Half Life thread - Discussions about Valve's FPS magnum opus(es) and any related content (spin offs, expansions and etc)

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HL 3...is it still happening?

  • No and anyone that still thinks that it will is delusional

    Votes: 239 47.8%
  • Yes, they just need a few more years to perfect it so it can another game changer in the industry

    Votes: 133 26.6%
  • Shouldnt it be called "Two Lives and a half" instead?

    Votes: 81 16.2%
  • Half life is overrated, you neckbeard homos

    Votes: 47 9.4%

  • Total voters
    500
IIRC, you could enable shadows (with the console) only on the very first version of the game. Since then, they simply removed the console command that enabled it but the shadows code was still present in the game files.
Ok. I seem to remember it and it was used in some early screenshots. It's janky shit, iirc lights have no effect on them and they're only cast in one direction no matter what.
 
Just wanted to say that this upcoming week will have me going back to playing on desktop PC for the first time since a teenager, and I will be going on Steam to play Half-Life as my first ever game. It’s rather fitting for Thanksgiving. Either way, happy 25th anniversary, Valve!

Wow! 25 years of A game I didn't get to play fully until around 2009 on the PS2 of all things!
You’re not the only one.

I was actually debating during this holiday season to get the PS2 version because I thought the blue disc version looked cool. If anything, I have Deus Ex for the PS2, so it makes sense that I want to get HL for it as well.
 
I had purchased all the Half-Life games but barely played just HL1 before the anniversary, in the time since then I've played HL1 through and it's DLCs as well as HL2 and its episodes. This has been some of the best shit I've ever played, a great shame that the quality of games nowadays is alot worse. At least now I can understand the Half-Life 2 Ep3/Half-Life 3 hype.
 
Hypothetical question due to trending thing (tm)

Would you rather have HL3 but written by Sweet Baby Inc or anything adjacent or never have HL3?
 
Hypothetical question due to trending thing (tm)

Would you rather have HL3 but written by Sweet Baby Inc or anything adjacent or never have HL3?
The latter, hands down. It's part of why I'm always surprised to see people post online about how they wish [classic game series] got a new, contemporary entry. The writers and designers who worked on the classics aren't around anymore — it would never match the older games, even without the haze of nostalgia.
 
Hypothetical question due to trending thing (tm)

Would you rather have HL3 but written by Sweet Baby Inc or anything adjacent or never have HL3?
What are you talking about? We already have Episode 3
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If this wasn't 100% canon then GabeN wouldn't have given it his silent seal of approval by letting it be sold on their storefront, using their own IP to boot.
Any follow ups will be done by fans, simple as. Unless they turn Half Life into a GAAS extraction shooter like Bungie did with Marathon.
 
Seeing as I haven't posted on this one before, I'll give my two cents:

I like Half-Life a lot. The original's story elements and creative environmental puzzles were outstanding for its time Creature designs were fun and it was a model singleplayer package.

My anticipation for Half-Life 2 was at an all-time high after seeing all the stellar trailers that were trickling out for it. To its credit, it mostly lived up to the expectations, and whilst I don't consider it the second coming of Christ that some people do, I replayed it numerous times pre-2010s along with the expansion packs.

Never played Alyx, and don't really plan to. I'm neither a graphics nor VR whore, and finding out that they pulled an Endgame on the story dissipated whatever interest I may have had left for a continuation.

Was interested in the Black Mesa remake, but like much of Half-Life's history, it simply took too long for me. I have a massive backlog of games now where there previously weren't many, and Black Mesa is not a priority at this moment.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Half-Life. The numbered titles were solid experiences, and whilst it's a shame that they never got a full conclusion to the series, it's to be expected when the company that made them also happens to make a little application called Steam.
Hypothetical question due to trending thing (tm)

Would you rather have HL3 but written by Sweet Baby Inc or anything adjacent or never have HL3?
Better for it to stay dead at this point. In my opinion, the suitable window for a sequel fizzled out over 10 years ago, and whatever they could make now would just be an ill-fitting capstone.
 
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Better for it to stay dead at this point. In my opinion, the suitable window for a sequel fizzled out over 10 years ago.
For you and most people who were around for HL1 launch most likely. But Valve keeps the Half Life series alive every couple of years with some new game or side project. Just enough to maintain the brand and placate some of the older fanbase but also win over a new audience. Half Life 2 was made more for a new audience than fans of the first game. Half Life Alyx seems made to alienate the original fanbase and transition the series entirely over to modern consumers.

If Half Life 3 ever gets made it will be closer to Alyx than HL1. It will likely be made as a standalone title where you don't need to have played HL1 or even 2 to understand what is going on.
 
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