinate overarching story elements with Gearbox, but left a lot of the details for them to explore and invent according to what worked for their design process. As for whether Shepherd was put on ice before or after the Nihilanth's demise, it's really hard to say, since Gordon's time in Xen and in the Nihilanth's chamber may not be mapped directly against the timeline of events at Black Mesa.

The gman mumbles sound fairly close to what I remember him saying...strangely enough, I can't find the script for that exchange.

Thanks for taking such an interest in the story. Before HL1 came out, it was tough to convince outsiders that FPS players would care at all about having any kind of story in their game. Obviously, given the wide range of reactions, they care quite a bit. The debate over HL2's content is much more varied.

Yours,
Marc Laidlaw

 

[Is This Tea]

Well...yeah .

LOL! oh man... Walter... I'm glad you're around...

 

[kupocake]

My guess on the rank of probabilities for HL2 Expansion Characters:

1) Alyx (and possibly Dog) - This has been pratically confirmed anyway, and baring any disasters is 99.9% likely to be the first character combo in the first expansion. The action will most likely be before gordon arrives to avoid story conflicts and the "Alyx can't speak!" problem.

2) Barney - Seems an obvious choice for the next expansion. A "Blue Shift 2", most likely concerning Barney's coordination and collaboration of Resistance troops in the City 17 streetwar in the absence of 4 of HL2's big players: Gordon and Alyx (zooming round Xen) and Judith and Eli (Presumeably in the Citadel)

3) Gordon Freeman - Whilst it would (sadly) break with expansion pack tradition to have Freeman return before a HL3, we do have all these offers for minor jobs that the GMan hints at in the HL2 ending...

4) Shepherd - Valve has little to no reason to bring him back, the idea bellow offers a great potential for an expansion, but the fans are making the kind of noise about bringing Cpl Shepherd back from the GMan's magical time closet that may tip Valve's favour on this one.

5) Casual Colin the Combine - A character for a "REAL" Opposing Force 2. See the events of Half-Life 2 (and any of the above expansions!) from the eyes of the enemy (thus bypassing any number of "That character talks and this character doesn't!" problems) and see more combine environments, maybe even worlds.

6) Gina / Collette from Decay - I don't give them much for seeing these two again. Though technically a major element of the HL universe, they're more or less a Gearbox creation and thus slightly out of favour with Valve. They lack the fan recognition that Shepherd or Opposing Force have, and are only really worth bringing back because they have HEV suits (IMO)

7) Random Resistance Robert - A generic character useful for any HL2 expansion. Not particuarly exciting, but something Valve can always fall back on.

8) Kliener, GMan, Vortiguant, Lemarr - Their chances of making it into an expansion are surely only a little above zero, but personally I wouldn't be suprised to see at least one of these in a user made mod (POV2?)

My next question: Assuming that the rumoured "ATi levels" are entirely new content levels (not rehashes of areas already in HL2), who will be the player character? Will these levels be one of the offers the GMan got for Gordon services, or will Valve give us one of the above... or something else?

 

[Asknoone]

Nice analysis Kupoartist, i woudl be suprised if we saw a vortigaunt mod myself...andyes the most obvious are Blue shift 2 and and Alyx (which is confirmed anyway )

 

[Angry Lawyer]

I'm wagering we'll get to play as the Metrocop inside the station who tells you to pick up the can. They'll have to implement the Stun-stick, and add an alternate fire which allows you to say 'pick up the can' to random civilians, though.

-Angry Lawyer

 

[kupocake]

i woudl be suprised if we saw a vortigaunt mod myself...

Ironically, the Azure Sheep and Point of View team(s?) announced yesterday / 2 days ago, that they're working on a sequel to their mods. POV had you playing a Vortiguant named "Xonxt", and he will be playable in their mod. Not an expansion, but we weren't counting on one of them anyway...

 

[Walter]

Samon , I didn't quite understood the letter . Is Marc Laidlaw saying that there will be no Opposing Force 2 , or that it all depends on gearbox ?

 

[Dr. Freeman]

4) Shepherd - Valve has little to no reason to bring him back, the idea bellow offers a great potential for an expansion, but the fans are making the kind of noise about bringing Cpl Shepherd back from the GMan's magical time closet that may tip Valve's favour on this one.

Shepherd's popularity almost rivals that of Gordon's...its been proven in the General HL2 Discussion area and while we already know the hardcore HL fans will buy the expansion pack regardless of who is the playable character, the real "home run" for Valve would be to bring back Adrian and sway those gamers on the fence of whether they should purchase the expansion.

and i don't even need to explain the endless possibilities (or G-man's fav word limitless potential) with Adrian's character considering we don't even know (technically...although some believe he sides with the resistence at the end) where his alligence lies

5) Casual Colin the Combine - A character for a "REAL" Opposing Force 2. See the events of Half-Life 2 (and any of the above expansions!) from the eyes of the enemy (thus bypassing any number of "That character talks and this character doesn't!" problems) and see more combine environments, maybe even worlds.

bleh...that would be like replaying Opposing Force except in Source and with high res grahics.
i'd rather they forward the HL story or explain some loose ends instead of doing something they have done in the past.

i really hope Valve doesn't let Adrian Shepherd die... he is a cool character

 

[TheAmazingRando]

The 7 Hours War and the suppression of humanity through the eyes of the combine would be cool.

 

[Max35]

Not so, many have stated he will but Marc Laidlaw says it all...

From what I gather, he said Race-X is Gearboxe's creation, he said nothing about Adrian Shepherd appearing, or not appearing in an expansion.

 

[TAOakenshield]

Heh two very similar threads within a short amount of time.

My take on a cool expansion pack.

Though this has litle chance of being made, I personally think it would rock.

You can't beat playing in the 7-hour war as Adrian Shepard and then as a rogue Metrocop (a disguised/spy Shepard) setting the foundations of the Resistance alongside Barney Calhoun. IMO.

 

[EatChildren]

Dont doubt the possiblity of playing as Dog.

Playing as Dog, from a Valve point of view, would keep two key features of HL2.

1) The character never talks.
2) Physics being part of gameplay.

Dog has the ability to pick up most large things (like Cars), allowing Valve to create a single expanasion pack designed to exploit the physics in its entirety.

EDIT: I dont know what all this fuss about Adrian Shepard is. As far as I'm aware he's just a boring Grunt who didnt DO anything spectacular to forward the HL story. Gordon, Barney, Eli, they have all done things now that add to the story. Shepard just shot up a bunch of stuff and was taken away by the Gman. I have no desire to play as that (what reason at all would Shepard have to return and become a godlike freedom fighter?).

 

[zinquaff]

Although Shepard is my favorite character in the series, I forsee the next expansion pack from the eyes of ravenholm's favorite monk. You could have the first half be ravenholm under a huge combine assult force and ending with extremlly focus shelling. Talk about intense.

 

[Asknoone]

From what I gather, he said Race-X is Gearboxe's creation, he said nothing about Adrian Shepherd appearing, or not appearing in an expansion.

Heh thats true, i think its because i hate shepard

Ironically, the Azure Sheep and Point of View team(s?) announced yesterday / 2 days ago, that they're working on a sequel to their mods. POV had you playing a Vortiguant named "Xonxt", and he will be playable in their mod. Not an expansion, but we weren't counting on one of them anyway...
__________________

Look forward to it, hmm, might start some sort of mod myself in the half life universe *rubs chin*

 

[Sid Burn]

I hope they make a Combine Expansion. Playing as a combine would turn out cool!