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

[30+GameOvers]

That's Vladik Brutal

Yeah, that's the one. Looked good from what I remember. It didn't look like anything more than Russian Half-Life 2, so anyone expecting it to rock their world is going to be disappointed. It is exactly what it says on the tin.

 

[StacticShock]

Only ones I can think of right are Doom 3 & Return to Castle Wolfenstein. But those ones take more after HL1 than 2. I also think the first two wolfenreboots (TNO & TOB) are good half-likes.

doom3 is far slower than HL1 unless you count the setting.

Not to be that fag, but i'm going to fucking triplepost.

good god.
use that edit button you 2018 joindate.

 

[thhrang]

Spoiler: Random SFMs

 

[Pumpkin_Spice_Bastard]

doom3 is far slower than HL1 unless you count the setting.

good god.
use that edit button you 2018 joindate.

sent from my iPhone
:^)

 

[The handsome tard]

Oh, and the furst 3 Harry Potter PC games are dope and still fun.

They unironically are and Soule's music is amazing, especially when you consider that he made the score of the first game before the movie was made so he really only had the first four books to base it off.

Kind of all went downhill after the third one.

sent from my iPhone
:^)

This nigger...

 

[30+GameOvers]

They unironically are and Soule's music is amazing, especially when you consider that he made the score of the first game before the movie was made so he really only had the first four books to base it off.

Kind of all went downhill after the third one.


View attachment 7790074

This nigger...

Weren't these games based off books in general more than the movies? I dunno about the fourth game onward, I have no clue why the sudden change when they had the winning formula. They just had to make the games more mature for the growing audience and the older characters.

Speaking of magic, am I the only one that hates it that they made the standard pump shotgun a double barrel(alt fire mode) rather than just adding in a proper double barrel shotgun like every other FPS? That always bothered me more than it should. As much effort as Valve took to try and make their world believable, it all goes down the drain when you have guns straight out of science fiction, reminds me of how every single weapon in Deus Ex: Invisible War fired magic ammunition that just turned into whatever you needed at the time, be it bullets, missiles, buckshot or energy cells. Takes you out of the experience. Thankfully, the double barrel mode isn't required to finish the game, but still.

 

[Historical Strelkov]

I want to go to the Borealis to find Judith and find a portal gun attachment for the gravity gun. Then I want the inside of the Borealis to be an MC Escher esque nightmare of interlinked worlds that disrespect space and time, linking Xen and other planets together. Then when we find Judith and shportal back to Earth I want there to be a sequence where you and Barney and everyone destroy the rest of the Combine, only for there to be a new portal opening. But instead of millions of Combine pouring in, Gordon jumps into the portal with some kind of device that shuts the portal behind him, and we have to take the fight to the combine in one of their own worlds, which is alien in a way we have only seen hinted at. If its the last game in the series I want to find out what the G-man's deal is. If not, I want the destruction of the combine to lead to even bigger consequences.

Then I want to play L4D3 and DOD3 and Opposing Force 2 and...Ricochet 2...and Team Fortress 3...

 

[thhrang]

I want to go to the Borealis to find Judith and find a portal gun attachment for the gravity gun. Then I want the inside of the Borealis to be an MC Escher esque nightmare of interlinked worlds that disrespect space and time, linking Xen and other planets together. Then when we find Judith and shportal back to Earth I want there to be a sequence where you and Barney and everyone destroy the rest of the Combine, only for there to be a new portal opening. But instead of millions of Combine pouring in, Gordon jumps into the portal with some kind of device that shuts the portal behind him, and we have to take the fight to the combine in one of their own worlds, which is alien in a way we have only seen hinted at. If its the last game in the series I want to find out what the G-man's deal is. If not, I want the destruction of the combine to lead to even bigger consequences.

Then I want to play L4D3 and DOD3 and Opposing Force 2 and...Ricochet 2...and Team Fortress 3...

Reading this reminded me of the storylines kids make in their heads when smashing their actionfigures together and I don't really even mean that derogatorily.

 

[Creative Username]

Speaking of magic, am I the only one that hates it that they made the standard pump shotgun a double barrel(alt fire mode) rather than just adding in a proper double barrel shotgun like every other FPS? That always bothered me more than it should.

it's not that bad, they probably added the 2-shot alt fire to add that double shotgun fun while also allowing the convenience of 1 less gun so the weapon selection menus are more bearable to use
it's goofy and retarded, but i just ignore it, because to play a video game you generally have to suspend your disbelief since many things are fucked up worse than a 2-barrel fire on a gun with 1 barrel
for instance, it is completely impossible to get through a simple wooden door if you press e on it and it turns out it is locked

 

