I'm beginning to hate Valve.

[Smertnik]

I thought this was going to be a complaint thread about trading cards..

What exactly has Valve been "blatantly lying" about? I don't remember them ever giving a definite release date for the next HL sequel. And, more importantly, how does not releasing the said sequel equates to your "fiasco" examples? You don't make any sense.

Either way, Valve doesn't really need the HL franchise anymore, they're making more than enough money from their other games, Steam and microtransactions. And I doubt many consumers need it, either, aside from diehard fans maybe. I bet it'll come out at some point but why exactly is the project so important that not releasing it in timely fashion makes Valve such scumbags as you're making them out to be?

 

[Furioso]

I think I'll let Gabe Newell answer for me...

It's not like no good games are coming out while we wait, I'd rather they take their time rather than rush it, in the meantime I'll just play some other stuff, it really isn't that big of a deal.

 

[minimacker]

Hate? No. Angry? No. Disappointed? Yeah.

 

[Elijin]

I always just thought it was because no one really cared.

I mean sure there are still the few diehards who live every day waiting to see a new HL game, but from where I sit, most people seem to have stopped caring about HL a long time ago. Not to say they dislike the games or anything, they just arent really concerned about an IP which hasnt seen any official content in years, and is a running (bad) april fools joke.


And that to me, explains it. You're wondering why people are accepting of these delays, and not outraged at the company for shoving us in the dark. But whats to be outraged at? They havent released a product that most people stopped anticipating a long time ago. I mean sure, if it came out, most of us would give it a look over, see how it turned out.

But if it didnt? Well that would just be life as normal.

 

[DoPo]

Just because Valve isn't actively advertising it doesn't mean it's not anticipated.

It does mean they haven't lied about anything.

Plus you have to consider all the teasers and hints that have been going on for years.

The...leaked artwork? And...I dunno there was a sound snippet or something, I think. Also leaked. And few other rumours none originating from Valve themselves. Nothing official. What's Valve's fault of, some stuff of dubious validity that they didn't release?

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.

Are you saying it's Valve releasing them? I don't follow. What the fuck are you talking about? If I were to start a rumour about Blizzard, are you also going to fault Blizzard when it turns out to be false?

I don't think you're aware of how "responsibility" works - you usually have to do...like anything to be to blame.

But the fact the valve has made April fools jokes

They haven't. Care to actually back your words up?

Similarly, Valve is not going 'Hey let's build up hype for HL3 and then never ever ever make it!' After the release of Episode 2 they never hyped HL3. I suspect part of the reason they're so tight-lipped about it is to avoid this kind of backlash from building up expectations.

To be fair, they did do that thing on April Fools Day where they 'revealed' a pre order for HL3 this year. It was all in good taste, but that is kinda like bating your audience and then wrenching right from out under them.

That wasn't Valve - that was a completely separate website and a completely separate people doing it. I thought everybody knew that about 5 minutes after they found it or at most an hour or maybe a day later when they found some extra info like a news article or something.

Actually, the site is still up [http://storestteampowered.com/app/4411/] And it does outright tell you it's fake. when you click anywhere.

 

[templar1138a]

...I think you need to adjust your perspective. Valve is not a game developer, not anymore. They're a digital retailer - and they're excellent at that - that occasionally spits out its own content.

Also, Half-Life 3 isn't coming. It's the new Duke Nukem Forever, both in the sense that 1. It's never going to be finished (if it's being made at all) and 2. If it IS made, everyone's expectations for it will be way too high, and everyone's going to be thoroughly unhappy with it.

 

[Khaine the betrayer]

They do what they must, because they can.

On a side note I don't really mind that they take their time for the games, I mean sure it is annoying but Valva also has steam so every time I want a new game I just wait for a new steam sale and viola there is a good game for an extremly good price in the batch.

 

[Edguy]

The problem with Valve, as a game developer, is that they don't have any incentive to make games. Steam makes them enough money that developing games isn't really a necessity.

 

[WanderingFool]

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 honestly hope your weren't planning on a getting any real conversation out of this, save for maybe a bunch of hero worship of Valve.

 

[Silvanus]

Companies aren't under any obligation to release these products when we want. I don't mean this just legally; I mean it ethically/however-you-want. I feel no sense of loyalty tarnished here.


They are under an obligation to deliver a product of reasonable quality when we've paid for it, but they're not obligated to stick to some schedule to produce it. They made no deal with us to do so. We have no side of a bargain to uphold, in order to say that they are not upholding theirs.


Obligation to us begins only when we've given them money for the product. They owe us nothing more.



