I'm beginning to hate Valve.

[thiosk]

Yeah, as was said in post #2, valve's strategy changed. It didn't make sense for them to do episodes. If I were valve, I'd have outsourced it, but they can't, because they're valve and half-life is half-life, so...

Valve is steam, now, though.

Most of the Non-COD shooters seem to be counterstrike and team fortress. DOTA2 is a thing. They give away the occasional game, like that alien shooter a couple years back.

Its all designed to get you on steam.
And I love steam.
So valve games are more about steam than about valve games.

 

[Kanova]

Its almost like OP... has no idea what he is talking about D:

 

[ProfessorLayton]

They can do it because their games are actually good and they don't even really owe us an episode 3?

This comment absolutely baffles me. So once you make some good games, you can sit on top of your throne, immune to any criticism? And ending Episode 2 on a huge cliffhanger isn't hyping up a new release?

I mean, I love Valve games. I own almost all of them. But come on. Their last real release was Portal 2 and ever since then they've been ignoring DOTA 2 and making a million TF2 mods. And look, Valve has a terrible track record with releasing things as promised. I can think of many times where I was waiting patiently for a TF2 of L4D update that came quite a while after it was supposed to. Just because Valve isn't actively advertising it doesn't mean it's not anticipated. Plus you have to consider all the teasers and hints that have been going on for years. Every couple of months, new HL3 information bubbles up and we all get excited for it until we realize it's just another false alarm and then we forget about it until the next image with a lambda and a three pops up.

Point is, if any other company did this, everyone would be rioting in the streets with pitchforks and torches. No one else gets a free pass for this kind of stuff. Valve has released some truly great games, but you can't just act like they're some sort of untouchable entity because of this. It is a company who is not doing what it's supposed to be doing. Duke Nukem didn't get this pass.

 

[Joccaren]

We don't take that shit from other companies. This whole fiasco with Bioware and Mass Effect and more recently Gearbox and Aliens proves that. So what makes it okay for Valve? How is blatantly lying about their plans for a game any different from releasing bullshit like ACM?

Lets compare those two examples for a second.
ME3/A;CM:
Pre-Release: "These games will be amazing, look at all this stuff we're going to do! We promise you its all real and will happen!"
Release: "Spend money to buy our awesome game! Look at our advertising!"
Post Release: "So the things we promised to deliver weren't delivered in the game, and you spent your money on something you thought you were getting but didn't actually get. Sue us."

Half Life 3:
Pre-Release: "..."
end.

Basically, A:CM and ME3 hyped up their products to no end. The made promises, showed fake gameplay videos, and then told consumers to spend their money, upwards of $100 in a lot of cases, on a product that they had made, selling it on false promises.
Valve have said nothing. The thing they are most guilty of is not releasing a game because its not done. Haven't done a ton of hyping - the fans have, not the company - haven't made a bunch of promises, haven't failed to deliver on those promises, and haven't taken anyone's money.
Whereas Colonial Marines actually did do the equivalent of "Here's a shiny new car I'm going to sell you" before making you pay and giving you a rusty old car instead, and ME3 did the verbal equivalent "I will sell you a shiny new car" before giving you their second hand car after you pay, Valve has done the "I'll clean my room soon", and doesn't clean up their room thing. The other two have cost people money on false expectations and lies, Valve has disappointed people but hasn't taken anything from them. You can accuse them of being lazy, but that's about it.

 

[DarkRyter]

The half life series has been discontinued.

As much as we like to think otherwise. As much as we'd hope for it to be different. It's about time we confront the truth.

Valve does not have any plans to create another half life game, nor do they have any intent to.

Maybe they were gonna at some point, but it's long past, and we have to move on.

 

[NiPah]

I know that's akin to sacrilege among gamers, but I was just playing Half-Life and it occurred to me that it has been 5 years since Episode 2 came out. 5 years. The entire thing they said about releasing them in episodic format was so that we wouldn't have to wait so long. Well that was fucking bullshit.

And that's what gets me. Valve blatantly lies about their plans, stays all secret and then someone thinks because they are Valve it is all okay to treat their fans like shit. And yet people eat it up and defend them. "Oh, that's just how Valve does things," people say. "They're probably waiting for the next engine/console/big gaming thing to be ready." "Valve never releases 3's of their games"

We don't take that shit from other companies. This whole fiasco with Bioware and Mass Effect and more recently Gearbox and Aliens proves that. So what makes it okay for Valve? How is blatantly lying about their plans for a game any different from releasing bullshit like ACM?

I don't get it. I don't think it would be so much of an issue if they would just communicate and say they were not interested in making it right now or that they were indeed waiting for the technology to catch up with the vision. But nope. They're content to treat us all like shit and then people defend them tooth an nail.

What do you think? Agree? Disagree?

