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[Drencrom]

episodic/maps/personal/dario/wasteland_test.vmf

A wasteland-themed survival map where the player fights endless waves of enemies while trying to find six petrol canisters to fuel a chopper. This map was included in an update to Episode One in May of 2013 but later removed.

Huh, kinda weird that they would accidentally add this with an Episode 1 update in 2013 if it was an old survival mode they worked on in Episode 1 and 2's devcycle.

EDIT: Wait, could this potentially be a work in progress map for EP3? The context of the map is surviving waves of enemies until you fuel a helicopter, which kinda coincides with Gordon and Alyx planning to take a helicopter to Borealis at the end of EP2. Probably just extrapolating here but still.

 

[-shadow-]

I really expected a troll post. But not this... Man what the hell is Valve doing with this anyway?

Spoiler

Nothing I know, but I want actual awnsers.

 

[Shari]

Metroid Prime Trilogy is Nintendo's Orange Box.

They wish. You compare 2 remasters and one new game to 3 new games?

I don't deny the effort from nintendo and that's an outstanding package, but bitch please.

 

[dancrane212]

Thought this was going to be about Return to Ravenholm. I had no idea there was another outsourced episode.

 

[Drencrom]

This means nothing to me.

HL has been dead for over a decade.

Half-Life was dead to you before Episode 2 was released?

Metroid Prime Trilogy is Nintendo's Orange Box.

Nah.

 

[Big Nikus]

Doesn't look like anything to me.

 

[ashecitism]

I really expected a troll post. But not this... Man what the hell is Valve doing with this anyway?

Spoiler

Nothing I know, but I want actual awnsers.

In a way it's a troll since this is not Ep3.

 

[Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew]

False thread title, that's not from Episode 3 but from a cancelled Episode by Junction Point Studios. Even says so in the description OP posted.

.

 

[SomTervo]

Doesn't look like anything to me.

You a Delos employee, yeah?

 

[hao chi]

They wish. You compare 2 remasters and one new game to 3 new games?

I don't deny the effort from nintendo and that's an outstanding package, but bitch please.

I love Portal and Episodes 1 and 2 were pretty good, but they're all also pretty short, and Valve never adequately supported TF2 on consoles, which is where I played Orange Box.

Orange Box is a great deal, but Metroid Prime Trilogy is a better value for me any day, especially with how much the pointer controls add to two already amazing games.

 

[miller.skippins]

God is real....And he has abandoned us.

 

[johancruijff]

This is not Ep3, but was supposed to be a separate episode made by Warren Spector and co.

this is even sadder...

 

[Sub_Level]

There have been more than a couple episodes which were supposed to be developed by other studios but never saw the light of day. Anyways look on the bright side. At least we know Black Mesa Xen is being worked on still.

 

[Ganado]

Metroid Prime Trilogy is Nintendo's Orange Box.

Metroid Prime Trilogy didn't release for $60 at the same time Metroid Prime 3 released.

 

[Sulik2]

No, no no no no no no.
I want a new Half Life goddammit

The bolded part is hiiighly debatable though.

Its really not. Steam and digital distribution is why we have a thriving PC games industry at this point. Uplay and Origin wouldn't even exist without Steam. Imagine a world where GOG and the Windows store were your only options for digital distribution on the PC. There would be no Japanese games on the PC, very, very few console ports, a much smaller indie boom, no HTC Vive giving the Rift proper competition.

 

[keraj37]

What a catchy thread title

 

[TheGameshark]

Closest we'll ever get to seeing half life 3

 

[Vintage]

All I want now is in-depth post-mortem about all of Ep3/HL3 development, all the iterations and ideas and why did the situation turned out like this.

 

[Shari]

Its really not. Steam and digital distribution is why we have a thriving PC games industry at this point. Uplay and Origin wouldn't even exist without Steam. Imagine a world where GOG and the Windows store were your only options for digital distribution on the PC. There would be no Japanese games on the PC, very, very few console ports, a much smaller indie boom, no HTC Vive giving the Rift proper competition.

Pretty much.

Granted Valve didnt do this for the industry, but their vision and execution are unparalleled. Much like the orange box.

 

[JustinBB7]

Isn't that first screenshot the courtyard from ep... 2 I think?

 

[L.O.R.D]

Half-Life 2 Episode, 3 map leaked

My thought exactly,i thought OP forgot to put number after "episode" and i thought it's maybe leaked screenshot from canceled maps from episode 1 or 2.

 

[Drencrom]

All I want now is in-depth post-mortem about all of Ep3/HL3 development, all the iterations and ideas and why did the situation turned out like this.

This is basically my stance too now. I've come to accept that we'll sadly never get a conclusion to the series so a good summary of why a sequel never materialized would be nice.

Hell, an official statement from Valve that their promised Half-Life sequel isn't happening would be gladly appreciated at this point. Valve's insistence to not confirm or deny anything regarding HL is just sad now.

 

[ItWasMeantToBe19]

Why can't Valve just outsource Episode 3 to Machine Games.

 

[Nzyme32]

NOT EPISODE 3

Just to be clear. It's just another of the episodic efforts that was cancelled along with a bunch of others

 

[alexanderftw]

Why can't Valve just outsource Episode 3 to Machine Games.