Quite recently, fans were getting their wicks burnt over George R. R. Martin's time taken to write installments of the Song of Ice and Fire series. People were writing him letters, sending him emails, saying that he'd somehow betrayed them, by not writing as quickly as they wanted him to.

When a fan took this grievance to Neil Gaiman's blog, Gaiman replied, "George R. R. Martin is not your *****".

He's right, and it's the same deal with the HL series.

 

[CyanideSandwich]

You're upset at a game publisher because they're creating new IPs instead of diluting the same one year after year? The exact opposite thing that people ostracise Call of Duty and Assassin's Creed for doing? That's just bizarre to me. Valve hasn't lied to anyone because they never once said that Half-Life 3 is ever going to happen. They don't owe us a game.
Also, I've never played a Valve game that I haven't thoroughly enjoyed.

 

[CriticalMiss]

So Valve haven't released a game they never put a release date on and have since said they aren't working on... The bastards! They've released plenty of games, rather good ones in fact, in the time since Episode 2. They constantly improve Steam and support Team Fortress 2 with updates of a hatly nature, let's just say that they have been keeping themselves busy. Sure they left the series on a massive cliffhanger but they aren't 'blatant'liars. If they were they would say that Episode 3 is just around the corner.

If you are beginning to hate Valve because they haven't released a game yet that they have not said they are working on then you probably need to get that looked at. Developers shelve projects all the time. Valve are no different in that respect and if they have decided not to work on Half Life for a few years that is their choice. Plus I'd rather wait a few years for a polished game with a decent story than have shitty yearly releases that ruin the franchise.

 

[Gearhead mk2]

I don't hate Valve, and I think the OP is a reaching a bit for stuff to complain about. That said, I think they do get away with some stuff that over companies couldn't, like some of Steam's practices and them not balancing TF2 in freaking years.

 

[jklinders]

As others have mentioned, Valve has been pretty damn busy. They have released several other games with their typically high polish. I've never played Portal as I really don't care that type of game but for those who like it they say it's amazing. TF 2 is supposed to be riot to play and seems to have loads of personality. Plus they are working on a new hardware architecture to break into the console market, running Steam and maybe somewhere in there they have a team working on the game you want. Wouldn't count on it as they have made no claims on that recently.

Here is the thing though. they only owe us what we pay money for. No one has paid money for a Half Life 3. If you have, please show me a link to the pre order location. If no money changes hands then there is no moral or legal obligation. Seems like wasted energy really to get so mad at them for not releasing a game when it actually has cost you nothing.

 

[bug_of_war]

That wasn't Valve - that was a completely separate website and a completely separate people doing it. I thought everybody knew that about 5 minutes after they found it or at most an hour or maybe a day later when they found some extra info like a news article or something.

I was unaware of that. Thanks for enlightening me on that detail. I still think they should either come out and say, "we're making it" or, "we're not making it" because it's just something any half decent company would do. Ah well, we'll see what happens, and hopefully they might make some adjustments with their current (debatable) issues once their console thingy comes out.

 

[secretkeeper12]

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.

This is probably Valve's biggest problem. A lack of corporate structure doesn't mean they can't give some hints as to what they're up to. If they have no plans say so. If they do, keep us up to date on them. Q&A sessions are done with them all the darn time, after all.

I beg [http://kotaku.com/5040417/team-fortress-2-updates-coming-to-xbox-360-later-this-year]to differ [http://kotaku.com/5319824/todays-team-fortress-2-xbox-360-update-is-not-the-one-youre-looking-for]. This is the exact problem OP is talking about. If they would just say they lost any plans for updating console TF2, all would be good. They haven't, though.

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?

Just a nitpick: Dota2 invites have been given out like candy for over a year now. Only a sucker would actually pay for one nowadays.

 

[IamLEAM1983]

Honestly, I'd rather have a publisher that goes back on its words for good reasons, rather than a publisher who never retracts specific statements and still presents a certain product as being finished.

Valve *figured* they might be able to release episodic content more often, and that conservative estimate wasn't something they could reach. Ergo, they haven't rushed out something shitty to appease the nay-sayers and enrage the fans expecting something of a substantial quality level.

On the other hand, you have EA's philosophy, where turds are polished and frankly offensive gimmicks pushed forward because, hey! Promises were made at last year's E3!

I really don't mind living on Valve or Blizzard Time, as a whole. The Sagrada Familia isn't finished yet, the Sistine Chapel wasn't finished by Michaelangelo's lifetime, and more Half-Life 3 is a prospect that's apparently deserving of time and consideration. I'm not some petulant teen anymore, who's going to absolutely die if last year's professed killer app doesn't come out right this instant.

You can't rush art, and I'm saying that knowing that this is subjective and that I might seem like an ass-kisser.