Half-Life 2 Q&A

Trepid's Gabe Newell Q&A chats with the Valve Software honcho about Half-Life 2 and beyond (thanks Maximus). The Q&A delves into a wide variety of topics, including editing, multiplayer support and more. Also included is word not to expect a demo before the game's release nor to expect Half-Life 3 any time soon after the sequel's release. Here's a bit that reflects on why they might not jump right into development of the third Half-Life game:
What was the most difficult challenge to overcome when developing Half-Life 2?

The length of the project. We've been working on Half-Life 2 for five years, and it's been a huge amount of work the whole time. It's just hard to maintain your focus over that length of time. We've had some of our long-time playtesters going from being seniors in high school to being college graduates during Half-Life 2 development.

We're going to recharge a bit on short fun projects once HL-2 goes out the door.
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42.
 
Re: Man I miss TFC
Jun 17, 2003, 06:36
Bob
42.
Re: Man I miss TFC Jun 17, 2003, 06:36
Jun 17, 2003, 06:36
Bob
 
CS, TFC, DoD - any one of those would be worth paying money for alone IMNSHO. That's as much a credit to Valve as it is to the modders.

It's also as much a shame to the endless legions of developers who make games to sell with zero fun value.


bah.. buncha smacktards around here anyway

41.
 
Re: Man I miss TFC
Jun 17, 2003, 02:01
41.
Re: Man I miss TFC Jun 17, 2003, 02:01
Jun 17, 2003, 02:01
 
ive heard fucktards before, and the BF1942 people call people smacktards, but thats because those BF players are babies and they think swearing makes jesus cry.


40.
 
TFC
Jun 17, 2003, 00:52
40.
TFC Jun 17, 2003, 00:52
Jun 17, 2003, 00:52
 
Ack! I almost missed out on TFC reminiscing (sic?). I'm away on a trip, and have to check the news on a dialup.

Yup, I remember the good ol' TFC days, which were after the good ol' TF days. I actually usually go by Fang- [CE], since I'm a member of the happiest clan around, Clan Erinyes (we're on vacation). Sigh, those were the good ol' days. I do have to apologize, since my team was the instigator of all that conc jumping (Coldfusion- [CE] started it all).

This comment was edited on Jun 17, 00:53.
39.
 
Re: Man I miss TFC
Jun 16, 2003, 20:48
39.
Re: Man I miss TFC Jun 16, 2003, 20:48
Jun 16, 2003, 20:48
 
"Fucktards"? That's a new one. I like it
There was only one catch and that was Catch-22
38.
 
Re: The price of fun
Jun 16, 2003, 09:31
38.
Re: The price of fun Jun 16, 2003, 09:31
Jun 16, 2003, 09:31
 
The stories are still there, but the link is broken.

That's the stuff.

Not as funny as I remember...

Still can't help but read through them again.

-TPFKAS2S
http://www.braglio.org
My spoon is too big!
-TPFKAS2S
Avatar 10139
37.
 
Re: The price of fun
Jun 16, 2003, 07:17
Yoz
37.
Re: The price of fun Jun 16, 2003, 07:17
Jun 16, 2003, 07:17
Yoz
 
The stories are still there, but the link is broken.

Try http://tfc.gamehelp.com/llama/Story/

36.
 
Re: The price of fun
Jun 16, 2003, 06:21
36.
Re: The price of fun Jun 16, 2003, 06:21
Jun 16, 2003, 06:21
 
Is that the site you were looking for?

Yes, yes it is.

Some of the stories there were so funny I'd have to wipe away the tears.

My wife would be in the other room and hear me laughing, look in, shake her head and walk away.

Great documentation of how stupid some people can be.


-TPFKAS2S
http://www.braglio.org
My spoon is too big!
-TPFKAS2S
Avatar 10139
35.
 
Man I miss TFC
Jun 16, 2003, 06:05
35.
Man I miss TFC Jun 16, 2003, 06:05
Jun 16, 2003, 06:05
 
I played HalfLife the day of release, same thing with TFC.

I was one of the few people who thought TFC was better then TF, I loved everything about it. Played Sniper and Engy for def, Medic and Soly for O.

Then the usual fucktards came and started with the cheating, be it the wall hack or the super speed, instant-knife kills, etc.

So I left the game for a long time, tried to come back not too long ago, and I just felt very rusty and no where as good as I used to be. So I threw in the towel, started playing BF.

HL2 looks down right awe-inspiring, but I still am occasionally looking at those what, 3 year old TF2 screenshots hoping that they will pack it in with HL2.