[30+GameOvers]

it's not that bad, they probably added the 2-shot alt fire to add that double shotgun fun while also allowing the convenience of 1 less gun so the weapon selection menus are more bearable to use
it's goofy and retarded, but i just ignore it, because to play a video game you generally have to suspend your disbelief since many things are fucked up worse than a 2-barrel fire on a gun with 1 barrel
for instance, it is completely impossible to get through a simple wooden door if you press e on it and it turns out it is locked

Yeah, I know why they did it, but it sticks out like a sore thumb in a game that is otherwise grounded in reality, box smashing rooms and alien invasion aside. Since Half Life 2 has Gordon on the run and mostly salvaging weapons from metro cops and finding whatever he can use as he goes, giving him a double barrel in the sequel would have made much more sense than one randomly laying around Black Mesa. Imagine if Grigori threw you one in Ravenholm and you were taking out zombies with a doublebarrel there, it would be so cool. Actually, Hunt Down The Freeman did something like that, so imagine that but actually done competently. I dunno where the pump shotgun would be given, probably a bit later and since you had to earn it, the weapon would be much more satisfying to use.

Speaking of weapons, I'm bummed we didn't get the OICW. I am always a strong proponent for these weird experimental weapons in games, and it is not nearly as well known as XM8 or G11. Half Life 2 could have done wonders for it's popularity and we likely could have seen it in other games going forward, or at least many Half Life 2 mods/Source games. As is, the MP7 is alright but a grenade launcher on that one makes even less sense than on the MP5 in Half Life 1 where as a grenade launcher was integrated into the OICW alongside a scope. Perfect assault weapon, introduce the AR2 later down the line as a power weapon for variety, keep the MP7 as an early game SMG/PDW but take out the grenade launcher.

 

[JesusChristDenton]

Speaking of magic, am I the only one that hates it that they made the standard pump shotgun a double barrel(alt fire mode) rather than just adding in a proper double barrel shotgun like every other FPS? That always bothered me more than it should. As much effort as Valve took to try and make their world believable, it all goes down the drain when you have guns straight out of science fiction, reminds me of how every single weapon in Deus Ex: Invisible War fired magic ammunition that just turned into whatever you needed at the time, be it bullets, missiles, buckshot or energy cells. Takes you out of the experience. Thankfully, the double barrel mode isn't required to finish the game, but still.

IIRC when Valve looked at the SPAS-12 for inspiration when making HL1's shotgun, they assumed that the magazine tube was a secondary barrel. By the time they realised it wasn't, it was too late and the design just stuck.

Personally I don't have a problem with it in HL1, though it's definitely a bit out of place in HL2 with it's more realistic art style. But to give the HD HL1 models some credit where credit is due, they change the sound of the shotgun's alt fire to sound like it's rapidly firing twice.

 

[30+GameOvers]

IIRC when Valve looked at the SPAS-12 for inspiration when making HL1's shotgun, they assumed that the magazine tube was a secondary barrel. By the time they realised it wasn't, it was too late and the design just stuck.

Yeah, pretty apparent when someone makes a shooter game but doesn't know a single thing about firearms. Thankfully, the rest of the game is decent (as are the guns) so it's not a big deal.

 

[Star Classic]

IIRC when Valve looked at the SPAS-12 for inspiration when making HL1's shotgun, they assumed that the magazine tube was a secondary barrel. By the time they realised it wasn't, it was too late and the design just stuck.

Personally I don't have a problem with it in HL1, though it's definitely a bit out of place in HL2 with it's more realistic art style. But to give the HD HL1 models some credit where credit is due, they change the sound of the shotgun's alt fire to sound like it's rapidly firing twice.

I don't under any circumstance believe that the primary reason Valve made the spas-12 fire both barrels was because they don't understand how guns work. Every single gun in HL1 has some quake 1 counterpart, this extends to the shotguns as well, but instead of making the two separate shotgun weapons to be "realistic" Valve combined them into one singular weapon. This carried over into HL2 and valve kept it there as well for whatever reason.

I think it was all just a matter of sacrificing "realism" it for the same of gameplay. Guns are not very hard to figure out, even in 1998. I'm not calling out anyone in this thread for this, but I see gun nuts everywhere complain and bemoan about this constantly when its pretty evident its a quake leftover.

TLDR: No, gun-child, you are not special for realizing that a Spas-12 cannot shoot out of its lower barrel.

Anyways, pardon my spergery, this has been something bothering me for years and I refuse to believe that no else hasn't come to the conclusion that I did. It seems so obvious.

