What ever happened to Half Life 3?

Frankly, I was bored of single player fps games by the time I played HL2. What could this possibly offer that hasn't been done?

Vicxas

Deleted User wrote: »

Frankly, I was bored of single player fps games by the time I played HL2. What could this possibly offer that hasn't been done?

Thats half the problem, both the HL games broke ground for new ideas in gaming.


What could HL3 do, except introduce "Smellovision"?

BloodBath

SteamOS/Box is a completely open platform, anyone can make one so it's not going to be connected to that in anyway. It's a failed concept anyway unless you can get game developers to stop using directX. Otherwise you're stuck using windows if you want a gaming PC.

I also seriously doubt it will be focused on VR. Maybe 0.1% at the most of PC gamers will get an Oculus rift. Running a next gen half life engine at 1080p/90 fps is not going to happen unless you have a pig of a PC.

The resolution may even be higher by the time the consumer version launches.

I'd say HL3 is definitely in production though. It will be used to showcase the new engine followed shortly by a new left4dead.

I'd say they will make a more scalable engine and make half life a bit more open world with possible co-op multiplayer. I know half-life has a tradition of being linear but really linear single player FPS games are stale these days.

o1s1n

BloodBath wrote: »

but really linear single player FPS games are stale these days.

Unless they're done well of course (which HL1 & 2 were). The problem with all the 'stale' ones is they're ****e. Blame the artists, not the medium :pac:

BloodBath

BloodBath wrote: »

SteamOS/Box is a completely open platform, anyone can make one so it's not going to be connected to that in anyway. It's a failed concept anyway unless you can get game developers to stop using directX. Otherwise you're stuck using windows if you want a gaming PC.

I also seriously doubt it will be focused on VR. Maybe 0.1% at the most of PC gamers will get an Oculus rift. Running a next gen half life engine at 1080p/90 fps is not going to happen unless you have a pig of a PC.

The resolution may even be higher by the time the consumer version launches.

I'd say HL3 is definitely in production though. It will be used to showcase the new engine followed shortly by a new left4dead.

I'd say they will make a more scalable engine and make half life a bit more open world with possible co-op multiplayer. I know half-life has a tradition of being linear but really linear single player FPS games are stale these days.

I reckon this could be it. With technology good enough, it could give them the exact paradigm shift that valve seem to be known for.

Dayum

o1s1n wrote: »

Unless they're done well of course (which HL1 & 2 were). The problem with all the 'stale' ones is they're ****e. Blame the artists, not the medium :pac:

I don't know. Look at Wolfenstein: The New Order. Enjoyable game but nobody is ever going to play it again nor will it even cross anyones mind a year from now and that's a franchise with a history and a half.

I feel the linear, single-player only campaign game is dead/or is dying. Sure they're entertaining in the moment but they don't have the legs to stay the distance and remain relevant for long.

HL3 will need some sort of multiplayer or multiplayer campaign and they'll have to do it right like say........Brink did it and not Titanfall. What I mean by that is that the players will ultimately decide the story outcome with brach-offs etc where the decisions you make as either a Combine or Freeman archs everything going forward. A truly well done campaign multiplayer has never really been done for the FPS genre and it would break new ground if they could pull it off.

ScumLord

BloodBath wrote: »

I also seriously doubt it will be focused on VR. Maybe 0.1% at the most of PC gamers will get an Oculus rift. Running a next gen half life engine at 1080p/90 fps is not going to happen unless you have a pig of a PC.

There are people running triple screens on the likes of 660s and up. They have to take a hit on the effects and resolution but it can still be done and get a framerate of 60fps. The rift looks like it's going to be cheap enough that the majority of gamers could easily justify shelling out for one. Facebook will be heavily subsidising the rift, they obviously have plans for VR and the desire and capital to push it.

I'm also wondering if the fancy effects graphics cards use to improve the picture will be necessary with the rift. With a high resolution and actual depth perception power hungry effects may be replaced with the natural effects the brain uses.

Skerries

Kiith wrote: »

So...no pressure :pac:

Retr0gamer

I'd rather a new Stalker than Half Life 3 at this stage.

Benzino

Dayum wrote: »

I feel the linear, single-player only campaign game is dead/or is dying. Sure they're entertaining in the moment but they don't have the legs to stay the distance and remain relevant for long.

I disagree and I think you just have to look at the Last of Us to see that people still want good single player, linear games.

Dayum

Benzino wrote: »

I disagree and I think you just have to look at the Last of Us to see that people still want good single player, linear games.

The Last of Us is not an FPS.

Benzino

Dayum wrote: »

The Last of Us is not an FPS.

No, but it is a game. You never specified linear, single-player only campaign FPS game.

Dayum wrote: »

I feel the linear, single-player only campaign game is dead/or is dying. Sure they're entertaining in the moment but they don't have the legs to stay the distance and remain relevant for long.

Dayum

Benzino wrote: »

No, but it is a game. You never specified linear, single-player only campaign FPS game.

The whole thread is about an FPS. I included Wolfenstein in my post plus the post I was replying to referred to FPS and the post to which that was replying to as well. Nobody is discussing anything other than FPS.

