I'm beginning to hate Valve.

[Omega500]

Am not hatin on them cos they ain't making a game that would be just stupid

I am not liking that they haven't said if they are or not, I would like to know that and a expected release
and i get the feeling that when they do, do it I wont care for it and the generation that knows HL1&2 won't care either and these kids that play games now really do nit pick at games with the entitled mentality they have now Valve will just be liek well fuck you guys too.

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

so you hate valve because they havent released episode 3? people dont hate EA or Capcom because they dont release games fast enough, people hate them because of fucked up business practices and shit like that. thats why people let valve get away with the fact they they arent interested in making episode 3. your complaint doesnt seem to be that valve doesnt care about quality or that they treat you like a money dispenser instead of a gamer, your complaint seems to be that you love valve games so much, you wish there were more of them

See, your a valve fanboy. (that wasnt an insult) just that they are allowed to screw over their customers but no other company is allowed. They promised a 3 episode story, and just made 2. That was 6 years ago, do you think they are still working on it to make it a quality episode? They are not even making it. They have said this. If EA and capcom only promised a game and gave only 2/3rds of it. You would be bitching at them for that. Valve always gets a free pass.

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

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.

Its been 7 years. How long do they need if ep3 was "supposed" to be a part of a 3 part story. See even you dont know that they canned it years ago. An yet, you still eat there bullshit. Its nothing to do with quality. They still have budgets and development dates. Do you really think they have been making ep3 for the last 7 years? If there really was a full story to be told through ep 1 -3 then we would have an ep3. I think they half arsed it, as can be said from playing ep1 and 2 and they couldnt be bothered. Released Orange box and called it a day. An really, apart from the nice graphics, the levels on HF2 were linear.

 

[IamLEAM1983]

See, your a valve fanboy. (that wasnt an insult)

No. That wasn't an insult. Of course not. Anybody who says otherwise is being a silly goose. Yes.

Damnit, where's my Deadpan Button when I need it?

OP, "fanboy" isn't a term you can throw around lightly. You *have* insulted 00slash00.

That said - let people like what they like. You might as well rail against EA all fucking day that you'd still find supporters who would claim to have seen absolutely nothing wrong with that company's business practices. You could rail against Bethesda for putting out buggy titles that people would defend them ceaselessly.

If I go by your logic, then I should call the guys at Cyan Worlds despicable sons of bitches because they haven't gone back to the Myst franchise in over ten years now, and are too busy pushing iOS ports of Myst, Riven and The Manhole to give a shit. They've put out a little iOS game called Stoneship about two or three years ago - and that's it!

I mean, they're obviously dicking with their fanbase, right? Right?!

Nope. They're not.

 

[ZeroMachine]

There's a big difference between "lying about their plans" and realizing that their plans were unrealistic.

In the mean time since that episode, we've gotten multiple great games from them, so I don't see any reason to hate them.

 

[major_chaos]

Don't bother OP, a fairly large portion of this forum is convinced that Valve is perfect (or damn close) I know from experience that daring to criticize Valve just results in a valve worship circle jerk.

 

[IamLEAM1983]

Way to misinterpret what I've said...

I said they *figured* releasing episodic content was doable. That doesn't imply a promise or some sort of engagement to the customer. They were wrong, other interests won out and, well, there you have it. Valve's now a company that prefers to seat its profits on TF2 hats and that only occasionally feels like pulling out some sort of full title.

Shifting priorities. Is that somehow evil? Is that some kind of betrayal of your perceived fan base?

Fuck, I'm waiting for HL3 like everyone else, but I'm having a ton of fun with TF2 and Portal 2 as-is! They'll work on HL3 when they damn well feel like it! They're not a publicly traded company, ergo they have no shareholders to push at their backs and clamor for whatever's currently popular.

If they did, Valve would be just another Brown Shooter breeding farm.

