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

[Blackstar]

Geoff you cockteasing son of a bitch

 

[Spruce Supremacist]

To make a HL3 in 2025+ it would require some neat idea on how to put some real gameplay innovation or have at its disposal people with excellent knowledge of FPS design.

To quote the man himself:

I think that "Half-Life"represents a tool we have and promises made to customers to capitalize on innovation and opportunities to build game experiences that haven't been involved previously, and I think that there are no shortage of those opportunities facing us as an industry right now.

 

[Blackstar]

To quote the man himself:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=YCjNT9qGjh4:7233

I feel for Gabe. He got stuck with wanting to make something new and innovative, a bit before your timestamp he took the blame for Episode 3 never releasing.

Gabe said:
"And you can't get lazy and say, "Oh, we're moving the story forward"—that's copping out of your obligation to gamers, right? Yes, of course they love the story; they love many aspects of it. But sort of saying that your reason to do it is because people want to know what happens next—you know, we could have shipped it; it wouldn't have been that hard. You know, the failure was my personal failure: being stumped, like I couldn't figure out why doing Episode 3 was pushing anything forward.If it weren't for the episodes, there'd be no such thing as Dota—and I know that sounds really weird, but it was the things that we learned in developing the episodes that led to, you know, Team Fortress, to more rapid updates. The ending of Half-Life: Alyx is somewhat a self-critical realization, so that was super satisfying, and all credit to the people who were specifically involved in that decision, in those sets of design.I think that Half-Life represents a tool we have and promises made to customers: to capitalize on innovation and opportunities to build game experiences that haven't been built previously. And I think that there are no shortage of those opportunities facing us as an industry, right?"

 

[thhrang]

The Blue Shift remake mod for Black Mesa is being updated again.

