Half Life 3 Speculation thread

[LeSwordfish]

I dont want to see co-op. Hl3: deathmatch with co-op, sure, but i think two-player co-op is in many cases less interesting than singleplayer, and a lot of things that are good about HL are bad in co-op, such as pacing, balance, tension, plot, setpieces.

 

[YM]

When I said coop, I was thinking much more L4D style or MvM style than a 2 player SP campaign, because I agree with every point you just made (except...set pieces.... what?)

 

[grazr]

HL has always been as much of a puzzle game as it has been an FPS. I see no reason why a co-op HL3 couldn't be possible. I mean Portal co-op seemed to be a pretty good hit.

 

[tyler]

But co-op in P2 was secondary to the first person adventure.

 

[grazr]

It would be supplimentary.

Like the HL co-op.

Nobodies saying HL3 should be 2 player only. That doesn't make any sense and is inconsistant to the franchise. But there are plenty of ways to make the HL2/3 experience co-op friendly; and the fact that HL is heavily puzzle based is key to that concept. P2 co-op worked and that's my example of how it would be executed. Having players push buttons and split up to perform syncronised actions to progress in ways that are less interesting in SP where NPC's do shit you passively watch from behind bullet proof glass.

I'm just saying it can work, i am not saying it would replace the stereotypical HL SP.

 

[Pocket]

Nobodies saying HL3 should be 2 player only.

Gabe said it, or at least implied it, when he said Portal 2 would be their last game with an "isolated single-player experience", or whatever.

 

[LeSwordfish]

By setpieces i was thinking of watching the bridge collapse in episode 2 or something: awesome on your own, with a friend you'll just talk over it and want to move on any but the first time. Puzzles, sure, but they're on the short list of "HL does well" and "Co-Op does well"

Also, co-op shooters are much more replayable than co-op puzzle games. Portal 2 can stand being replayed, what, twice? Three times for acheivements?

 

[grazr]

Also, co-op shooters are much more replayable than co-op puzzle games. Portal 2 can stand being replayed, what, twice? Three times for acheivements?

Did you miss the part where HL is both?

 

[LeSwordfish]

Yeah, but puzzles in the co-op mode would weaken it, is what i mean.

 

[Kill_the_Bug]

I can see them doing it this way:

Remember Eli Said Destroy the ship?

What happens if it doesn't get destroyed but opens up a brand new portal.

Didn't Earth Surrender after the 7 hour war? SEVEN HOURS!

I could see them opening a new portal (at the end of the game) to Zen and moving the gameplay of HL3 to a completely new multiplayer platform like TF2 and the new game type could be an all out attack / defend invasion style of gameplay. Once Inital maps are done they would need mappers for new levels, etc. They could also incorporate time shifting where you could go back and forth in time have battles that could effect outcomes everywhere else, Battles could take place in Zen, Earth - all over the place - and then they could evolve HL into an everchanging gameworld where nothing ever stays the same this would keep the game toally fresh, especially with my example below.

I.e .

Let's say you are having a big battle going on in x - a time shift occurs - a squad of humans (actual players) warps in joins the fight or takes out an objective but then they get warped out again with no notice of when the warping occurs. Same thing from the other side - you get to play as aliens - just a massive free for all across multiple game worlds.

Being on a 'warp team' would be fun you could be in a level for 5-20 mins and get warped out to another world or back to the barracks for resupplies, etc. If you get killed you get spawned back in the barracks and join back in with any other players that come into the barracks. You jump back on the warp pad and get warped back to some world with a brand new team and not neccessarily back to the one you just got killed in.

I know - that this is pretty much impossible - but it would be cool if you could do it.

 

[LeSwordfish]

So, like Mass Effect 3?

That could actually work. I hope they don't tie the two together too much.

Heh: ending of hl3: war is going, gordon is placed outside time to protect him until the time is right to strike back, in hl4.

 

[grazr]

Er, Valve have confirmed this is the last story that they'll use Gordon Freeman as the protagonist.

Unless they fail to follow through like Microsoft on Halo.

 

[Kill_the_Bug]

HAH - I GOT IT!!! Gordon Freeman is going to becme the next Nilah, or whatever that things called at the end of HL! He'll control all the Vortegon Creatures, those brain sucking larvae thingy's, the combine forces and everything else! Gordon Freeman Master of the Universe!

 

[grazr]

You mean the Nihilith?

The Nihilith is a one of a kind, the last of his kind, even. The weird sounds it makes during the boss battle are actually phrases that reference the combine and how they have enslaved him and killed his people. When this was brought to my attention i replayed through HL1 and was blown away by this fact.

 

[YM]

*Nihilanth

I just want to play some fresh goddamned Valve singleplayer again.

 

[Kill_the_Bug]

You mean the Nihilith?

The Nihilith is a one of a kind, the last of his kind, even. The weird sounds it makes during the boss battle are actually phrases that reference the combine and how they have enslaved him and killed his people. When this was brought to my attention i replayed through HL1 and was blown away by this fact.

Really? Never got that one. If that's the case then Valve is really good a doing a story line and cross referencing everything else = will be really great to see what they have in store for HL3.

YM, agreed, I would also like to do some fresh single player games as well - I'm getting bored in some cases with TF2 (all the updates, all the crashes after the updates) haven't played some good L4D matches in a while and L4D gets boring REAL quick - I can finish "No Mercy" in 13-15 minutes with a good team on easy doing a run and gun game - that includes doing every trigger, shooting every car alarm.

 

[Pocket]

The last time I went into a Left 4 Dead match, one of the other players started repeatedly shooting me in the face, and when I tried to votekick him, it failed and then everyone votekicked me.

So yeah. Fuck multiplayer. And if Valve is serious about never making a single-player game again, fuck them too.

 

[grazr]

*Nihilanth

Really? I just called it that because that's what it was called in the HL1 FGD. Not that it really matters... Gordon killed it. It is no more.

 

[YM]

I googled nihilith and nihilanth, only one had matching results.

 

[Burnout6010]

It's like how people write Zen and Xen. No one really cares but yeah