 

[00slash00]

so you hate valve because they havent released episode 3? people dont hate EA or Capcom because they dont release games fast enough, people hate them because of fucked up business practices and shit like that. thats why people let valve get away with the fact they they arent interested in making episode 3. your complaint doesnt seem to be that valve doesnt care about quality or that they treat you like a money dispenser instead of a gamer, your complaint seems to be that you love valve games so much, you wish there were more of them

See, your a valve fanboy. (that wasnt an insult) just that they are allowed to screw over their customers but no other company is allowed. They promised a 3 episode story, and just made 2. That was 6 years ago, do you think they are still working on it to make it a quality episode? They are not even making it. They have said this. If EA and capcom only promised a game and gave only 2/3rds of it. You would be bitching at them for that. Valve always gets a free pass.

valve fanboy (or rather, fangirl)? not really. i liked half life and portal but i never even played portal 2, or most of the games valve makes. im well aware they arent making episode 3 but i really just dont see it as screwing over customers. i think youre making a much bigger deal of this than it should be. fucking over customers would be exploiting them for financial gain. i cant think of any examples of valve doing that. i understand your complaint, that valve said they were making 3 games but stopped after 2, but thats not really comparable to EA or Activision, or Capcom. as i said, people hate those companies because of their exploitative business practices. value doesnt do that, as far as i know, so its not really a good comparison. i mean dont misunderstand, i think its really shitty that they just gave up on half life right being what seemed to be the conclusion, but do you really feel that trying to nickle and dime gamers for every little thing is as bad as deciding that theyre bored of half life and want to do something else? if so then i think we're at a stalemate

 

[secretkeeper12]

Don't bother OP, a fairly large portion of this forum is convinced that Valve is perfect (or damn close) I know from experience that daring to criticize Valve just results in a valve worship circle jerk.

The only circl-jerking I'm seeing is you and other Valve critics talking about how everyone here worships them and thinks they can do no wrong (even though no one defended them when the Federation of German Consumer Organizations threatened to sue). Lots of people do advocate for them, of course, but is that because they're biased or is Valve just that good?

As NiPah said:

It would help if the anti-valvers would actually spend some time to think up an argument which is not so easily shot down, all I've seen is shit comparisons that don't stand up to scrutiny and a bunch of people posting petty personal attacks on people who are fans of Valve. Like moths to a flame, every time someone posts something about how much they hate Valve you'll get 10 posting posting "people defend Valve because blah", doesn't matter how crap the original argument is, you always seem them.

 

[Chemical Alia]

I can't think of a single studio that would release information about a game before they feel they're ready to. What you have to understand is that their financial success puts them in a position that very few other game studios have, which is to produce games at their own pace/schedule, and to start, rework or even outright cancel games as they see fit. That's a luxury very few other studios even come close to having.

Personally, I don't mind waiting at all. They have high expectations to live up to, there's a console generation transition period right now, and they'll release the game when it's the product they're happy with. And I have no doubt it'll be awesome when they do.

 

[GAunderrated]

There's something seriously wrong with your world view if you think this is a big deal. The worst thing Valve have done is not yet release a video game. What kind of sheltered existence must you lead to be emotional, even hateful, about something like that? Gain some perspective.

You know what might have been worth getting upset over? If you'd put money down five years ago and still had nothing to show for it. That didn't happen. You haven't given Valve any money; they don't owe you anything. You haven't lost out by them not releasing this game.

It's posts like this that really make me wish the escapist had a rep function because you deserve a giant +.

If someone is hating on valve for not releasing a game when all the other big publishers and developers are plotting ways to screw you out of your money with always on DRM, Day1 DLC, and lovely microtransactions then you really do need to gain some perspective.

 

[GAunderrated]

I used to be pro Valve but have just gotten sick of them as of late.

#1 They stopped making the games I like, too many MP focused games and not enough SP games I like. Also I agree that HL3 is a fricking joke, it's one thing to not hype a game, but it's another to keep gamers in dark not knowing what the hell is going on. This blind faith in a delayed game = quaity will backfire in fans faces as when HL3 finally does come out there is going to be alot of massively disappointed ppl who hate the changes made or not made from HL2 gameplay. Time doesn't automatically equal quality when we have had ACM, Duke Nukem Forever and Diablo 3 which had much of the mechanics thrown out in beta. Infact it wouldn't surprise me if the current build of HL3 looks like DNF with a miss mash old old and new content.

#2 Greenlight has made it so I rarely buy indies from Steam nowadays as not a single game I've voted for has made it. Before Greenlight a good varied selection of games made it to steam, but nowadays Steam has grown more into this platform for Johnny come lately indies gamers, In the past it used to be just XBLA timed exclusives like FEZ and Dust but now the same is happening with PC indie game as games are on other PC stores for ages while on Steam the game is stuck on Greenlight. This has prompted me to buy my games from elsewhere rather than sit and twiddle my thumbs wondering if the game I want will win the digital equivalent of the X factor (which won't happen as I have niche tastes and don't give a hoot about trends and gimmicks).

#3 Imo Valve has gotten too big for it's boots and should be whipped into shape, but sadly most PC gamers are so in love with Valve and Steam that most criticism is white knighted or ignored. Yeah Valve "saved" PC gaming but that doesn't mean they're 100% infallible.

#4 Selling "Alpha" builds on Steam is BS

You know you can still love a company but still admit that they are not perfect. Everything isn't black or white where you have to be in one camp or another. So generalizing anyone who likes steam as thinking they are "infallible" is very short sighted.

I love steam but I will freely admit that steam doesn't have to try as hard as they used too (the last x-mas sale proved that) and that they do have some issues.

2. No one is happy with greenlight in its current state. Even the most hardcore fans know that system needs to be reworked. I don't buy that many indie games on steam anymore but I do buy it from their competitors and still play it on steam (amazon, Greenmangaming, indiegala).

4. This is my biggest gripe with steam after The War Z Scam. However, all it did was teach me to research games and not buy them on impulse even if they are indie games that my friends recommend.

 

[already in use]

The next half life game hasnt been announced yet
and valve has no obligation to deliver it in anything but their
own time. Maybe they are tired of making another sequel to their aging
franchise and make a cover based shooter instead, who knows? .
Its not like half like has a story of an epic scope that has to go on to not loose momentum,
just well rounded shooters with some weird vehicles sections in retroperspective.
Half life 3 or whatever is most likely gonna be announced sometime this decade
and then come out shortly after, no use waiting for it to happen.

 

[aguspal]

Valve are just kinda lucky IMO.


They had a strong streak of luck with stuff like Steam. I would like to see them without it.

Either way yes, they are overrated, but they are okey. They make good games, the few they make... Althougt I dont really like the time they take to make them. Its a bit ridiculous at times.

 

[Amir Kondori]

You weren't lied to. They tried the episodic thing and it didn't work out they way they thought it would. If you google you can find a quote where they said they were going to abandon the idea of quicker episodic releases and make Episode three a full length game.
That is why people love Valve, because they are willing to try new things and also willing to admit when those things don't work out and abandon them.
Valve hasn't "lied" about Episode three. Really I just can't believe how pissy people get about this STILL. Go play some other games. Don't buy Valve games. Moaning about it and talking about how they "lied to us gamers" is just petty and does not cast you in a good light.

 

[Amir Kondori]

They're a big, amoral company that cares about the bottom line and nothing else. I'm not really sure why you'd hold them to an inherently higher standard than, say, EA in the first place.

(Not that EA isn't demonstrably a worse company, but they're different quality grades of the same cheese, not different animals altogether.)

I actually have to disagree with you. While they are a company that cares about the bottom line I think a lot of time people confuse private and public companies. Public companies, by their very nature, have to pursue the bottom line. They have a duty to their shareholders to do so and if they do not the board will remove the people in charge and put in others who will maximize profits in whatever legal ways possible.

A private company can decide to give up short term gains if they think it will lead to long term benefits, like customer trust. Valve has demonstrated time and time again that they will give up short term profits to retain customer's trust. They have one of the best support records in the industry, and easily are first among companies of their size. They have had offers to be bought out as well but Gabe Newell as been very vocal about his desire to break up the company before seeing it bought up by a public company.

People love Valve because despite being a private company they have put a high value on consumer trust. That is a very rare thing in today's gaming industry.

 

[Lovely Mixture]

Don't bother OP, a fairly large portion of this forum is convinced that Valve is perfect (or damn close) I know from experience that daring to criticize Valve just results in a valve worship circle jerk.

I'd say if the criticism wasn't completely ridiculous and the thread titles weren't so obviously inciting (which of course is a rarity on the escapist for some unexplained reason) then the threads would go more smoothly.

Yes, you might have people who are convinced Valve is the 2nd coming of Christ. You might get apologists who will try to argue that Steam has always been good.

But when you get people going:

"Why do people hate EA's microtransactions but tolerate Valve's?" (ignoring the fact that the circumstances are pretty damn different)
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.408107-Why-do-People-love-Valve-so-much?page=1
or in this case

"Valve hasn't released their episodic content as scheduled, they lied! Why do they get a free pass but Bioware and Gearbox don't."

It's a bit hard to take seriously. Even for someone who doesn't think Valve's products are the holy grail.