https://www.moddb.com/mods/black-mesa-blue-shift-remake

1. ==================== GENERAL / GLOBAL ====================
3. IMPROVEMENTS:
4. -Centralized launch method .bat files into one single .bat launcher that lets you choose between options;
5. -Removed New UI options from launch files as it is unstable on the current version;
6. -Launcher .bat now throws a separate error message if the bshift directory cannot be located in the Black Mesa Root Directory;
7. -Added Research Audiologs throughout Focal Point chapter;
8. -Added hard hats to some scientists in Pre-Disaster chapters;
9. -Added new VO for fat guards in all Pre-Disaster chapters;
10. -Added more random actbusy events to guards and scientists throughout the predisaster chapters;
11. -Added walkietalkies with random radio chatter throughout the predisaster chapters;
12. -Added glowing eyes to the Xen "snark fish";
13. -Adjusted hint nodes pertaining to NPC crouch cover so that NPCs actually crouch while using them;
14. -Improved soundtrack audio quality in Focal Point in various areas;
15. -Improved reflections in the windows of the Intro Tram;
16. -Improved lighting inside the Intro Tram;
17. -Increased the history max count for each autosave and quicksave to 3;
18. -Increased drowning damage per second from 2 to 5;
19. -Increased crossbow bolt speed;
20. -Increased swampsquid spore explosion magnitude and damage;
21. -Optimised thruster gas can implementation in all maps (improved physics, improved sound, activation hitbox is now tied to cap, increased initial health);
22. -Infinite RPG ammo crates now provide a full ammo reserve on use (Earthbound and Xen);
23. -Reduced alien controller movement speed;
24. -Reduced alien controller dodge frequency + speed + added exponential lerp so that the transition between floating and shifting is less sharp;
25. -Reduced alien controller energy orb count relative to active enemies at the time;
26. -Reduced alien controller telekinesis attack interval while the player is low health;
27. -"Slightly" extended the Focal Point outro scene;
28. -Various texture / model / lighting improvements.
30. FIXES:
31. -Fixed IK animation bug on shotgun-wielding marines;
32. -Fixed HL2 wood fence gibs being the wrong color;
33. -Fixed glock sight glow is not emissive until a shot gets fired;
34. -Fixed Xen Shellsquid explosion gibs not flying as intended on the latest game version;
35. -Fixed "playerhurt" response for guards;
36. -Removed some Freeman references in the guard responses;
37. -Definitive fix for holster/unholster animations, they can now be handled via the HolsterWeapon and UnholsterWeapon inputs.
39. ==================== CHAPTER / MAP SPECIFIC ====================
41. LIVING QUATERS OUTBOUND:
43. c0m0c
44. -Slight adjustments to the water fountain actbusy animation.
46. INSECURITY:
48. c1m0a
49. -Fixed clipboard constantly... clips through the body of the guard in the intro scene when he is performing certain gestures;
50. -Fixed Sector C security guard always lowers his mug when blending between idle and walking animations;
51. -Fixed clothes hanger in the shower room clipping into map geometry;
52. -Fixed Barney's package being able to clip through certain doors;
53. -Fixed scientist in one of the surveillance monitor scenes walking through elevator doors while they're closed;
54. -Fixed surveillance monitor audio was still audible from outside the security station;
55. -Fixed security monitor static effect not rendering when switching to the "Sector G Lvl 1 Main Access" camera when playing with DXVK;
56. -Fixed an issue that would cause the lobby side booth guard to teleport to the middle of the lobby;
57. -Added wet clothing texture for Collins the fountain guard;
58. -Added a working microwave;
59. -Added more furniture to some areas to make them look less dead inside;
60. -Added cat photos;
61. -Minor lighting and geometry fixes;
62. -Reworked armory guard gun mazagine's texture.
64. c1m0b
65. -Fixed an inconsistently colored pipe in the B-C map transition area;
66. -Improved sprinkler ground splash effect in the exploding console scene;
67. -Swapped maintenance route doors for the sake of player guidance.
69. c1m0c
70. -Fixed plug cable endpoint was floating in the air after repairing the elevator;
71. -Fixed blocking the elevator with physics objects could cause the scientists to fall through when the ride starts;
72. -Improved pacing during the tour scene if the player moves ahead too fast;
73. -Added another working microwave.
75. DUTY CALLS:
77. c2m0a
78. -Fixed crowbar scientist not looking at the player at the beginning of his scene;
79. -Fixed improper game over message when killing the crowbar scientist;
80. -Fixed missing animations for one of the barricade breaching zombies;
81. -Fixed Murdoch not shooting the fizzler generator as it was intended;
82. -Fixed some spots where the player can get stuck in the warehouse;
83. -Fixed some lighting artifacts in the area before the headcrabbed guard;
84. -Adjusted some door visual styles for the sake of player guidance;