 

[Creative Username]

I think it was all just a matter of sacrificing "realism" it for the same of gameplay.

im pretty sure real life smgs with grenade launchers can't fire 10 grenades one after the other
and that real life revolvers aren't magically way more powerful than a rifle
and that weird crossbows aren't the standard sniping weapon of choice alongside the aforementioned high damage revolver
the double barreled single barrel shotgun is really one of the less goofy things about half-life's weapon roster

 

[Star Classic]

im pretty sure real life smgs with grenade launchers can't fire 10 grenades one after the other
and that real life revolvers aren't magically way more powerful than a rifle
and that weird crossbows aren't the standard sniping weapon of choice alongside the aforementioned high damage revolver
the double barreled single barrel shotgun is really one of the less goofy things about half-life's weapon roster

And yet its the most popular thing people like to nitpick about the weapons. That or the MP7's nonexistent grenade launcher. Like you said there are way more egregious thing about HL1's weapons.

If I had to pick what I hate the most about the gun design, its like the 3 pixels of missing faces on some of the weapons and once you notice it you can never not notice it.

 

[Newcomer 42]

Guns are not very hard to figure out, even in 1998.

It is for some people. *Glances at Fallout 3 and beyond's weapons*

HL2's weapons also didn't strive for realism. A plasma rifle that has an antimatter ball that disintegrates all living matter in a room sounds too dangerous to hand out to random troopers, even for an alien empire with infinite clones.

 

[Star Classic]

It is for some people. *Glances at Fallout 3 and beyond's weapons*

Eh. if you mean stuff like the combat shotgun I thought it was a cool design, in fact I think the placement of the mag made it look cooler, even if if makes zero technical sense. FO4 is where I draw the line on some of them though.

HL2's weapons also didn't strive for realism. A plasma rifle that has an antimatter ball that disintegrates all living matter in a room sounds too dangerous to hand out to random troopers, even for an alien empire with infinite clones.

I don't know, they wiped us out in 7 hours, I can easily believe that they would hand something like the AR2 out.

If it makes you feel any better the only troops that ever seem to carry ammo for it are the elites and the regular soldiers don't have it that often either.

 

[Forklift Certified]

doublebarrel

Spoiler: Sperging on doublebarrel

To be frank with you i don't like double barrel shotguns in a game design perspective... Its kinda a retarded design imo... Always makes me feel if there is a double barrel in game then the devs gona turn the regular one next to dogshit because they forec to highlight the non existent features of the double barrel...

What is the non-existent feature of the double barrel may you ask ?

well if you using it one by one then congrats doublebarre basically a 2 pump regular one... if you goes all in then you get a one shot blunderbuss 2 shot worth of regular shoty dmg...

Which means the devs need to go apeshit in the doublebarrel dmg (despite using the same ammo) just because if they don't then the regular one will power creeping the double barrel... but tweaking the dmg of the doublebarrel exactly doing an uno reverse and power creeping the regular one instead...

as for the blunderbuss... luckily we usually getting one of those in games... CALLED THE ROCKET LAUNCHER!

conclusion: double barrel shotguns overrated useless piece of shits...

TL,DR
asking for a double barrel when you have a regular one is like asking for a deringer when you have a revolver already...

 

[Historical Strelkov]

Valve made all their decisions based on gameplay, not on "realism".
Lots of stuff in HL2 is just incomplete and they ran with it.
The AR2 was supposed to be an OICW with a grenade or airburst launcher on it but they decided to just make it a ball shooter thingy which in all practicality isn't that effective of a concept, its chaotic and random.
The Crossbow was supposed to be a combine sniper rifle, but i think the idea of the crossbow was more interesting to them with its projectile than a sniper that would hit instantaneously.
You can see the backtracking done in the weapon design.

Frankly, normie weapons in Half-Life have always been Half-assed.
The pistol is a pea shooter in both games.
The Submachine gun is an automatic pea shooter.
The AR2 has only 3 magazines.
The crossbow took forever to reload in HL1, and doesn't have a magazine in 2.
The Shotgun/Crossbow/Revolver/Rocket Launchy are the only human weapons that are substantive.
Once you get the Gauss gun or the Gluon Gun its pretty obvious.
I agree with the "Quake" basis for HL but boomer shooters had a lot of derision for some reason towards rifles.

One would think that after Counter-Strike it would make a lot more sense to make the weapons do substantive damage, but at the same time they want the enemies to be intimidating with their alien armor and so on.
Personally, one can fix these problems by just swapping the MP7/MP5 for an AR that shoots with the same damage model as Counter-Strike. By making the pistol a Glock 18C that does less damage in auto fire but slightly more in semi-auto (with more accuracy).

If you go and play the Half-Payne mod for HL1 you can see how different the MP5 can be if you just reduce bloom. That said, the gameplay in HL1 and HL2 are substantially different. In HL1 youre supposed to run through office complex and double barrel everyone with the shotgun at immediate range. In HL2 they want you to slow down. This is actually a bigger difference between the two games. HL1 plays much more open, and you set the pace. HL2 gates you frequently and makes you wait, or move at a pace defined by the scripting. Hence, I play HL1 way more often than 2.

 

[thhrang]

Valve made all their decisions based on gameplay, not on "realism".