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Valve plans to release a surprise before Portal 2

Sega1991 said:
Nor should they. Valve's strength in story telling is that they don't ever actually sit the player down and say "Look, let's explain every single detail of everything that's happening right now."

Outside of the immediate, right-here right-now kind of stuff, the player is largely left to deduce for themselves what the "big picture" is, and that's really great.
Definitely.
 
I wonder if they're going to do something similar to the viral Portal 2 announcement, except maybe in one of the half life games. That event, and the scramble to decode all that cryptic shit, was pretty much my favorite gaming moment last year.
 

StuBurns

Banned
I think we will be presented with something that can be seen in a number of ways that appears to explain who Gman is and why Gordon is special etc, but I see it more like Lost before the answers, clues will be in place for you to contrive an explanation, but they won't outright tell us.

EDIT: For context, I meant in response to what they'll ultimately tell us, not this Portal bridge thing.
 

EVH

Member
If I'm not wrong, talking about the Portal <-> HL2 connection...
the Combine are searching for Borealis because they dont have bi-directional portal tech, they only have a one direction teleport that requires lots of energy, so they're almost unable to create a portal in our planet (the one created on the citadel isn't opened from earth).
So, as Aperture developed (with questionable methods) the bidirectional technology and that's what the Combine needs to really connect earth with their homeland, they're searching for the Borealis, a boat that is supossed to have a hugue portal machine, as it teleported itself as it is said in EP2.

So maybe, that release they're talking about is a DLC for Portal that makes the connection stronger.
 

Sibylus

Banned
It's getting harder and harder to dehype for Valve stuff. I'm trying to keep my expectations in check, darnit! Damn surprises :p

theinfinityissue said:
I wonder if they're going to do something similar to the viral Portal 2 announcement, except maybe in one of the half life games. That event, and the scramble to decode all that cryptic shit, was pretty much my favorite gaming moment last year.
Very probable. Valve's said they loved the reaction the P2 ARG got, and will definitely think about doing more in the future.
 

JaseC

gave away the keys to the kingdom.
Botolf said:
It's getting harder and harder to dehype for Valve stuff. I'm trying to keep my expectations in check, darnit! Damn surprises :p


Very probable. Valve's said they loved the reaction the P2 ARG got, and will definitely think about doing more in the future.

Just imagine the thread if Valve retroactively extended the end of Episode Two.
 

Sibylus

Banned
JaseC said:
Just imagine the thread if Valve retroactively extended the end of Episode Two.
Heart attacks, so many heart attacks.

Something after the credits might be sweet, in all honesty.
 

JaseC

gave away the keys to the kingdom.
Episode Three was confirmed to be in development back in 2006.

It may not be the focus of Valve, but to suggest it's not being worked on to any capacity is, well, stupid.
 

Emitan

Member
JaseC said:
Episode Three was confirmed to be in development back in 2006.

It may not be the focus of Valve, but to suggest it's not being worked on to any capacity is, well, stupid.
Around the announcement of DOTA 2, I swear they said they had started heavy development on Episode 3 but I can't find that statement anywhere.
 

JaseC

gave away the keys to the kingdom.
Billychu said:
Around the announcement of DOTA 2, I swear they said they had started heavy development on Episode 3 but I can't find that statement anywhere.

We've all had that dream before. :p
 

Eric_S

Member
Zeliard said:
GlaDOS-Man

oh my fucking god i

*Begin wild speculation*

Heh. This just made me remember, it's IMO implied that the founder of Aperture science downloaded himself to an AI program. It's possible that he returned, twisted from his AI manifestation through some unknown technological means as the G-Man.

Aperture science would like the funding that Black Mesa has according to the slides in Portal. So the hypothetical G-Man sets out to detroy Apertures biggest competitor and secure new funding through whatever earthly ... or alien* means neccesary.

*(Portal tech makes you swing by Xen at the very least. And it seems from HL1 that the G-Man knew about the place before hand)

*End wild speculation*
 
D

Deleted member 30609

Unconfirmed Member
The Int3rsect said:
I've yet to play HL2. BLOOP
it's never too late to play it, wonder why people like it, stop playing around Water Hazard, wait a month,do the same thing except with Sandtraps, then wait a while, then finish the game and look back on it in AWE and then want to immediately play it again.
 

jonremedy

Member
Rez said:
it's


it's beautiful

Yeah, looks fantastic. There's always someone in these threads going on about Valve having to make a new engine, but when you see what they're able to do by just updating source (the way it was planned all along), I really don't see a need for them to do anything of the sort.
 