85. -Adjusted Murdoch's choreography after killing the barricade zombies so that he's closer to the exit door at the end of the scene;
86. -Adjusted Murdoch's follower logic so that he's less likely to invade the player's personal space;
87. -Adjusted Murdoch's elevator choreography so that he no longer blocks the player from jumping through the broken fence;
88. -Adjusted first Houndeye to be non-hostile for a few seconds before attacking;
89. -Added new zombie introduction scene;
90. -Added more details to the hydroplant exit lift;
91. -Added crouch-jump hint to the door before the headcrabbing scene;
92. -Added missing loop points to the zombie barricade audio;
93. -The exit door Vortigaunt can now be attacked and killed while tearing open the door;
94. -Placed first medkit closer to the starting elevator;
95. -Touching the acid in the engineering lab now applies a viewmodel effect;
96. -Door scientist now reacts to the zombies approaching Barney after her introductory scene is completed.
98. c2m0c
99. -Fixed an exploit that allowed to activate the main power before calling the big freight lift leading to getting softlocked;
100. -Fixed cascade shadows were visible in canal area, causing lighting issues on various doors and crates;
101. -Fixed some idle response lines of the maintenance guy sometimes not trigger correctly;
102. -Fixed disposal scene guard corpses not falling as they are intended (for real this time);
103. -Fixed player death scripts not being called correctly when the player jumps into the grinder;
104. -Fixed maintenance guy not speaking to the player after the power goes out;
105. -Replaced / removed some static environment details that could be mistaken by interactive game elements;
106. -The door leading to the steam pipe area can no longer be closed by the player;
107. -Attempted to fix CSM shadows sometimes breaking at the end of the level;
108. -Final ladder leading to the surface can no longer be used after the hatch is closed.
110. c2m0d
111. -Fixed zombies after the falling guard scene reacting before the player got in their line of sight;
112. -Added an autosave after the generator puzzle is solved;
113. -Added extra measures to prevent armor plates behind the locked barricade in the generator area from becoming unreachable.
115. CAPTIVE FREIGHT:
117. c3m0c
118. -Fixed cascade shadow glitches in underground areas;
119. -Removed some armor plates throughout the map and centralized them in other areas.
121. c3m0d
122. -Fixed a bug where the Murdoch door kick playerdeath logic would trigger if there were physics props in front of the door;
123. -Fixed an issue that could cause the player to get stuck inside physics props after taking Harold's ID card;
124. -Fixed a bug that could cause the secret area scene chain to play incorrectly or temporarily brick their actors' AI.
126. c3m1a
127. -Fixed an issue where NPCs could get stuck on top of one of the concrete barriers in the middle of the parking lot;
128. -Fixed the player being able to kill the first parking lot marines from inside the freight office;
129. -Fixed softlock caused by the first wave of TOW marines getting stuck behind the depot door as it closed;
130. -Fixed marines during the TOW sequence not using appropriate "on fire" lines when set on fire by the exploding jeep;
131. -Fixed potential choreo messup when the player gets back into the office building after the battle before certain scene points were reached;
132. -Adjusted Murdoch's dialogue for when the player quickly destroys the sentries in the freight office;
133. -Adjusted Osprey drop spot and enemy spread behavior to achieve more effective use of playable space during the battle;
134. -Adjusted the logic for Murdoch's responses to trying the locked stairwell doors in the freight offices;
135. -Removed duplicate decals in the break room map transition;
136. -Murdoch now immediately moves to the depot access door after being let through the locked stairwell door, to further enhance player guidance.
138. c3m1b
139. -Fixed the train driver marine getting stuck inside the train if the player initiated combat too quickly;
140. -Fixed an issue where the dynamic surveillance monitor would show a still image of the previous surveillance monitor image before the player entered the security office;
141. -Fixed an issue preventing the player from picking up supplies inside the military supply container next to the yard exit;
142. -Fixed NPCs getting stuck in certain parts of the depot scaffolding;
143. -Fixed Murdoch and Otis retaining follower behavior after moving Ronny's container to the loading dock;
144. -Fixed other issues that could potentially cause Murdoch and Otis to be stuck outside of the cargo bay during Ronny's intro scene;
145. -Fixed issues causing one of the marines underneath the crush trap to not break out of choreo if the player triggered combat;
146. -Fixed the marine driving the train in the depot occasionally not exiting the train properly;
147. -Slightly adjusted logic in Ronny introduction choreography;
148. -Added separate hudhints for train mechanics;
149. -Added crows;