I keep seeing this. Why? Because they made one good shooter that was already not that hard to make since its basically just an expansion of New Order.. I wouldnt bet my trust on them. On the other hand id software have actual background on great first person shooters. Now thats a team I would put my hopes on. Even Rage was great.

 

[Katori]

I keep seeing this. Why? Because they made one good shooter that was already not that hard to make since its basically just an expansion of New Order.. I wouldnt bet my trust on them. On the other hand id software have actual background on great first person shooters. Now thats a team I would put my hopes on. Even Rage was great.

Huh? MachineGames developed The New Order from scratch using id's engine, and it was brilliant. Claiming that a game on that scale is "not hard to make" is just insane.

 

[Mupod]

New Half Life, 4 screenshots

 

[wrowa]

There have been more than a couple episodes which were supposed to be developed by other studios but never saw the light of day. Anyways look on the bright side. At least we know Black Mesa Xen is being worked on still.

Why does Xen look like a generic cave.

 

[Nzyme32]

Why can't Valve just outsource Episode 3 to Machine Games.

And make a game that isn't similar to HL at its core or simply a rehash, all based on the assumption "I like x game from y developer" ergo shove z franchise in and it will be perfect... sure, lets also do that for every game we haven't got a sequel to, or that are unlikely to follow the same arch of a story you so badly want.

Whether it is good or bad is irrelevant - it wouldn't be the same vision. If HL or other game / franchises go AWOL etc, I'd rather they either never come out, crash and burn upon a sequel / re-imagining or see success from whatever process goes on.

 

[TheMoon]

No wonder it was cancelled. Looks like shit.

Right, because video games look like finished products while they're still being made.

 

[Yarbskoo]

Someone should slap those into a HL2 mod so I can walk around in them.

Anyways look on the bright side. At least we know Black Mesa Xen is being worked on still.

Huh.

Well I didn't hate Xen, so I hope some of the original levels still make it in at least.

 

[alexanderftw]

Huh? MachineGames developed The New Order from scratch using id's engine, and it was brilliant. Claiming that a game on that scale is "not hard to make" is just insane.

Right, my bad, I was under the impression New order was id developed for some reason. Regardless, I still wouldnt trust them. I would prefer id to work on a hl sequel.

 

[KdotIX]

Seeing the Hammer Editor makes me shudder. Spent hours on that fucking thing, not all of them were happy.

Still, without it we wouldn't have had amazing CS: Source maps.

 

[ThreePiMatt]

Probably for the best that this game got put on hold. Half-Life probably needs to get out of the eastern European cities, train yards, countryside aesthetic.

Since Episode 2 ended with the intention that Alyx and Gordon where going to leave on a helicopter to the Borealis they would have a good excuse to get out of that area. Not that this speculation is worth a damn since we don't know if or when a new Half-Life game will ever release, but the new one needs a change of scenery for damn sure.

 

[Sub_Level]

Why does Xen look like a generic cave.

Its just one interior. Even people who had issues with Black Mesa's gameplay balance tend to agree the team did a great job of recreating and also reimagining the environments.

If there's aspect of Xen I'd be apprehensive about, its definitely not the levels. We'll surely get the floating islands and creepy alien factories and whatnot.

 

[A-V-B]

 

[PuppetSlave]

That's not snow, that's my salt.

I laughed, then I just felt sad again because it's true

 

[afternoon delight]

As a yuuuge HL fan I'll express the alternate- if developers are now feeling confident enough to start sharing E3 prototypes with or without Valve's blessing then it's about the right time to bury this fucker and move on with shame and sadness.

"Oh but they're doing VR work! It'll probably involve Aperture and Black Mesa!" Bullocks to ye an sod off my lawn.

 

[FantasticMrFoxdie]

Does gaf see the world as half-full or half-empty?

Spoiler

half-life, full-empty

 

[J@hranimo]

Just continue to let it die Valve, it's better that way since you'll never finish the game.

 

[PLASTICA-MAN]

Did Half Life 2 Episode 2 sequel break the records of wait for all gaming franchises?

 

[Sub_Level]

Did Half Life 2 Episode 2 sequel break the records of wait for all gaming franchises?

Duke 3D: 1996
Duke Nukem Forever: 2011
Total: 15 years

HL2EP2: 2007
Present: 2017
Total: 10 years

It won't beat Duke until next decade.

And just for clarification, Duke Nukem Forever was already getting trailers by 1997. So the game itself was announced, just like Episode 3. 15 years is not just a gap in between releases, but a legit waiting period.

 

[PhaZZe]

why... still hurt

 

[Betty]

I feel it too

 

[doemaaan]

This means nothing to me.

HL has been dead for over a decade.

Can't believe I saying this, but agreed. I feel nothing anymore.

 

[ScherzoPrime]

There have been more than a couple episodes which were supposed to be developed by other studios but never saw the light of day. Anyways look on the bright side. At least we know Black Mesa Xen is being worked on still.

Oh that's cool, so they're gonna show more of how Black Mesa built research shit in Xen?

 

[Dmax3901]

At what point was Ep3 being made by that studio? Are we sure it wasn't just something similar to what Ep4 was going to be?

 

[Berserking Guts]

Reminds me that I need to replay Half Life 2 and it's episodes again. God, I love those games so much. It's been far too long.

 

[Neptonic]

GOD IT HURTS SO MUCH EVERY DAY KNOWING

 

[McLovin]

What's half-life? It sounds familiar, like a long forgotten dream...