Episode 3 What Do You Want

[Jack Hemming]

Well, they did say that that may merge Portal with HL, so, yeah. Well, Themanclaw, do you just buy HL for killing things, or the amazing visuals, and awsome storyline that comes with half-life? Half-Life 2, In my eyes, was the first "Beautiful Game". It was the first good looking game (DOOM 3 DOES NOT COUNT, it all looks like plastic, and plastic people are not beautiful!), and the first game with FULL PHYSICS CAPABILITIES, and it totaly rocked. DOOM 3 didn't have much of that, and basicaly had no storyline. Well, my point is, if you just buy a game to kill things, you arent playing a game. Your playing Heavy Metal (The stuff that blasts your brains out, and you cant understand a word your saying. its like "IIIIII AAAAAMMMM KIIIIIIILLLLIIIINNNNGGG PEOOOOPPLLLEEEEEEE!" over and over again, and "***** ***** ********** PEEEEOOOOPPPPLLLLLEEEE!", while music that sounds like a man rubbing sandpaper on a cats head, while scraping 90000 chalkbourds at once using the largest fingernails possible.). Yes, its your opinion of the way you want to play games, so, you just play it your way, and i'll play it my way.

[Vasili]

I'd also like to see snow citys, or abbandoned citys when the combine took over, prehaps in history they might of done serious damage to the climate and causes many areas (like Britain, America, Western Europe) to be very snowy.

As we know that Gordan is actually in east Europe, you can tell by the signs and writting and the communist Russian stars.

[The Typer]

Originally Posted by themanclaw

I'm sorry. I will will be very upset if valve ever integrated the two games. I want to be shooting things with machine guns and stapling things to walls with crossbows. If they implement the portal gun

a; the game will have to almost be based around the fact that you are using it to get any use from it.
b; as mentioned in my previous post, it will make the game feel less and less like half-life for reasons stated in that post.
c; the game would be much more puzzle based instead of action. Bad. Im not going to buy a sequel to a puzzle based game. In my opinion, solving puzzles just isn't fun.

Portal gun in HL, terrible idea. Keep the two separate so that the people who like action can still get that without having to do too much puzzle solving and the people who like puzzle solving can play entirely puzzle games. Besides, valve can reap the benefits of a double profit if they have a separate portal game, as it was be successful enough to make a sequel that could even more successful than the fist.

We will still have the ability to use weapons, and the crossbow, and all the stuff. Half-Life 1 practically followed the idea of a plain shooter, just excellently. Half-Life 2 brought on the ability to use physics in a game, but they do not always want to force it on us. Even though they found a way to make the gravity gun fun instead of just a tool players are forced to use. Portals, as you say you don't like because of them being used in a puzzle form, may not just be used as puzzles by Valve. I'm sure there would be moments where Valve would want us to use the portal gun, but they wouldn't want to make us hate it obviously. Did you play Portal? I wouldn't imagine so but even as a puzzle game it's mind-blowing fun, I played it like four times.

I'm sure Valve knows how to make a game feel like the way it is with new elements. There was a different feel between HL1 and HL2, though those were made in separate time eras. Take Call of Duty 4 for example, if you play Call of Duty. Call of Duty 1 and 2 had a close feel, but when I saw trailers for Call of Duty 4, I thought the modern warfare idea was great. But I also thought from the look of the trailers that it would not feel like a COD game this time around, but after playing it I realize IW made the game with the same intense gameplay feel found in COD2, which was great because now we can a modern warfare version of Call of Duty. Infinity Ward has been around for quite a few years, but Valve has been around longer and I'm sure that even though it may sound bad, they'll probably be able to bring in the portal gameplay into the Half-Life series without ruining what we know as Half-Life. Quick qustion: Do you like the gravity gun? It might be that only certain parts of the series will include the Portal gun, like the super-gravity gun.

And as I mentioned, I don't see the Portal gun in Episode Three. And to restate, Valve would not try to permantly force us on Portals in Half-Life.