150. -Adjusted volume of ambient music during the Ellie rescue scene;
151. -Adjusted Murdoch and Otis' behavior after the Ronny discovery scene in the depot to subtly enhance player guidance;
152. -Slight adjustments to AI navigation in the depot.
154. c3m1c
155. -Fixed softlock if the player dies during the RPG crate bombardment scene;
156. -Restored old RPG crate combat logic so that the distant marines don't start shooting until the player exits the crate;
157. -Slightly obscured the TOW launcher so that it no longer confuses for a weapon that can be used against the LAV;
158. -Replaced marine corpse in the medical crate with a zombie grunt;
159. -Adjusted RPG container ambient music volume;
160. -Added failsafe for if the RPG crate marine is killed before his scene completes;
161. -Added extra cover to the railroad battle;
162. -Added a loud and bright surprise to the RPG container sequence;
163. -The fuel tanker cars in the LAV arena can now be destroyed with RPGs.
165. c3m1d
166. -Fixed .50 cal marine changing appearance after dismounting the gun;
167. -Fixed squad in the yard is not reacting to gunfire before the player is entering the yard area;
168. -Fixed sun is leaking through 3D skybox;
169. -Fixed one of the marines in the knockout scene teleporting into place;
170. -Fixed missing sound FX when squashing the zombie in the turntable booth;
171. -Fixed performance issues caused by newlights not being culled properly;
172. -Improved lighting on the background instance of the previous map;
173. -Improved particle effects on the electrocuted crow;
174. -Added extra crow NPCs;
175. -Added more indicators to the breakable concrete barriers in fornt of the drivable train.
177. c3m2a
178. -Fixed RPGs bouncing off the Abrams while it's being carried by the Chinook;
179. -Fixed left-side reinforcement marines repeatedly moving back to their rally points;
180. -Fixed wrong footstep sounds when jumping onto Rosenberg's hands;
181. -Fixed Rosenberg is not looking at the player during the first person cutscene;
182. -Fixed AI logic for marines in the Abrams boss fight which previously prevented them from advancing towards the player;
183. -Fixed Abrams is able to turn while standing on the turntable platform causing it to glitch to map geometry;
184. -Other explosives besides RPG rockets are now able to trigger the Abrams boss fight's phase logic;
185. -Added ambient soundtrack to the Rosenberg introduction scene;
186. -Adjusted Abrams boss fight logic so that the tank's machine gun remains enabled if the player is out of the main gun's swivel range;
187. -Adjusted NPC relationship logic to make Rosenberg less of a priority target to the marines;
188. -Adjusted Abrams perma-corpse logic;
189. -Reinforcement marines can now throw smoke grenades;
190. -Adjusted node graph in the turntable area to fix improper pathing in certain areas;
191. -Added crows.
193. c3m2b
194. -Fixed meetup scene not resuming if the player back tracks to the previous map;
195. -Fixed meetup scene not resuming if Rosenberg enters the second room before certain resume conditions are satisfied;
196. -Fixed some misaligned metal beam textures in the prototype lab elevator, including in the next map;
197. -Improved lighting in the A17 entrance area;
198. -Another attempt to fix NPCs failing to get onto the elevator at the end of the level.
200. c3m2c
201. -Fixed missing godrays on the fan at the prototype lab entrance;
202. -Fixed wrong footstep sounds on various grate floors in the teleporter rooom;
203. -Fixed Rosenberg is turning invisible during the Keycard-Cutscene if the player stands too far on the left during initialization;
204. -Fixed flickering areaportal in Simmons' control room;
205. -Added glass cover to the portal bottom layer;
206. -Added a reaction from Simmons when killing Rosenberg in the teleporter room;
207. -Added an optional extra line to Rosenberg refering to the Mark III Suit;
208. -Added extra safeguards against NPC navigation failing to push past the vines at the start of the level;
209. -Improved rock walls in the access tunnel area.
211. FOCAL POINT:
213. c4m0a
214. -Fixed intro cutscene flashlight lensflare is not occluded by the viewmodel;
215. -Fixed one shockeye that got stuck in a rock at the cliffside;
216. -Fixed visible rim on the interception scene travel effect;
217. -Backtrack path tree branch now only collapses when falling down from the top level;
218. -Improved performance during the teleportation interception scene (hopefully on all devices and hardware configurations).
220. c4m0b
221. -Improved indication and guidance on the crystal cave column puzzle;
222. -Blocked missleading backtracking path after breaking down the column in the crystal cave.
224. c4m0c
225. -Fixed powercells can be thrown on the M.O.U.N.T platform, leading to a softlock;
226. -Fixed audio related memory overflow in some areas;
227. -Improved lighting in the infirmary compartment;
228. -Improved performance in various areas of the map;
229. -Improved platforming after the heart crystal sequence;
230. -Reduced headcrab count in the survey base hub area;