I would have to disagree;
First off ACM used false videos of a game they knew they were not releasing, they allowed pre-orders for the game while showing off said video, and still to this day use the video to advertise what is a different game. It's kindof like using what War Z did when they showed footage that was not actually possible to get hype up for a game and then released the buggy crap version that it was.
Worst thing that Valve did was change their release plans when they found the current system was not working, they did not accept any pre-orders, they have not released a game under lies that it was a better game, they just made us wait longer then they originally made us believe we would wait. It's annoying, but its annoying BECAUSE those games are so damn good.

I mean while it may piss you off that there is no episode 3 and Valve has been completely silent on that front, it's not something to really hate them for nor should you compare them to companies that actually lied to people while taking their money and then provided an inferior product.

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

I don't think we give other companies shit that often for taking longer on a game or releasing unreliably. In fact we probably give them more crap for squeezing development into a year and ruining a good series/game. I honestly think that if an article came up here that read that some popular game was getting a sequel, and it started pushing back the release date, or when it was announced didn't give a time frame, the majority of the comments would be fearing for the game's eventual release at all or grateful it was having some time spent on it. I'm not implying Valve have been slaving away since the last one came out and making the best game ever to be played, I'm just saying they've been casual about release dates in the past and they've always released good games at the end.

Although to be honest we're sort of at the precipice where well-constructed hype and/or mischievous coyness is turning into dickishness. It's one thing to take your time releasing a game, it's quite another to be sporadically releasing joke material and teasers.

To be fair; the real problem with the Mass Effect 3 was the dubious advertising rather than the bad ending.

Well they're hardly going to market a series on converging storylines and substitutable characters now, are they?

 

[Orks da best]

I think some of the people here are missing the point of the op. Its not that valve must make a half life 3. But the fact the valve has made April fools jokes, and not even released so much as a peep about it means that likely valve hasn't made it, don't much on it, or still in the early stages of development at best.

Meanwhile most other developers get angry mobs on the internet late release dates and other release time issues. Yet no one does this valve outside of the crazy valvies. Is seems that valves scats along by good will more and more often.

And before people say they have released many games over the years, aren't dota 2 and CS GA both betas? That have you pay to enter nowadays, and yes I am aware that right no CS GA is no free to try and will be on sale for half off for those that played it, but still a game in beta that has to be pay for, Anyone else think that is wrong?

Though the op has a likely reason for hating valve other than the company itself like me. Its the fan base surrounding it. A bad fan base annoys those on the inside and those on the outside who dislike, or hate whatever the fan base loves. That what the valve fan base is to me, I wouldn't have has much of a problem with valve if it wasn't for the fan base.

And this tread is a perfect example of why I hate the fan base, they are utterly convince that valve can do no wrong and completely support anything they do. Whereas do nothing like it for other developers, and no I am not just saying the big ones, every developer.

This just tiring to see.

 

[Gatx]

Even if you want to make a comparison with Gearbox and Bioware, the difference is they made us expect a great product and delivered shitty ones (not that I dislike Mass Effect, but that's what you'd feel like the general opinion is from the comments you see about it), whereas Valve still has us in the expecting phase. If Half-Life 2 Episode 3 and/or Half-Life 3 come out and is crap, THEN you'll have a legitimate comparison.

Also I've actually forgotten that Valve makes videogames... I just think of them as the creators of a snazzy digital distribution system now.

 

[Todstyak]

This might be a bit off-topic but doesn't it seem like half-life has overstayed it's welcome? I tried replaying the series and I just don't find the gameplay that interesting anymore. What does everyone honestly expect from a third installment? a gameplay re-tread with few new plot points like the other episodes or a whole completely new game with different mechanics, engine, ETC.? I'm just asking because my friends that do really love Half-Life seem to have dropped the topic.

 

[The_Echo]

Wait.

So Valve is treating their fans like shit because they aren't releasing the next Half-Life in a timely fashion?

I'm sorry, but I cannot possibly take you seriously when you think that is treating fans like shit.[footnote]And I'm not even much of a Valve fan.[/footnote]

 

[HellbirdIV]

We don't take that shit from other companies. This whole fiasco with Bioware and Mass Effect and more recently Gearbox and Aliens proves that. So what makes it okay for Valve? How is blatantly lying about their plans for a game any different from releasing bullshit like ACM?

Actually yes, there's a huge difference.

Bioware and Gearbox released horrible products and met fan outrage at the low quality of their products by calling them "entitled" and defending their rights to sell complete shit with misleading advertising and outright lies.

Valve simply do not release games unless they are satisified with them. That's the difference.

Valve hasn't tried to sell us a half-finished product as Episode 3, despite how easy that would be. They haven't churned out another L4D or Portal sequel, or tried cashing in on the demand for an Opposing Force continuation, because they don't follow the current market strategy most developers/publishers follow called the "Get as much money as you can as quickly as you can, screw the consequences", and instead focus on creating worthwhile products.