I don't really think the amount of puzzles would change. Puzzles are fun ideas in the Half-Life games, since they normally involve the smart thinking physics engine. But Valve doesn't pour on that many, they tend to only add them after huge battles, where playtesters experience fatigue. But that doesn't always happen, sometimes we get monitor sequences or conversations. I think only sometimes Valve adds in puzzles when they aren't completely needed.

I think I understand what you're getting at, you feel that adding the portal dimension to Half-Life would take out more of the FPS element. Where really, I think it would stay around the same, or maybe even grow. Valve probably would be aware of the lack of new weapons by the next game, they decided to come up with more physics weapons in Episode Two, and if they are at all considering bringing in a new dimension of physics (portals), then they are definitely going to want to make some more weapons to balance it out. Plus, newer weapons gives players more experimentation with the portals, giving players higher interest in the game and more replayability because of the number of possibilities.

Jack Hemming: Settle down! He doesn't just play games to shoot stuff up, we all game for more than one reason. He just doesn't want to see more of the FPS factor leave Half-Life, which he predicts happening if portals are added in Half-Life. Really, Half-Life is a relaxed shooter, its filled with intensity, but focuses on many other elements like story-telling, presentation, and graphics so that all parts of the game are nicely balanced.

[Vasili]

Originally Posted by Jack Hemming

Your playing Heavy Metal (The stuff that blasts your brains out, and you cant understand a word your saying. its like "IIIIII AAAAAMMMM KIIIIIIILLLLIIIINNNNGGG PEOOOOPPLLLEEEEEEE!" over and over again, and "***** ***** ********** PEEEEOOOOPPPPLLLLLEEEE!", while music that sounds like a man rubbing sandpaper on a cats head, while scraping 90000 chalkbourds at once using the largest fingernails possible.)

Erm... What? Do you mean that just games where you kill people is the same as heavy metal?

[themanclaw]

Did you play Portal

yes I did. I bought the orange box and figured I'd try it considering all its good reviews. I always play games before I criticize them.

Your playing Heavy Metal (The stuff that blasts your brains out, and you cant understand a word your saying. its like "IIIIII AAAAAMMMM KIIIIIIILLLLIIIINNNNGGG PEOOOOPPLLLEEEEEEE!" over and over again, and "***** ***** ********** PEEEEOOOOPPPPLLLLLEEEE!", while music that sounds like a man rubbing sandpaper on a cats head, while scraping 90000 chalkbourds at once using the largest fingernails possible.). Yes, its your opinion of the way you want to play games, so, you just play it your way, and i'll play it my way.

Alright............


How do you get 'all I want to do is kill people' from "I don't think solving puzzles is very fun." (if the game has too much of that element) And where did you get heavy metal from? I thinks its kind of funny that you automatically assume that I listen to heavy metal (which I don't) because I don't solving puzzles is fun. I appreciate games for all of their qualities, especially story and concepts/themes, but action-filled game play is very important to me.

And about the whole " Yes, its your opinion of the way you want to play games, so, you just play it your way, and i'll play it my way" I was suggesting that valve not turn HL into a puzzle based game because that would be truly disappointing for many HL fans as going around shooting portals kind of makes you loose the whole feel that your playing HL and not portal. (two totally different games for totally different gamers.)

We will still have the ability to use weapons, and the crossbow, and all the stuff. Half-Life 1 practically followed the idea of a plain shooter, just excellently. Half-Life 2 brought on the ability to use physics in a game, but they do not always want to force it on us

Yeah, but in order for the portal gun to actually take effect, they would have to pretty much base the game around the portal gun, and that would make the game much less fun to play with any of the other weapons.

For example, in the end of EP2, you don't have to use the strider busters, you could go around killing them with SMG grenades and RPG rounds, but not only is it next to impossible, it would not be nearly as fun as killing striders in default HL2. Such is what would happen with putting the portal gun in HL and going through it with some of the other guns.

Do you like the gravity gun? It might be that only certain parts of the series will include the Portal gun, like the super-gravity gun.

