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Journal Du Gamer Rumor: Half-Life 3 to be open-world?
- Thread starter alexandros
- Start date
funkystudent
Member
Valve doesn't leak something unless they want to leak something so Im calling BS.
All though a more open Half Life 3 would make sense if they got streaming working in source.
All though a more open Half Life 3 would make sense if they got streaming working in source.
SirIgbyCeaser
Banned
Say that to the people who played the HL2 beta.
alexandros
Banned
Actually, I can think of tons of potential sidequests that would be both appropriate for the setting and realistically interwoven with the campaign.
"Dr Freeman! A nearby down is under heavy Combine attack, we need your help!"
"Dr Freeman! The Combine are going to attack our rebel base, please organise our defences!"
"Dr Freeman, professor x over at city y has developed an experimental weapon. Maybe you should go there and retrieve it!"
"Dr Freeman, the combine have taken important resistance member x prisoner on their base, please try and liberate him!"
... and so on and so forth. Now combine that (I swear no pun intended) with randomly generated quests that happen on the fly, say a Strider attack (like Skyrim's dragons) or a headcrab shelling Ravenholm-style and you've got an open-world shooter with tens of hours of gameplay, not to mention potential for infinite expansion TF2-style.
Somebody needs to make a gif of this inclusive of the three strikes of the crowbar. It's what informs the comment!
My opposition to an open world Half-Life game comes from the fact that it would take level design, one of my favorite aspects of the series, and throw it out the window because all of the interesting locations now have to be readily accessible from some generic, blobby "overworld" and also have to be completely re-usable. That's just depressing.
I'm with this guy.
More Fun To Compute
Member
I thought that Valve didn't make single player games any more? But the modding scene on elder scrolls might convince them that they could put some sort of market for hats into an open world HL3 making it interesting for them.
But open world does not mean interesting non linear level design. An open world is an open world. Most dungeons in modern elder scrolls games are extremely linear and cookie cutter. Ignoring whatever crazy randomly generated stuff there was in Daggerfall.
But open world does not mean interesting non linear level design. An open world is an open world. Most dungeons in modern elder scrolls games are extremely linear and cookie cutter. Ignoring whatever crazy randomly generated stuff there was in Daggerfall.
RazorbackDB
Member
why not a new ip? you can do it gaben
I don't believe it, why would it be open world, it would kind of break the story a bit as Gordon has been hunted quite heavily by the combine, all of a sudden Gordon can walk where he wants without the might of the combine army coming down on him?
I know the portal is closed and the army is in disarray from city 17 but there are other cites, other armies. I would be surprised.
I would love anything HL3 related in terms of news, even if its just confirmation of open world. Give us something Valve! How about a possible window on when you guys are willing to talk about the game?!
I know the portal is closed and the army is in disarray from city 17 but there are other cites, other armies. I would be surprised.
I would love anything HL3 related in terms of news, even if its just confirmation of open world. Give us something Valve! How about a possible window on when you guys are willing to talk about the game?!
.
I want to finish the story and then have an open world game where npc gives me quest about scratching his back with a crowbar.
Open world does not equal side quests people. However, if it's open world it is much easier to implement a metroidvania style of mid-level gameplay, the superior way to do a non-story driven game. If they can do that, AND wrap it in a great story/setting in the HL universe, we have a winner.
ScreenSplitter
Member
Wasn't Left 4 Dead originally supposed to be open world? Sounds like something Valve would be interested in. And you just know they'd do it better than anyone else.
Doesn't make sense. Valve have been trying to make their games "cinematic", ie. cinematic physics etc. Also the story line is about to be finished.
The story so far seems to go into finding Borealis, which again looks to suggest going to the Combine world. Open world will not fit an ending of a series with a forced storyline.
The story so far seems to go into finding Borealis, which again looks to suggest going to the Combine world. Open world will not fit an ending of a series with a forced storyline.
SniperHunter
Banned
This is the stupidest rumor ever.
An open world sandbox FPS like Crysis = ok but I still preferred the linear structure of HL
An open world FPS = fail, that's not Half Life
An open world sandbox FPS like Crysis = ok but I still preferred the linear structure of HL
An open world FPS = fail, that's not Half Life
Personally I'd have to hope the situation is "no way". I very much like the HL design ethos as it is and thought with EP2 they'd hit the peak of delivery of that experience.
Now I wouldn't mind an non Gordon Freeman open world set in the HL universe - that would be cool. But when I next slip on the hazard suit I expect to embark of another deliciously designed linear adventure starting with the hunt for a certain vanished ship in cold climates.
Now I wouldn't mind an non Gordon Freeman open world set in the HL universe - that would be cool. But when I next slip on the hazard suit I expect to embark of another deliciously designed linear adventure starting with the hunt for a certain vanished ship in cold climates.
Antiwhippy
the holder of the trombone
They've made quite a few already since half life 2.
