Half-Life 2 Episode 2 Delayed into 2007 86
Eurogamer is reporting that the next episode of Half-Life 2 has been delayed out into 2007. Originally slated for the Holidays this year, their high standards has pushed the delay between Episodes 1 and 2 to 8 months. This information comes as part of an article Eurogamer is running with Valve's Doug Lombardi. From the article: "It's just sort of classic Valve being overly aggressive on our dates. But we're aiming for Q1 right now and we're really far along in the playtest stage. You know, our thing is always that we're trying to make really good experiences and so we're going to manage to that rather than the schedule."
Are we really surprised? (Score:5, Insightful)
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We know this is a lie, piracy doesn't effect real people.
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I agree with you completely. It's crap when this type of thing happens and if a company is using the old CD key system they should have a procedure in place for dealing with situations like this. But still, this is proof that pirates are doing harm to the legitimate public.
Where did you get this copy of HL2 from with the bad CD key? I'm wonderin
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Not slighting you, I definitely personally understand the need-it-now tech mentality. But unfortunately it's exactly that sort of behavior that software companies rely on these days to continue not caring about legitimate customers getting listed as pirates by the companies' flawed DRM systems. They know we (or at least a profitable percentage of 'we') will pay no matter what, sometimes more than once like in your case. I'm re
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No problem here... (Score:5, Funny)
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Or did you want to get past it without cheating? In that case, my strategy the first time around involved a lot of running in circles and firing at random. Somehow, it worked.
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Anyway, I believe I saw in a steam update recently that they toned that encounter down a little.
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No problem (Score:2, Funny)
PvP Reference (Score:1)
The Curse of TF2 (Score:1)
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At this point, I'd be suspicious if a Valve game was released on schedule. Their understanding of the concept of time is a little
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If they beat Valve to a release, it would be totally awesome.
Quality (Score:4, Insightful)
Good luck, Valve! Expect me to be buying Episode 2 soon.
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Deadlines have killed even the strongest franchises. Anyone else remember Ultima IX?
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Re:Quality (Score:4, Insightful)
This site is full of stories of producers releasing games before the developers want it to happen. I am glad Valve still has the right priorities.
Incidentally I have just played through HL2 again and was reminded just how great it was (I kept finding ways to do things that I didn't notice before), now I am off home to get Ep1.
Re:Quality (Score:4, Funny)
If you're looking for other, highly apocryphal single-player Half-Life 2, there's always my very own MINERVA [hylobatidae.org]. People seem to quite like it. Some mini-reviews from random forums:
I read it all on the internet, so it must be true...
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Yup, it's mine - final part of Metastasis should get released by the end of the year. Or something. Before Episode Two, anyway.
Actually, despite being in a very much corporate environment right now, I think I'll reboot this 'ere MacBook Pro [hylobatidae.org] into Windows XP, and let the office ring with the sound of gunfire. And other noises associated with MINERVA de
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Anyway, keep up the good work! I can't wait for part 3!
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Or is it?
I haven't played through Minerva in awhile, but I remember it ending deep in the bowels of the map ro.... I mean the shaft... to be honest I have no idea where I was, but I remember it didn't have an ending, and it stopped in an airlock.
Has there been more added? Is it done? yes? no? ETA? gimme gimme gimme!
I know these may seem like obvious questions, but the website is a little less than clear....
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Thanks
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I haven't gotten around in buying Episode 1 yet (still busy with Prey), but I will probably buy it once Episode 2 comes along.
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Game developers should be free to take as long as they like in making a game.
Sure, that means they may release a game with graphics that are three years out of date and gameplay elements that have appeared in several other games too. So don't buy it.
If, however, it's an amazing game with superb gameplay balance and rock-solid out of the box, then go get that sucker.
I'm not "waiting" for any game - I have more than enough to do in the meantime that I'm happy
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The quality thing is all good and fine, but would you accept that excuse for a 4-month delay from, say, "Scientific American," or "Motor Trend"? How about the next episode of "24"?
The fact is, I waited a long time for both Doom 3 and Half-Life 2, both for "quality" and other reasons, and this wait wasn't a big pro
Episode 2? (Score:1)
Vista-compatible (Score:1)
But to be a little more serious, if they have such high standards, why didn't they set more realistic dates in the first place? It's better to be early than late (except from some marketing standpoints).
TF2 vs. Duke Nukem Forever (Score:1)
TF2 was originally due out in 1998 as a mod for Quake 2, since then it's seen numerous engine moves, it's no suprise that it's being delayed again along with Episode 2 as Valve I'm sure have yet to ship a product without putting it back a few times
Still, Prey made it out the door which almost brought me to tears, I've been wait
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Where as DNF is celebrating it's 10th year of the same team apparently doing fuck all.
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I didnt know the British government were behind DNF
You know what they say.. (Score:2, Insightful)
Check out these YouTube clips! (Score:2)
http://www.forumplanet.com/planethalflife/topic.as p?fid=2348&tid=1938761 [forumplanet.com]
Some good stuff in there... EP2 is looking better than EP1, and I'm willing to give them some more time with it.
Idea? (Score:2, Insightful)
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Which means... (Score:3, Informative)
Episode 1 (Score:3, Interesting)
Since I picked up Ep 1 I've had nothing but trouble with it, Valve tech support has been little more than a joke and I'm still waiting for a patch to fix the basic things. How urgent is it to fix a major bug which stops scripts (this means you can't play at all) running? Acording to Valve it's not even remotely important, since they'd rather quick fix a hard part of the game then releasing a real patch so I can play the damn game.