Bet that would take the gem out of Carmacks doughnut O_o.

34.
 
Re: The price of fun
Jun 16, 2003, 02:50
34.
Re: The price of fun Jun 16, 2003, 02:50
Jun 16, 2003, 02:50
 
Is that the site you were looking for? That is actually the first time I have ever seen it.
Well, back then in 99 the EWL site was quite popular, but it's only been running for a year or so, so you might have missed it. I'm curious about that other site, though - if you could provide a link I'd gladly take another trip down memory lane

33.
 
Re: This Gabe Newell guy...
Jun 16, 2003, 02:21
Zar
33.
Re: This Gabe Newell guy... Jun 16, 2003, 02:21
Jun 16, 2003, 02:21
Zar
 
Razor,

So Gabe Newell is an ass to you because of Team Fortress for the Mac. Of course! TF is always the source of boundless bellyaching. And a TF freak who is also a finicky self-righteous Mac user? Oh my god, that's like sticking your head into a meat grinder. Forget it.

No wonder Valve balked at the Mac project.

But in all seriousness, the Mac isn't exactly a great market/platform for games. It just isn't. Maybe its not always worth it to build a game tailored to that system. And I'm all for consumer choice, but it IS possible for the consumers to poison the well with so much venom and bile that no developer will touch the market with a 10 foot pole. The reality is that developers also have freedom of choice. If they can do well for themselves without entering the shark-infested waters, then they'll just avoid doing that painful project and stick with what they enjoy doing.

This comment was edited on Jun 16, 02:31.
32.
 
Re: The price of fun
Jun 16, 2003, 01:09
32.
Re: The price of fun Jun 16, 2003, 01:09
Jun 16, 2003, 01:09
 
Bronco,

Is that the site you were looking for? That is actually the first time I have ever seen it.

I know that Dale/Firky and the rest of the AGHLTFC crew had another site that they updated for a bit...

Wishing more people would genuflect before me :o,
Ray

-----------------------------------------
09-30-03: Ph33r t3h crowbar!
http://users.ign.com/collection/RayMarden
Playing: Enclave, Neverwinter Nights, and Will Rock. Where are all the good games?
Everything is awesome!!!
http://www.kindafunny.com/
I love you, mom.
Avatar 2647
31.
 
Re: The price of fun
Jun 16, 2003, 00:59
31.
Re: The price of fun Jun 16, 2003, 00:59
Jun 16, 2003, 00:59
 
There was a site dedicated to HL llamas and stories regarding them. Is it still live?

You must be talking about "Encounters with Llamas" for which I had the pleasure to design the logo back then The site is still online (http://tfc.gamehelp.com/llama/), but unfortunately the main portion (especially the stories) is dead. Boy, did I have some fun with that site! I contributed a fair amount of stories myself throughout my active TFC time, the general llamaness just wouldn't end it seemed...

30.
 
Re: This Gabe Newell guy...
Jun 15, 2003, 23:23
Beamer
 
30.
Re: This Gabe Newell guy... Jun 15, 2003, 23:23
Jun 15, 2003, 23:23
 Beamer
 
Not quite right there, Razor.

Gabe realizes that the power of Half Life is in the brand name. You don't soil the brand name at the sake of more cash.

Half Life for the Mac was a product not up to their standards. They couldn't get it right, so the canned it rather than release a cash cow. Sure, they've released hundreds of variations of Half Life, but at least each variation was a quality product.

It's a lesson car manufacturers could learn from, we'd stop getting half-assed cheap Mercedes hatchbacks and 1 series BMWs, and Chevy would stop selling Geos and Daewoo's under it's name.


Incidentally, it's also why I think TF2, or whatever the product currently is, will be free with HL2. I can't see Valve watering down their products for more money. Instead of selling 8 million each of HL2 and TF2 and having people complain about being fleeced with two products, I think Valve would just be happy selling 12 million of the combination. Numbers chosen from my ass, but I honestly believe Valve would rather have one unstoppable, fully viable, all-inclusive package than sell two products for the same price that just didn't feel whole.

That philosophy bit Epic in the ass bigtime.

29.
 
It's common knowledge
Jun 15, 2003, 23:22
29.
It's common knowledge Jun 15, 2003, 23:22
Jun 15, 2003, 23:22
 
I think everybody here, despite words of doubt, has the fullest and utmost confidence in Valve's ability to deliver a fantastic and high quality game that is worthy of the name, 'sequel'.