We've had FPS linear campaigns since the days of the dinosaurs. The thing thats selling FPS's these days are multiplayer modes - Call of Duty, Battlefield etc.

Benzino

Hey, I took it as you wrote it.

I still disagree, I believe there is a demand for good single player, linear FPS games. Bioshock is an example of this. The problem with most FPS games is that they generally have nothing else going for them other than running and gunning. Shooting people in games has pretty much been perfected at this point.

Games just need to focus on the story, atmosphere, unique environments and gameplay aspects (like singularity time shift). This is something HL has been good at, and I'm confident they can achieve it again.

BloodBath

ScumLord wrote: »

There are people running triple screens on the likes of 660s and up. They have to take a hit on the effects and resolution but it can still be done and get a framerate of 60fps. The rift looks like it's going to be cheap enough that the majority of gamers could easily justify shelling out for one. Facebook will be heavily subsidising the rift, they obviously have plans for VR and the desire and capital to push it.

I'm also wondering if the fancy effects graphics cards use to improve the picture will be necessary with the rift. With a high resolution and actual depth perception power hungry effects may be replaced with the natural effects the brain uses.

Buying an oculus rift and then turning the settings down kinda defeats the purpose when you end up making HL3 look like HL2. Bit of an exaggeration sure but we don't know the rifts final specs yet.

If you are trying to immerse yourself in the world the better the graphics the better the immersion. The frame rate has to be kept high to stop ghosting and motion sickness as well. 1080p will still be pretty screen doory. I'd say the tech won't be great until 1440p@100fps.

The rift is not high res, even 1440p stretched to fill 100 degrees of your field of view is not high res. You will need all the filtering and graphics improvements possible to make it look good at 1080p.

I'll be getting the 1080p version anyway. A single 290 should run it pretty well if it's 1080p/90hz.

Give it 4-5 years for a good 1440p/120hz version that can run well off of a single high end gpu.

Benzino wrote: »

I disagree and I think you just have to look at the Last of Us to see that people still want good single player, linear games.

I can't imagine turning Gordon Freeman into a character with a movie like script and story driven game. The whole silent protagonist thing is pretty outdated though but the half life fanboys would go mental if they tried to given Gordon some character.

Dayum

Benzino wrote: »

Hey, I took it as you wrote it.

I still disagree, I believe there is a demand for good single player, linear FPS games. Bioshock is an example of this. The problem with most FPS games is that they generally have nothing else going for them other than running and gunning. Shooting people in games has pretty much been perfected at this point.

Games just need to focus on the story, atmosphere, unique environments and gameplay aspects (like singularity time shift). This is something HL has been good at, and I'm confident they can achieve it again.

Bioshock was a good game but we're not talking about good games or even great games.

We're talking about Half Life.

o1s1n

Dayum wrote: »

I don't know. Look at Wolfenstein: The New Order. Enjoyable game but nobody is ever going to play it again nor will it even cross anyones mind a year from now and that's a franchise with a history and a half.

I feel the linear, single-player only campaign game is dead/or is dying. Sure they're entertaining in the moment but they don't have the legs to stay the distance and remain relevant for long.

HL3 will need some sort of multiplayer or multiplayer campaign and they'll have to do it right like say........Brink did it and not Titanfall. What I mean by that is that the players will ultimately decide the story outcome with brach-offs etc where the decisions you make as either a Combine or Freeman archs everything going forward. A truly well done campaign multiplayer has never really been done for the FPS genre and it would break new ground if they could pull it off.

It looks like you're expecting all the wrong things though. The point of a single player game with a story arc isn't to come back again and again - that's the domain of multiplayer FPS games.

Some of the best games I've ever played, I've only played once. Sure, I'd like to play them again, but there are too many good games to keep repeating ones you've already played.

There's always going to be space for good single player FPS games. The problem is that too many modern FPS titles focus on the multiplayer - the single player experience is just tacked on. (and crap and stale as a result)

Play something like Amnesia: The Dark Descent, that's an original engaging FPS single player game.

As I said, it's not the medium/genre that's at fault, it's people using it to create crappy, stale experiences.

Skerries

Dishonored is a great example of a FPS with a great story (yes it is also can be played as a stealth game)
Shadow Warrior is also another great fun SP FPS game lately

COYVB

Dayum wrote: »

I feel the linear, single-player only campaign game is dead/or is dying.

It might be slumping a little at the moment, but it'll be back with a bang in the next couple of years. Not everyone (read quite a lot of people) wants to do the whole online thing; they just want to play games as a form of entertainment. Online games, for the most part, these days involve a lot of work

Benzino

Dayum wrote: »

Bioshock was a good game but we're not talking about good games or even great games.

We're talking about Half Life.

Huh? I mentioned Bioshock because it's a Single-player FPS game that is very popular, it's an example that linear games are not dead. The number of gamers who want another HL should be enough to prove that these games are not dying or dead.

AndonHandon

You can't rush art I feel is the reason for the delay. While we speculate as to what HL3 might portray, the makers could still be brainstorming on how to get the epic story across to the gamers, we live in hope ultimately.