I gave Valve a chance with HL2, I gave them another chance with episode 1. Now I've run out of good will and I just want my damn games to run out of the box (should note there was a bug to even INSTALL it which required a work around). So Ep 2 can come out now or never for all I care. Untill Valve get decent tech support which does more than direct you to the FAQ you use to contact them I'll take a look again, but untill then I can find enough HL2 mods to last me till the end of time.
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I love HL2&ep1 but I have had a lot of problems with it (but not HL2 oddly) and I live in the hope of an update that will sort it. I would love to buy ep2 but I will wait a month or so and see if others have the same problem before I cough up.
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http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&safe=off&sa=X &oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=datacache+dll+ half+life+2&spell=1 [google.co.uk] Google link for the easiest way to ID the problem.
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For the record, I bought HL2 in a box and Episode One on Steam. I've been so incredibly satisfied with Steam that I've bought a couple more games and don't regret for a moment not owning a box. I'm sorry to hear you're having trouble playing such fantastic g
Re:Steam is actually good. (Score:2)
That is, until I had a hankering to play to HL1 again. All I had to do was activate the HL1 key in steam, and Valve let me download HL1 without having to install it from the Cd. Plus, they gave me every single expansion pack (Blue Shift!) that was released for HL1. That's what makes Steam great, as long as you remember your user name and password, you can always in
HL Ep 1+2+3 (Score:1)
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Guess I'll just wait for Episodes and Portals to be complete.
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I'm afraid I don't agree with you there.
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http://demodulated.blogspot.com/2006/07/review-of
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However, at the same time, I didn't feel that quality suffered in anyway either. Getting the same amount of play hours and effectively the same price.
However, I though EP1 was better than HL2. And I loved HL2. I just can't attribute this quality to the medium is all. I think Episode 1 was better than HL2 primarily because they've just grown more experienced. HL2 taught them some lessons, and after playing through the commentary you see
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And 20€ for 4.5 hours is a bit much considering how many games (granted, slightly older ones) you can get at that price point that will last you much longer. Knowing Valve I can get Prey for 20 € before Ep1 even drops to 15.
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If you play shooters to shoot then definite get Prey as it's a great action game with cool weapons. But if you play shooters for the experience of a virtual world then DEFINITELY play through HL2 because its world just keeps getting more beautiful and believable with every step.
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But if you play shooters for the experience of a virtual world then DEFINITELY play through HL2 because its world just keeps getting more beautiful and believable with every step.
Dunno, I didn't like the atmosphere and the scripted sequences. The former made me want to stop playing, the latter made the whole thing look like an animatronic display since noone ever reacted to what your character did outside of pushing the button he was promp
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You've got to have scripted sequences in a story-based shooter. There's really no other way to do it. At least HL2 adds a little immersion to these sequences since the NPC eye tracking is EERILY realistic - when they look at you t
It's a Creative Process and all, but... (Score:2)
I commend Valve for doing the right thing and delaying the game to avoid compromising its quality. I enjoyed HL2, though I haven't had a chance to play Episode 1, Valve games are consistently great.
That said, we've been building games for what, 20 years now? While it's commendable to do the right thing when a delay inevitably hits, the industry as a whole has more delays than on-time releases, or something. Is it not possible to do it right the first time AND hit the schedule?
Where's the problem coming
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Definitely. Extending the schedule means paying a lot of people's fulltime salaries and publishers and financiers have little patience for this.
You're 100% right that Valve games have benefitted greatly from extending release dates. I replay their games on a pretty much annual basis and the high quality is what makes games as old as Half Life still enjoyable today. 5 years from now everyone will remember Half Life 2 for its outstanding qua
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What about Portal? (Score:1)
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http://www.nuclearmonkeysoftware.com/narbaculardr
Worth the Wait (Score:2, Insightful)
HL2 is so meticulously detailed in all aspects. It's refreshing that Valve lives up to its artistic priorities before their business ones.
Make it longer (Score:2)
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Also, one of HL2's best features is its autosave function. I dropped the habit of F5ing all the time after playing HL2, and I don't think I regretted relying on autosave even once in Episode One. It's so well done that I neglect to save while playing other FPS titles and I often get disappointed when I have to replay an entire level.
Oh well. (Score:3, Interesting)
HL2 Episode 1 didn't even work after I shelled out the $20 for it. I complained online as did many others. No fix after 6 months. Who knows, perhaps they'll fix their bug by then. Otherwise I'm not going to buy Episode 2.
YOU LISTENING TO ME, VALVE?! OTHERWISE I WON'T BUY IT!!!!
Until I get a better system. But I'm not going to buy a new computer just for your game.
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bind "q" host_timescale "0.3"
bind "g" host_timescale "1.0"
All people should enjoy Half Life 2 physics (from Havoc?) before commenting on "needing" a PPU or real-physics capable GPU.
http://jooh.no/clips.html [jooh.no]
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No, I didn't get Episode 1 to work. It crashed every time I launched it.
In fact, I reinstalled my entire OS, and it STILL didn't work.
No need to be impatient; they'll get around to fixing the bug...?eventually?
Steam = more expensive (Score:1)
1. I saw it for $12 a week later at BB.
2. It was really short. Really, really short.
On the plus side, I did enjoy what little there was. Still not worth $20 though.