Angry Fork
Member
I don't know what it means for a game like Half Life to be open world. It's like saying Uncharted will be open world, how would you even do that?
I wouldn't be surprised if the next Half-Life is open world and I would welcome it.
If Valve has set for itself the same type of standard it had for HL2, then the next HL needs to be a major step forward. However, this is not really possible within the format of a guided corridor shooter; this form of FPS has essentially been run into the ground and ruined by console FPS. Adding bigger explosions or more ridiculous scenarios aren't going to help; it's just more of the same.
To distinguish itself from an overcrowded market, a shift to open world would present a challenge, but also a great opportunity. It would certainly explain why it's been taking so long. One could say the Strider battle at the end of Ep2 already hinted at a more open approach and the recent hiring of Hocking is another possible clue. It's obvious that HL would stick more to the FPS formula than become an RPG; it would be more STALKER/FC2 than Skyrim.
More importantly, it would allow Valve to better integrate its "games as services" paradigm into the HL universe. They are transitioning Steam from a game-playing platform to a game-creating platform and allowing gamers to become contributors as opposed to just consumers. An open world game can much more readily accept new content than a fixed, pre-baked "experience".
If Valve has set for itself the same type of standard it had for HL2, then the next HL needs to be a major step forward. However, this is not really possible within the format of a guided corridor shooter; this form of FPS has essentially been run into the ground and ruined by console FPS. Adding bigger explosions or more ridiculous scenarios aren't going to help; it's just more of the same.
To distinguish itself from an overcrowded market, a shift to open world would present a challenge, but also a great opportunity. It would certainly explain why it's been taking so long. One could say the Strider battle at the end of Ep2 already hinted at a more open approach and the recent hiring of Hocking is another possible clue. It's obvious that HL would stick more to the FPS formula than become an RPG; it would be more STALKER/FC2 than Skyrim.
More importantly, it would allow Valve to better integrate its "games as services" paradigm into the HL universe. They are transitioning Steam from a game-playing platform to a game-creating platform and allowing gamers to become contributors as opposed to just consumers. An open world game can much more readily accept new content than a fixed, pre-baked "experience".
Yeah, Half-Life 2 was already pretty similar to BG&E.
Half-Life 2 and the episodes are full of sort of pretend open areas that lead into more linear story driven bits. They could just make the open areas less constrained and still have more linear narrative sections whenever you go into a builing.
Dark Souls style, by having many different paths you can go down. I would Imagine this game would have open hub like cities that channel you down into more linear gameplay sections. Similarly to how Borderlands 1 handled quests. You were pretty much always following the man quest through this open world rpg, but you had just a couple side quests you could tackle and they were not overwhelming in the slightest.
For how much I love the ending sequence of ep.2 I could see great things coming from an open-world format. Though I feel a more pseudo open world would work better. But I trust Valve in what ever the end up creating.
Neuromancer
Member
I find it hard to believe.
Huevos de Oro
Member
So out of left field, but intriguing and interesting nevertheless.
IrishNinja
Member
OMG open world with RPG elements
do you guys think itll have level-scaling enemies or fixed ones, also will gordon have a phone so his friends can call for hang-outs
do you guys think itll have level-scaling enemies or fixed ones, also will gordon have a phone so his friends can call for hang-outs
Sapphire Dreams
Member
I'll believe it when I see it. My fingers are crossed at this game if it was true but I am putting my faith in Valve.
davonaytor
Member
Gabe's comment about the whole 'single player experience' thing can be taken in many different ways.
If Valve were planning on making Half-Life 3 open world, given the direction they have been going with community stuff, I think Steam Workshop would be a large part of their plans for the game. It wouldn't make the game multiplayer, but it certainly wouldn't be an "Isolated single player experience". Half-Life 2 has a large modding community, and making all mods easy to access and install seems like a very 'Valve' move. We've also heard rumours (or maybe Valve employee's straight up said this, I can't remember) that valve has been working on it's development tools. If something like Portal 2's map editor existed for Half-Life 3, it would create a lot of value for the customer, something Valve seems obsessed with.
If Valve were planning on making Half-Life 3 open world, given the direction they have been going with community stuff, I think Steam Workshop would be a large part of their plans for the game. It wouldn't make the game multiplayer, but it certainly wouldn't be an "Isolated single player experience". Half-Life 2 has a large modding community, and making all mods easy to access and install seems like a very 'Valve' move. We've also heard rumours (or maybe Valve employee's straight up said this, I can't remember) that valve has been working on it's development tools. If something like Portal 2's map editor existed for Half-Life 3, it would create a lot of value for the customer, something Valve seems obsessed with.
The way you think? I like it.
Pop-O-Matic
Banned
I want to throw HL3 on the same funeral pyre that FFvsXIII and TLG are on, but, unlike the other two's devs, Valve has released games in recent memory that are actually good, so I still have faith.
Rebel Leader
THE POWER OF BUTTERSCOTCH BOTTOMS
That's a fact =3