231. -Added indicators when the second alien grunt wave breaches into the base hub.
233. c4m1a
234. -Fixed missing shadows on some crystal lights at the beginning of the map;
235. -Fixed audio related memory overflow in some areas;
236. -Fixed a gap in void-death trigger volume at the cliffside;
237. -Improved enemy AI pathfinding during the manta ride sequence.
239. c4m1b
240. -Fixed skybox portion of previous map was relocated further than intended during the manta ride;
241. -Fixed some environment props won't get destroyed during the manta ray laser beam sequence on the donut island;
242. -Fixed a progress blocker that could cause the rising spire at the donut island to stay retracted;
243. -Slightly increased enemy xen railgun firing rate when the player stands on certain spots of the map;
244. -Obstructed missleading cliffside path next to the donut island;
245. -Improved performance around the Focal Point Island entrance area;
246. -Improved guidance for healing spore introduction;
247. -Improved safeguard constraint when the player railgun gets destroyed to ensure less damage impact by the explosion;
248. -Improved soundtrack and soundscape coherence at the donut island preventing interference on certain audio output devices.
250. c4m1c
251. -Fixed houndeyes attacking the player too early at the vista balcony after the second switch leaf puzzle;
252. -Fixed missing collision on some rocks and plants;
253. -Fixed some healing spores in the first swamp area were not working when swimming into their pickup volume;
254. -Removed swampsquid weakpoint randomizer and replaced it with set to 3 by default;
255. -Moved the crossbow from the next map to the top swamp area;
256. -Improved cyst placements in the second vine puzzle;
257. -Improved surface responsivity for satchel charges when throwing them on the leaves in the third switch leaf puzzle;
258. -Added hudhint when picking up the crossbow;
259. -Added more enemies to the second half of the lower swamp.
261. c4m2a
262. -Fixed waterfall jump pad trajectory is now fully deterministic preventing from getting "voided" under certain conditions;
263. -Improved performance around the relay site;
264. -Added more enemies to the first alien grunt encounter (Spawning is based on combat and player metrics);
265. -Added more dynamic difficulty adjustment to the controller battle at the relay site;
266. -Added more indicative elements to the Focal Point jamming sequence;
267. -Added a new visual geo marker after the Focal Point is getting jammed for highlighting the new objective;
268. -Increased crane's turning speed;
269. -Moved large table at the crane platform closer to the jump spot towards the crane's cargo platform;
270. -Removed visible skybox instance of one of the previous maps that was not intended to be present.
272. c4m2b
273. -Fixed some supply tank forcefields were using the wrong color;
274. -Fixed missing FX when the interceptor core receives a critical hit;
275. -Fixed interceptor core color was not changing during critical state;
276. -Fixed some alien controllers still using orb attacks during telekinesis events;
277. -Fixed some vortigaunts during the interceptor boss battle not getting mind-controlled as how it was intended;
278. -Fixed an issue that allow players to clip through map geometry when moving during warp lift transitions;
279. -Extended the first Xen Grenade puzzle to indicate the purpose of the green force fields;
280. -Added more indicative elements between Xen Grenades and the green force fields;
281. -Added more details to the maintenance shaft after the vort-server room;
282. -Added more supplies to the interceptor boss battle based on combat and player metrics;
283. -Added more initial supplies to the interceptor boss battle in case you haven't picked up any supplies in the custody room before;
284. -Added more cover spots to the interceptor boss battle;
285. -Improved vort-server sound design;
286. -Improved interceptor destruction scene;
287. -Improved railgun single fire sound to prevent audio stacking;
288. -Improved sound design during the final escape sequence;
289. -Reduced alien controller spawn intervals during the interceptor battle based on player and combat metrics;
290. -Increased railgun projectile hit volume against alien controllers;
291. -Interceptor core can now be damaged with non-charged railgun shots;
292. -Reduced headcrab count on the escape route after the boss battle.
294. c4m2c
295. -Reworked portal telekinesis blocker to throw the player towards spots closer to the portal;
296. -Fixed missing captions on Rosenberg and Simmons dialogue;
297. -Fixed killing more than 2 controllers in a row before the wave spawn cycle is complete causing an infinite loop in the spawn cycle, making it almost impossible to clear the portal;
298. -Fixed a controller wave could still spawn while the player is already flying towards the portal during the critical time span;
299. -Fixed controllers not getting killed when colliding with crashing mantarays;
300. -Increased safety interval between controller waves.