EP3 being vaporware isn't the same thing as ME3 being a sack of garbage sold to us as a bag of delicious mint candy.

 

[Frotality]

valve never lied, theyve even said the whole episodic thing just wasnt working for them and wasnt going as planned. granted the complete lack of info for YEARS is aggravating, but there is nothing valve owes us, all theyve done is make a series thats good enough for people to want it to continue.

valve has done nothing to their community beyond simply not releasing a game within a schedule they made and publicly abandoned years ago, a practice that we accept because it has consistently been proven to turn out quality products. gearbox recently released a game thats been in development for 12 years and it most certainly was not quality, hence why we do not tolerate that from them. if half life 3/ episode 3 turns out to be shite, then your right, but until then all we can do is wait and see what they have planned, if anything at all...

 

[SecondPrize]

I know that's akin to sacrilege among gamers, but I was just playing Half-Life and it occurred to me that it has been 5 years since Episode 2 came out. 5 years. The entire thing they said about releasing them in episodic format was so that we wouldn't have to wait so long. Well that was fucking bullshit.

And that's what gets me. Valve blatantly lies about their plans, stays all secret and then someone thinks because they are Valve it is all okay to treat their fans like shit. And yet people eat it up and defend them. "Oh, that's just how Valve does things," people say. "They're probably waiting for the next engine/console/big gaming thing to be ready." "Valve never releases 3's of their games"

We don't take that shit from other companies. This whole fiasco with Bioware and Mass Effect and more recently Gearbox and Aliens proves that. So what makes it okay for Valve? How is blatantly lying about their plans for a game any different from releasing bullshit like ACM?

I don't get it. I don't think it would be so much of an issue if they would just communicate and say they were not interested in making it right now or that they were indeed waiting for the technology to catch up with the vision. But nope. They're content to treat us all like shit and then people defend them tooth an nail.

What do you think? Agree? Disagree?

How are you being treated like shit here? Have some patience. We don't take this shit from other companies because they're generally not releasing games that are worth waiting for, whereas Valve is.

 

[Tanakh]

-snip-

Just a few details bro. It's CS:GO and it's not a beta, has been out for almost a year and it's one of the e-sports featured is some tournaments; as a full game with no F2P model it does have a price tag. DotA 2 is in beta, however it's fully functional and could be released tomorrow if Valve wished to, also for all intended purposes it's free (if you want a couple of copies PM me); also paying for betas has been a thing for quite some years in a lot of games, especially online ones, that is not the case for DotA, the only place where the beta invite has some semblance of value is China.

I would recommend to base dislikes in some facts as it makes the world more coherent, don't think you got one thing right there, but that's just me.

 

[Aidan(Roland)]

You can hate Valve if you want to. It's a free country (Confederation of United Websites? What is the internet-country called?)

I started getting a bit pissed when Half Life 2 came out. It's a great game blah blah, everybody loves it yadda yadda, but I'm wondering if and when an ACTUAL sequel to Half Life 1 might be in the works? If you renamed HL2's Gordon Freeman to say... Cliff Stone, then Half Life 2 would have basically nothing to do with the first game. No similarities in tone, setting, plot, anything. Just the name of the main character, and a crowbar instead of a knife. Oh well, I'll always have OpFor.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Well I would agree if they were actually selling those unfinished plans but they aren't doing that, they are selling you the finished products, I might not agree with their recent pricing tactics but that is for everyone to decide on their own.

And the "lies" are just the thought process that they had at the time, that shit changes especially in a company not shackled by publishers, sharing their plans really isn't that sensible since people will then freak out should those plans not come to fruition.

 

[Mr. Happy Face]

I have an interesting take on this. I can't prove any of it, you understand. These are just musings. But let's see if anyone agrees.

When Valve released Half-Life, it evolved the FPS genre in no small way. You can see evidence of that evolution in today's FPS games. And that's the problem, you see. Valve's competitors learned their lessons from the Half-Life franchise, and have used them to create their own high-quality FPS games. (ex. Bioshock: Infinite)

So put yourself in Valve's shoes. If you created the mold that nearly everybody copies in one way or another, what do you do? If I were Valve, I'd look to break the mold yet again and come up with an experience that no one else has. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is a Herculean task, requiring no small amount of time and effort. It is understandable (to me, at least) that Valve is taking it's time revisiting the Half-Life franchise until they are darned well ready to do so.

Now, I know what some of you might be thinking. Taking so much time to perfect a formula didn't help Duke Nukem Forever. And you're right. It didn't, and such a move on Valve's part might end up hurting them in the long run. But given Valve's track record of excellence so far, I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. But then, I'm a very patient man. Your mileage may vary.