Actually, no. I'm not a big gravity gun fan. (accept in DM where it dominates)

don't really think the amount of puzzles would change. Puzzles are fun ideas in the Half-Life games, since they normally involve the smart thinking physics engine. But Valve doesn't pour on that many, they tend to only add them after huge battles

I agree. Valve does moderate their puzzles well and can be a good transition between battles.

But the problem with that is that in order to make the portal gun useful at all, they would need to implement puzzles to the point where the balance between action and puzzles shifts to the side of puzzles.

newer weapons gives players more experimentation with the portals, giving players higher interest in the game and more replayability because of the number of possibilities.

I would only hope so if they did implement the portal gun. Unfortunately, its not valve's style to implement something like a long ranged rifle (like the halo battle rifle) or a sniper rifle, which is an FPS element that HL lacks.

Jack Hemming: Settle down! He doesn't just play games to shoot stuff up, we all game for more than one reason. He just doesn't want to see more of the FPS factor leave Half-Life, which he predicts happening if portals are added in Half-Life. Really, Half-Life is a relaxed shooter, its filled with intensity, but focuses on many other elements like story-telling, presentation, and graphics so that all parts of the game are nicely balanced.

Exactly. Thank you for explaining that well, justincase.

[Junk angel]

I want the half life story and portal story tied together.

Which will probably happen, since the Borleas belonged to apperture...

I emphasize stories, not gameplay.

[nanobot_swarm]

Originally Posted by themanclaw

Why else would you get the portal gun other than to solve puzzles?Once you get the portal gun the HL2 theme is kind of lost and you are now in 'portal', it would just be throwing something into a game that some people love and some people hate, and would overal make it feel less like it was HL2 because of how you are thinking (with the puzzle solving) and the borealis environments would further add to the portal effect.

Besides I don't think that valve would do that because I think they will have two separate games to maximize profits.

as for race X, you find out they were conquered when the GMAN is talking to you at the end of HL1, he mentions that there was a strong military effort,, and fierce fight, but at last resulted in the US victory.

actually you are wrong, Opposing Force was made after HL1
he meant the forces of the Nihalanth

[The Typer]

Originally Posted by themanclaw

Exactly. Thank you for explaining that well, justincase.

Your welcome, I hate it when people judge incorrectly based on so little information. After reading your post, I completely unerstand your opinion now, and in some ways agree with you now.

You're right, the only way to have a completely integrated gameplay based around portals would be over-stuffing what Half-Life has, and so it is not really possible to do so without giving up some of the elements we see in Half-Life 2 and Episode Two, like the physics. I think it would be nice to try out the portal stuff, but you're right it would interfere with everything Valve works so hard on to show us for it all to happen. This is where the idea of a possible side thing of Half-Life, not just a Portal game, which focuses on puzzles with portals, but a part of the story of something that gives players weapons and portals, but set in an environment similar to one like Portal, so it does not ruin the atmosphere. Though, guns in the Aperture Science atmosphere would kind of ruin the feel anyways.

Kudos to you themanclaw. You made a nice, respectable argument. I don't meet that many people nowadays who's opinion I can respect. Though in a real sense, I'm talking about a person I can actually see and talk to. But online is just as well since I meet plenty of people who have horribly wrong opinions for the wrong reasons.

You'll be getting a little surprise from me soon...

[themanclaw]

Thank you for the compliments. You yourself had a well-thought and respectful agreement. And it is indeed nice to come across people who are respectful not only in the way they argue, but in the way they are with others in general, even if it is online.



On another note...

Look what I found:

Valve has said that they intend for each episode to highlight a major new feature or gameplay design element. In Episode One, this was the interaction with a well developed NPC, along with full implementation of the Source High dynamic range rendering (HDR) lighting system. In Episode Two, this was creating large outdoor environments, battles previously unseen in the Source engine, performance and rendering enhancements to the Source engine to accommodate multi-core processor architecture and a new cinematic physics system to create large physics-based events. The new gameplay and Source engine features for Episode Three have neither been announced nor discussed by Valve to date.

[The Typer]

Nice. Can't wait to see what they do next, those innovative geniuses.