Emitan

Member
jonremedy said:
Yeah, looks fantastic. There's always someone in these threads going on about Valve having to make a new engine, but when you see what they're able to do by just updating source (the way it was planned all along), I really don't see a need for them to do anything of the sort.
My complaints about the Source engine aren't really about the graphics as much as they are about performance. Loading times are long and intensive. When I'm playing something like CoD4 on 360, the in game chat works even when the next map is loading. On a Source engine game, my entire PC feels like it's straining itself every time it's loading a new TF2 or Left 4 Dead map and the game becomes unresponsive and might freeze or crash if I do anything. Portal 2 looks fantastic, but it's the other stuff that worries me.
 
I played Portal through and through.

Am now playing Half Life for the first time. Can't....stop playing it. Am already at the halfway mark (Apprehension). This game has truly dated graphics but I STILL GET FREAKED OUT.

Fuckin spazzing with love over this game.

Should I wait to play certain sequels though? Or should I blitz all the way to HL2: Episode 2?

Is my mind going to be blown tenfold by then? Am I in a unique position to enjoy some storytelling injections from Portal 2 since I never played the Half Life single player campaigns before?

Thank you for your input, gents.
 

JaseC

gave away the keys to the kingdom.
I don't know why you bumped this particular Portal 2 thread to tell us you're playing through HL, but just remember that the moment you finish Episode Two is the moment you join the rest of us in the agonising wait for Episode Three.

Having said that, I'd definitely finish what's been released of the HL saga before Portal 2.
 
JaseC said:
I don't know why you bumped this particular Portal 2 thread to tell us you're playing through HL, but just remember that the moment you finish Episode Two is the moment you join the rest of us in the agonising wait for Episode Three.

I apologize. I don't know what other thread to post Half Life related questions/discussion. Since Portal is linked to the Half Life series, I figure I'd be caught in the storylines at some point, and maybe be confused.

I am curious though, since Valve is going to release something before Portal 2. And I don't know if I should be spoiled by the contents of that release, should it be Portal 2 related, since all the stories are linked.
 

Boonoo

Member
IchigoSharingan said:
I apologize. I don't know what other thread to post Half Life related questions/discussion. Since Portal is linked to the Half Life series, I figure I'd be caught in the storylines at some point, and maybe be confused.

I am curious though, since Valve is going to release something before Portal 2. And I don't know if I should be spoiled by the contents of that release, should it be Portal 2 related, since all the stories are linked.

Go ahead and play straight though. You're dead on about the game still packing emotional punch. The absolutely nailed the atmosphere. I'm glad that they're taking a hard look at working toward unnerving the player.
 
IchigoSharingan said:
I played Portal through and through.

Am now playing Half Life for the first time. Can't....stop playing it. Am already at the halfway mark (Apprehension). This game has truly dated graphics but I STILL GET FREAKED OUT.

Fuckin spazzing with love over this game.

Should I wait to play certain sequels though? Or should I blitz all the way to HL2: Episode 2?

Is my mind going to be blown tenfold by then? Am I in a unique position to enjoy some storytelling injections from Portal 2 since I never played the Half Life single player campaigns before?

Thank you for your input, gents.
Yup, Half Life was THE game to reach immersion for me. The moment you see your first Marine is still the best moment in gaming I have had. Felt incredibly scared and powerless against this new threat and even though you quickly adjusted to them it was a shit-just-got-real moment that separated the game that came before with the game that was just beginning. HL2 was a disappointment at the time but only because the bar was so impossibly high in my romantic brain. Playing HL2 now is a joyous experience that is just as good as any other game on the market. Valve understand how much gamers have hyped the next Half Life up in their minds and ARE mindful not to release Gordon's next chapter until they are sure they can live up to the legacy they have created. If Valve is known for anything it is to exceed everybody's expectations. Anything less is a disappointment to them.

So yes play through the whole saga as soon as you can and join us waiting, like we have since 2007, expectations growing by the second.
 

JaseC

gave away the keys to the kingdom.
There's a new interview up at Eurogamer (well, it's dated the 10th, but the website itself says it was published 'today') some of you may have already read: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-03-10-portal-2-how-valve-opened-up-portal-2

As far as I can tell there isn't any new information, but Eurogamer do ask about Episode Three in a rather not-so-subtle manner, to which Wolpaw (I always misread his name as 'Wolfpaw') and Faliszek reply with the following:

Eurogamer said:
Erik Wolpaw: Valve definitely gets better delivering things - I know Portal 2 slipped - but generally on time. Valve still has this reputation of being a company that takes a long time to make games. We've shipped how many games in six years? A lot.