Sure a lot of times, sequels suck ass, but we've seen the movies, we've seen the screenshots, and we've read the interviews. It's a safe bet that HL2 is going to rule the school.

Though you can all count on me playing Thief 3 and Deus Ex 2 until the cows come home.

Avatar 13202
28.
 
Re: The price of fun
Jun 15, 2003, 23:05
28.
Re: The price of fun Jun 15, 2003, 23:05
Jun 15, 2003, 23:05
 
We're going to recharge a bit on short fun projects once HL-2 goes out the door

I hope that doesn't mean shovelware. Afterall, is there really such thing as a short and fun project when it comes to quality game development?

27.
 
Re: The price of fun
Jun 15, 2003, 22:49
27.
Re: The price of fun Jun 15, 2003, 22:49
Jun 15, 2003, 22:49
 
Maybe the whole games community was too young to appreciate it at the time? . . . Maybe the gamers were just too immature at the time.

Maybe so, but there always will be young and immature gamers as long as there is gaming.

This space is available for rent
26.
 
Re: The price of fun
Jun 15, 2003, 21:34
26.
Re: The price of fun Jun 15, 2003, 21:34
Jun 15, 2003, 21:34
 
KILLJOY!



Too lazy to put spaces between them,
Ray

-----------------------------------------
09-30-03: Ph33r t3h crowbar!
http://users.ign.com/collection/RayMarden
Playing: Enclave, Neverwinter Nights, and Will Rock. Where are all the good games?
Everything is awesome!!!
http://www.kindafunny.com/
I love you, mom.
Avatar 2647
25.
 
Re: The price of fun
Jun 15, 2003, 21:29
25.
Re: The price of fun Jun 15, 2003, 21:29
Jun 15, 2003, 21:29
 
Ray: Would you mind getting rid of the SPAM! It makes the page obscenely wide under Mozilla.

[edit] Saw your comment about spies. I disagree. I used to be a damn good spy, I had 20 knife kills, without being killed myself once. And this was in a clan match too, IIRC. Needless to say, the fact they couldn't put up many defenses made it awfully one sided. That was long ago though.. *sniff*

I do like how they gave it away for free, but that doesn't mean it has to be good. It was fun, but I much preferred the orignal TF, or Q3F. I still occasionally hunt down a game of TF. Brings a tear to my eye of all those hours spent playing the original hunted, and border2. I remember a server that rotated those 2 maps, they were so much fun, never got old, especially the teamwork of the civilians trying to scale the wall, dodging the snipers.

Excuse me, I think I'm going to cry.
This comment was edited on Jun 15, 21:34.
24.
 
Re: The price of fun
Jun 15, 2003, 21:21
24.
Re: The price of fun Jun 15, 2003, 21:21
Jun 15, 2003, 21:21
 
I think Dale (Firky) and some of the other crew started the llama site. I have no idea what the URL wsa or is, though.

I was a soldier first and an engineer second; I focused on defense, but would go offense if the team needed the help.

I hated the conc' jumping, but it, along with the other arcade-like aspects, did bring in a lot of the current-day fans.

Demos = SPAM!SPAM!SPAM!SPAM!SPAM!SPAM! X a million

Edit: Took out some SPAM! for those that cannot stomach it.

Spy = Good for some short bursts of fun, but really only for messing with the n00bz! I loved hunting down spies, especially standing over/in them and slowly whacking them to death with your spanner.

Having pity for the fatty players out there :o,
Ray


-----------------------------------------
09-30-03: Ph33r t3h crowbar!
http://users.ign.com/collection/RayMarden
Playing: Enclave, Neverwinter Nights, and Will Rock. Where are all the good games?
This comment was edited on Jun 15, 21:33.
Everything is awesome!!!
http://www.kindafunny.com/
I love you, mom.
Avatar 2647
23.
 
Re: The price of fun
Jun 15, 2003, 21:08
23.
Re: The price of fun Jun 15, 2003, 21:08
Jun 15, 2003, 21:08
 
I lost a disgusting - disgustingly fun - amount of time

I've never had a better time playing on-line.

There was a site dedicated to HL llamas and stories regarding them. Is it still live?

I think the conc jumping is what began to kill the fun of that game for me.

I stuck to engineer and medic mostly, depending on what my team needed, O or D.

Running after the opposing team trying to hold off the inevitable gas. Those were good times.

Never understood demos. I didn't get spies that couldn't play a lick either.

-TPFKAS2S
http://www.braglio.org
My spoon is too big!
-TPFKAS2S
Avatar 10139
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