 

[BibiLivesMatter]

 

[God of Nothing]

Is Half-Life actually a good game? I just finished System Shock 2, and I've decided to go on a bit of an unplayed classic binge. Thinking of giving Deus Ex another try before downloading the HF series.

 

[Quijibo69]

Is Half-Life actually a good game?

Yes. The Tram ride to the work station were you shit yourself and do nothing at the beginning is the best part!

 

[AnOminous]

Is Half-Life actually a good game? I just finished System Shock 2, and I've decided to go on a bit of an unplayed classic binge. Thinking of giving Deus Ex another try before downloading the HF series.

Yes, but unlike HL2, it's actually pretty tough.

 

[The Backwards Man]

Is Half-Life actually a good game? I just finished System Shock 2, and I've decided to go on a bit of an unplayed classic binge. Thinking of giving Deus Ex another try before downloading the HF series.

It's an Nvidia tech demo with a story

 

[regalterry]

Is Half-Life actually a good game?

I'd say yes, but the historical context matters.

Playing Half-Life 1 for the first time nowadays won't be as impactful as playing it on release, simply because so many other FPS games have copied what HL1 was doing.

It helps to divide the FPS genre into a few separate eras, namely post-Doom, post-Quake and post-HL1 (and a bunch of other post-[game] that aren't relevant to the current discussion).

What's great about HL1 is that you're always being introduced to something new with each level - new enemy, new weapon, new setpiece etc., no level is like the previous one. The enemies also behave differently, fighting Xen wildlife is different from fighting Vortigaunts or the HECU or the Black Ops.

The game also does something I love with FPS (like Ashes or Cultic), it seamlessly switches between horror and action.

One thing I do criticize Half-Life for is the weapons - they sound weak and the balance is all over the place, but it's nothing that a mod like MMod can't fix.

 

[Dude Snakes]

Yes, but unlike HL2, it's actually pretty tough.

Eh moderately so.

 

[GlupShitto]

If they do anything beyond what they did with the ending of Alyx and some stuff with the Borealis then I'll shame Valve for it, but otherwise I will defend Alyx's ending because I think Epistle 3's existence and what the general populace's idea behind the plot of EP3 would be was what "forced" valve's hand into doing what they did. On a meta level it feels like they were saying sorry for leaving us in the dark for 13 years, and in the story it meant that they were no longer shackled to a pretty much pre determined plot. We were expecting an adventure in the arctic with Alyx for years. They tried to do it and didn't work. It's just time for something completely different. I'm just glad that at the very least the mysterious nature of the G-Man makes it fit rather than being too much of an asspull.

Besides, I'll just hide behind a blanket statement that Laidlaw messed with the idea of time travel in Epistle 3 so it's automatically ok

I think it's very likely that the time travel shit won't stop there. I think being able to alter past events is going to ultimately end in undoing the resonance cascade and the final segment of whatever the last Half Life game is (be it 3 or something beyond that) will be the opening of Half Life but nothing goes wrong, both to bring things full circle as well as to showcase how far graphics have come. It's gay and retarded, but I'd be willing to put money on that prediction.

 

[Relinquish]

Soon

 

[Cornlord88]

With all the hopium and whatever the opposite is.
Between "soon" and "expect nothing"

I'm fucking tired boss!

 

[Star Classic]

I think it's very likely that the time travel shit won't stop there. I think being able to alter past events is going to ultimately end in undoing the resonance cascade and the final segment of whatever the last Half Life game is (be it 3 or something beyond that) will be the opening of Half Life but nothing goes wrong, both to bring things full circle as well as to showcase how far graphics have come. It's gay and retarded, but I'd be willing to put money on that prediction.

Nah. They said in the final hours for Alyx that time travel that rewrote or undid the events of the game was out of the question.

 

[Coolio55]

It's not going to be Half-Life 3. It's going to be Deadlocked.

 

[Star Classic]

It's not going to be Half-Life 3. It's going to be Deadlocked.

I'm not full on the train for HLX being tomorrow, or Wednesday, but I sincerely doubt it'll be Deadlock. DL is too far from an announcement date, plus they took off team members from DL so they could work on HLX instead. Wouldn't make much sense to announce DL if that were the case.

Come to think of it though there wasn't much sense in Artifact's announcement either.

 

[Slav Power]

Let's be honest.
It's gonna be Ricochet 2.

 

[Evil Peter Griffin]

Team Fortress 3

 

[NiKo's Deagle Miss]

Portal 3