Eurogamer: You know why Valve has this reputation don't you? Because it's been so long since the last Half-Life game.

Chet Faliszek: What game?

Erik Wolpaw: Well, Portal takes place in the Half-Life universe, and also, we don't know what you're talking about.

Eurogamer: Do you get sick and tired of being asked about Half-Life?

Chet Faliszek: Never been asked it. You're the first one.

Erik Wolpaw: We'll have a think about it and then get back to you.

Chet Faliszek: Rudest interview ever. I'm out of here.

Erik Wolpaw: Actually, I'm just going to shoot a mail. Hey, somebody mentioned Half-Life. What is the deal with that thing? We're going to find out what's happening.

Got a good laugh out of me.

IchigoSharingan said:
I apologize. I don't know what other thread to post Half Life related questions/discussion. Since Portal is linked to the Half Life series, I figure I'd be caught in the storylines at some point, and maybe be confused.

No need to apologise. :)

I am curious though, since Valve is going to release something before Portal 2. And I don't know if I should be spoiled by the contents of that release, should it be Portal 2 related, since all the stories are linked.

Well, whatever Valve are releasing is going to bridge to some extent the time that has passed between the end of Portal to the beginning of Portal 2. Finish up the HL saga and give Portal another whirl just before Portal 2 and I'd say you're all set.
 
The fact that Valve is reusing the plot device wherein the protagonists leaps forward in time after finishing the first game and has to figure out what the fuck's going on all over again (also used from HL1 to HL2) is interesting. Makes me wonder if they'd be willing to use it again for HL3 (I kinda hope so - I want Episode 3 to wrap up the Combine/City 17/Alyx stuff and then have Gordon leap into the future again, possibly accompanied by Alyx; the fact that we'll be messing with new and different portal technology again makes this a reasonably good possibility).
 

Krev

Unconfirmed Member
badcrumble said:
The fact that Valve is reusing the plot device wherein the protagonists leaps forward in time after finishing the first game and has to figure out what the fuck's going on all over again (also used from HL1 to HL2) is interesting. Makes me wonder if they'd be willing to use it again for HL3 (I kinda hope so - I want Episode 3 to wrap up the Combine/City 17/Alyx stuff and then have Gordon leap into the future again, possibly accompanied by Alyx; the fact that we'll be messing with new and different portal technology again makes this a reasonably good possibility).
Alyx is such a great companion character. I'm really not looking forward to the moment when Gordon is suddenly ripped away from the sector of time and space she occupies.
I sort of hope that doesn't happen. I know he's just an agent of fate, a blank slate, a camera on a stick, a comment on the relation between player and onscreen avatar...but geez, can't Gordon catch a break?
 

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
badcrumble said:
The fact that Valve is reusing the plot device wherein the protagonists leaps forward in time after finishing the first game and has to figure out what the fuck's going on all over again (also used from HL1 to HL2) is interesting. Makes me wonder if they'd be willing to use it again for HL3 (I kinda hope so - I want Episode 3 to wrap up the Combine/City 17/Alyx stuff and then have Gordon leap into the future again, possibly accompanied by Alyx; the fact that we'll be messing with new and different portal technology again makes this a reasonably good possibility).

I think the reasoning behind Portal 2's jump was because Valve wanted greater seperation between Portal and the Half-Life series, and so wanted to set it at a time where the events of Half-Life 2 were not a looming shadow. By setting it after Half-Life 2 they can do what they want, while referencing backwards where necessary.
 

webrunner

Member
bernardobri said:
GlaDOS, obviously.



r6JkF.gif

Portalwoman:
THREAT OR MENACE
 
EatChildren said:
I think the reasoning behind Portal 2's jump was because Valve wanted greater seperation between Portal and the Half-Life series, and so wanted to set it at a time where the events of Half-Life 2 were not a looming shadow. By setting it after Half-Life 2 they can do what they want, while referencing backwards where necessary.
Right, of course. I just think that that particular method of storytelling is Valve's strongest point - that is to say, throwing the player into a strange new world that clearly has rules and a history and forcing them to figure that history out for themselves - and that if they simply remain in the same basic timespan as HL2 whenever they move on to make HL3, they'll rob themselves of the opportunity to do it all over again.
 
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