I have had it with Valve
- Thread starter Krylock
- Start date
Recommended Videos
Valve is its own publishing house as well. So they don't have a larger company looming over them forcing deadlines on them. Valve has a history of distraction. They start working on something like Half-Life 3 ... and Oh .. Zombies .. this is how you got the Left 4 Dead series. Weather they return to Half-Life or not, they do good games, WHEN they get around to making them. They aren't doing much of anything different. They are just coming up with another idea most likely.
Am I only one getting annoyed of people who complain about HL2 EPISODE3? Seriously just... Stop geez...
Actually, I was just hoping not to derail the thread. No need to blow it out of proportion.Glademaster said:
I do happen to agree with you that graphics shouldn't come before gameplay or bug-fixing, but I COMPLETELY disagree with your earlier statement that graphics simply aren't important. Having an appealing visual style alongside impressive graphics technology can improve games immensely, especially if it's used to compliment the gameplay.
A fine example is Bioware's Mass Effect series. Now, I love the series for the story more than anything else, but I also know that the game wouldn't be nearly as good were it not for the excellent art design and occasional breathtaking visuals (more in Mass Effect 2 than 1). If Bioware had made the series just a muddled, low resolution mess it wouldn't be as appealing and I would be less interested.
Similarly, having great graphics can help with immersion and believability. Uncharted 2 has the best character animation I've ever seen (save for L.A. Noire, naturally), and the game benefits IMMENSELY from the visuals. Characters feel real, movements are natural and gameplay utilizes the visuals to create a cinematic, thrill-ride experience.
Now then, that's not to say that visuals are all-important. Spyro the Dragon (PS1) is ugly by modern standards, but I still love it because of the fantastic gameplay.
To put an endcap to this: Graphics are extremely important when utilized properly, even if the gameplay comes first. A lot of people bash Crysis for "Oh, it's just pretty," but they couldn't be more wrong. Crytek focused on the graphics and they also focused on the gameplay and what resulted was one of the most beautiful and well-designed FPS games of the last decade.
To be fair they announced a new series a few months ago to be released sometime 2011: DOTA (Not exactly new, but it is for them)Krylock said:
Valve is still my favorite developer because you can depend on them to release flawless games every time, even if they do take 3 or 4 years to develop something another dev would push out in 6 months.
You know what? The last four CoD games have all been released on the Quake III engine. Obviously, that means that Activision needs to get their act together and make a new one. I mean, look at Quake III Arena! It looks like it was released in 1999!
[sub][sub]I love sarcasm.[/sub][/sub]
Also, may I point your attention towards Alien Swarm and DotA, Valve's two most recently acquired franchises?
[sub][sub]I love sarcasm.[/sub][/sub]
Also, may I point your attention towards Alien Swarm and DotA, Valve's two most recently acquired franchises?
It's gorgeous on PC with everything up.MiracleOfSound said:
OT: The engine is about 6 years old(HL2 was late '04?)not a decade old.
Also, grow up...find other things to do to occupy yourself between games.
You've basically said though in the grand scheme of things graphics are not important. While they are nice and do help immersion which I am not saying they don't everything else takes precedent over it. Although I am not even going to comment on ME1 planets and jumper effect which is what I assume you maent by saying ME2>ME1 in that department. Yes graphics do have a job but they should not the focus.JeanLuc761 said:
Just look at the success of Minecraft. I know this is a niche but still if a game with that level of graphics made by one man than made I think over 1 million while the game was still in alpha shows how important graphics are. I will say when used right graphics do an amazing job but if they are the focus the game usually falls down once you get past the graphics. There are games that do blend goo
Maybe it is just me but a game should not be ruined by sub par graphics. I am playing through the original Half Life for the first time. While so far nothing about it has blown me away as games have evolved and become better than this through time the graphics of it do not ruin the experience. That might be a personal thing though.
Probably the best game to show where graphics should of taken a back seat over bug fixing is Blops. I really don't need to state numerous examples of bugs found throughout the Single and Multiplayer.
So yes graphics do have a job and can help with loads of different things but in the grand scheme of everything to do with a game they are not important or at least as important as a lot of people do make them out to be.
All new weapons like the Polycount packs are unlockable and craftable*(as far as I remember craftable).orangebandguy said:
This year Valve is announcing 3 games. Bets that one of them is Half Life 2 Episode 3 are very high.
What? I think the graphics are very well made, I dont think the Source need an overhaul in that department at all. Take a look at this mod for instance, that's made with Source : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qE0oUXkPO-c A bunch of people thought it was Xray at first. It's also very flexible and fun to use, imo. I'm looking forward to Portal 2 myself - it looks like a fun game and more added to the already good Portal.Krylock said:
I too agree that they should announce E3 in the near future, but so long I like the games they make they don't need to rush it for me. They're my favourite developer now, ever since Blizzard's SC2 was so incredibly meh.
Damn, ninja'd.TimeLord said:
Alright, umm... cool story bro? Enjoy your hypocritical wait for Half-Life Episode 3: More of the Same.Krylock said:
