too soon for hl3

[Elfgore]

Like a couple others have said, Half-Life 3 will be the victim of hype. Hype which it didn't cause. No matter what comes out, I strongly doubt it could ever meet what people have made it out to be. At this point, it would be best to just drop the series.

 

[GundamSentinel]

Personally I would like it best if there were no announcements, no info, no leaks, no hype, no pre-orders and all of a sudden one day HL3 is there in the stores. Would have me giggling all week.

 

[Alfador_VII]

I'm not going to believe in the existence of HL3 until it's installed on my hard drive and I'm playing the first level

Hope it happens in my life time.

 

[CrystalShadow]

Half Life 3 is going to disappoint people when it is released. No matter what it does those years of waiting, hoping, and anticipation will sour its taste more than poor gameplay ever could. Half Life and HL2 were revolutionary back in their days, each one changed its genre in some significant way and parts of them were still being copied by games until a couple of years ago. To match that impact, HL3 would have to usher in the next stage of its kind and I don't know how they're going to do that. Granted I've never sat down and considered what the next big advancement is going to be that HL3 could pioneer, but I really don't see what they can do that's new and so brilliant it hasn't been properly done before.

You can say good move Valve for never releasing HL3 because it'll never live up to the hype, but Half Life needs that closure or it'll always be the unanswered question. I know Valve seem less and less interested in actually making games these days, but they could at least make their fans aware of any progress (or none) on the HL3 front.

Valve have access to one of the best gameplay testing grounds in gaming, lots of indie games are released on Steam every month with new game mechanics and innovations. Could they monitor those for potential things to use in HL3? Obviously they'd have to fairly compensate the creators but they have access to this resource, use it Valve!

I think along those lines they could at least go the route of releasing HL2: episode 3.

It'd be a massive disappointment to everyone expecting something groundbreaking, but it at least would do something with the story, because leaving that ending around like that really messes things up.
(That's not to say you can't have an ending like that on purpose, but that means the end of half-life is basically the 'everybody dies, the heroes lose' moment... Which I would not have expected from a series like this to be perfectly honest.)

They could of course go full-on half-life 3, with a new engine, and try their best to make something as memorable as it's predecessors, but...
That has the obvious risks of failure that everyone already mentions, and could be worse than just tying up the story with a technically unremarkable final entry to the series...

 

[Fijiman]

Where did you hear about this? I need to watch it like a hawk, in case it turns out to be the prodigal franchise after all.

This is the closest thing I could find. "A Half Life 3 string was found in Dota 2 tools". Sounds about as crackpot as any other "proof".

http://thefusejoplin.com/2015/02/life-3-proof-happening/

Valve employees confirmed on twitter they are making reveals at two upcoming conventions

I saw the video you posted. It's just some guy wishfully interpreting the silence of one Valve employee. All that is known is that they will reveal something at GDC. For all we know it'll be a new hat for Team Fortress.

Correction, it will very likely be several new hats and maybe a new version of the conga line or something. I'd like to think that the following video is very accurate.

 

[thxforthelulz]

What odd timing. I just reinstalled HL2 a few hours ago, will be the first time I've played since 09. I see that steam has added achievements since then, this will be fun!

 

[Vigormortis]

My love for the series died years ago when Valve decided that giving us an ending to their "Empire Strikes Back" moment was just too much damn work for them.

Empire Strikes Back is an apt comparison for Episode 2, but having said that I'm having nightmarish thoughts of Half-Life 3 ending up like Return of the Jedi - right down to having something comparable to Ewoks.

Valve, PLEASE don't wrap up the series like that....

 

[Foehunter82]

People DO need to manage their expectations about HL3. It's not going to be groundbreaking, but I have no doubt it will be Half-Life. They need to end the series off already and be done with it.

Unfortunately, the length of time involved coupled with the hype leads me to the suspicion that if and when we finally do see Half-Life 3, it'll be a Duke Nukem Forever scenario.

snip

That's the beauty of the situation. They'll talk up and down about all the other projects they're working on, and to end it all off (as Valve leaves the stage), the lights will dim, the familiar Valve music will play, and the new HL3 logo will be put up on screen. Upon seeing this, the fans of Half-Life will soil themselves with excitement, and then we won't hear about it again for 3-5 years, all while the occasional hint is dropped in future projects.

 

[loa]

I'll care about it as much as I care about legacy of the void.
Too little too late.

 

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

A lot of people forget how long TF 2 took to make, and it was met with praise on release and is continually played to this day.

In contrast, it has only been 8 years or so since episode 2, so judging by Valve's past history, it is not impossible that it could take long to make HL3. A new generation of consoles and supposed rumours of a new engine wouldn't make this strange as a time of release either.

I'd just be glad if the game gets released, since I can generally rely on Valve for good shooter action. Even if it doesn't turn out to be digital Jesus, at the very least(as in, if they've spent only a year and a half developing it) it would be an above-average shooter in the vein of Wolfenstein The New Order, which I'd find thoroughly enjoyable.

 

[Vigormortis]

People DO need to manage their expectations about HL3. It's not going to be groundbreaking, but I have no doubt it will be Half-Life. They need to end the series off already and be done with it.

Unfortunately, the length of time involved coupled with the hype leads me to the suspicion that if and when we finally do see Half-Life 3, it'll be a Duke Nukem Forever scenario.

There's no reason to assume it can't be 'ground-breaking'. There's no guarantee that it will, but there's still the possibility that it could be.

I've never found the DN:F comparison to be fair. DN:F was doomed from the start. Constant budget concerns, numerous dev team switch-ups, constant change of management and project direction, it was stuck in IP/trademark hell for a while, and it went through a studio closure. Not to mention that it started out in the hands of a lackluster dev team and finished with Gearbox putting in the most minimal, half-assed effort they could muster.

They're not really equivalent situations.

That's the beauty of the situation. They'll talk up and down about all the other projects they're working on, and to end it all off (as Valve leaves the stage), the lights will dim, the familiar Valve music will play, and the new HL3 logo will be put up on screen. Upon seeing this, the fans of Half-Life will soil themselves with excitement, and then we won't hear about it again for 3-5 years, all while the occasional hint is dropped in future projects.

Egh, that's not their style.

Most of the "hints" that we've seen over the years were more fan or media speculation and unintentional leaks from within the studio.[footnote]Save for that one Valve employee who was photoed wearing a Half-Life 3 t-shirt.[/footnote] Valve themselves, beyond vaguely answering direct questions in a handful of interviews, haven't attempted to build any hype around the project.

What's more likely is that the title will just sort of show up on the Steam 'coming soon' list.

It's at that point that the internet will explode and I'll be grabbing the popcorn to watch the meltdown.

 

[Pyrian]

GDC is for developers, not end-users. So, news about Source 2, Steam, boxes, controllers, VR, and so on, would make more sense than announcing a game.

 

[DoPo]

GDC is for developers, not end-users. So, news about Source 2, Steam, boxes, controllers, VR, and so on, would make more sense than announcing a game.

[using the logic of the video posted before]
See, that's the thing - nobody expects Valve to announce Half-Life 3 then, so it would be the perfect moment for them to do so.
[/using the logic of the video posted before]

 

[tippy2k2]

My love for the series died years ago when Valve decided that giving us an ending to their "Empire Strikes Back" moment was just too much damn work for them.

Empire Strikes Back is an apt comparison for Episode 2, but having said that I'm having nightmarish thoughts of Half-Life 3 ending up like Return of the Jedi - right down to having something comparable to Ewoks.

Valve, PLEASE don't wrap up the series like that....

This just in from Valve! A new enemy type that will appear in Half Life 3!

Spoiler

Well, "technically" they didn't announce it but they haven't announced that it ISN'T an enemy!

 

[EXos]

What I hope will happen.

First they show off their new VR-system.
Then as a demo they run it on a steambox with Steam OS. Probably showing Portal 2 or L4D2 with two huge screen behind them. One showing the VR-goggle feed and one just normal wide screen.

After a quick play demo they start talking about Scource 2 and even start a tech demo on the Steambox. The demo looks great as they move through a level rendered in Source 2, showing off destructible environment and physic puzzle or the like.
Then at the end the screen will go wonky and the G-man will walk into view staring at the crowd as he talks. "You have rested long enough. Mister Freemen."

As the crowd stares at the screen the Half-life 3 logo will appear and while nobody was looking all the valve employees have ran off the stage.

After this GDC will explode as everybody from valve sneaks out the back.

But time will tell.

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

Im sure most gamers have learnt from Duke Nukem Forever, that time in development is not equal to the quality of the end product. Valve must be aware that such a past lesson would teach us to manage our hyped expections. The majority of posts i see about HL3 are along the lines of "It'll never be good enough" or "Valve knows they will never meet expectations, so they won't try."
You are all de-hyping yourselves. Self medicating and cushioning from any future blows. Was Duke Nukem that bad to you? That now you're so burned, you're too afraid to turn the heating on for even the coldest winter nights?
Valve ain't like the other guys, baby. He...er i mean they know how to treat you right. I know you still have those bad dreams and flinch at the slightest glimmer of hope, but Valve knows how to make all your past melt away like chocolate on a warm spoon!

 

[Phrozenflame500]

I think they're going to announce a new game, since they didn't release anything last year for the first time in a while.

Probably won't be HL3 though, and I'm fine with that. I'd prefer new IP anyways.

 

[JUMBO PALACE]

it can have pooled console and pc userbase

You're saying this as if that would be a good thing.

 

[Pinkamena]

You've just given me a terrible vision of Valve and Nintendo collaborating to make Team Fortress 2 and DotA2 Amiibo and cross-promotional DLC. I shudder at the amount of physical hats they would sell.

Hats would finally become fashion again! I'm all for this. I want meter high flaming hats to be commonsight in every city.

 

[Vigormortis]

This just in from Valve! A new enemy type that will appear in Half Life 3!

Spoiler

Well, "technically" they didn't announce it but they haven't announced that it ISN'T an enemy!

I would never get past whatever level they showed up in. I'd expend every round of ammunition I had trying to decimate each and every one of their corpses, leaving me helpless for the rest of the game.

Sick? Sure. More than a little twisted? Probably.

Absolutely necessary? Yes.