Where is Half Life 2 Episode 3!?

[Woodsey]

It will be out when it's done.

On to what you said:

I don't get what you said about Alyx - at all.

And your reasons for calling the game "filler" are ridiculous.

Going to Ravenholm was to shake things up a bit - is most of CoD4 "filler" because you spend half the time crashing in vehicles?

Is most of GTA IV "filler" because you spend most of the time driving everywhere?

Oh, and this makes no sense: "(This is the least noticeable instance of filler, because if not for that train wreck at the beginning you wouldn't need the car in the first place)"

That's like saying "If the Joker hadn't of escaped Batman could of locked him up and this would have wrapped up the story a lot quicker ."

WHAT?!

I'd imagine it's called something like a "setup" which gives you the starting point of the problem, which is sort of what you need to then play the game.

And once you've saved Alyx it gives way to a pretty important plot-point.

You've basically missed the entire point of the game, which is pretty impressive.

 

[VashDaBest]

Well, honestly. I would rather a development studio take as long as they need. If you watch the mod Black Mesa: Source, they've been hounded by their fan base for release dates. And they've always said; "When it's done." So honestly, if Valve wants to take their time with Half life 2: Episode 3, then that is perfectly fine with me. If it's awesome, great. If it's not, then the "what were you doing while you were supposed to be making this game great *HINT HINT 3D REALMS*" argument comes in.

EDIT: And why do you type out "Aboot?"

 

[VashDaBest]

Half life 2 is bad and shit because you have to do a whole bunch of shit i.e you can't walk down a road straightforwardly, you have to take a few detours. This is filler according to me.

Every.Fucking.Game.Ever.Is.Like.That

You tried though.

Ein has a point.

 

[dududf]

I'll tell you where its not...on my "must buy" list.

Fuck you Valve. Other developers make good games that don't take 15 years to make. Episode 3 is going to end up like Duke Nukem Forever at this point.

Hold up a tic, it's only been 2 years since episode 2. Yes I know they are episodic games and should be released more frequently, but just treat it as a normal game and you're patience rises
_____________________________________________
OP Best be trolling.
Or an attention whore, what ever works in the end.

On a side note I finally watched "Pulp Fiction"... Horay.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

I'll tell you where its not...on my "must buy" list.

Fuck you Valve. Other developers make good games that don't take 15 years to make. Episode 3 is going to end up like Duke Nukem Forever at this point.

Hold up a tic, it's only been 2 years since episode 2. Yes I know they are episodic games and should be released more frequently, but just treat it as a normal game and you're patience rises

Then don't make them episodic. I'm not going to suddenly treat it as an full game, when its meant to be an episode. This game better be the second coming of Jesus, or else I'm just going to kill Valve. And it better be at least a 8 hours at this point. I don't want the 3 hours of Episode 1, or the 5 hours of Episode 2.

 

[TheDoctor455]

i heard a while ago though that there were learing sign language for the game though its pretty much left4dead's fault why we have to wait

And all of those pointless Team Fortess 2 updates. Now, I will admit its nice to see a company stick with a game for more than 6 months, but after a while this just gets ridiculous.

 

[JPRanger]

Its called developing a story...there really isnt any argument here, its just one whiney asshole trying to draw attention to himself. Let us remember that a VIDEO GAME is something meant to entertain and occupy.. having a real STORY involved in a video game has only started rather recently. DOOM and Duke Nukem were both amazing games in there day without hardly any story what so ever. It basiclly came down to OMG SCARY PIG THING SHOOT SHOOT SHOOT!! ..point is if you dont agree with there story telling..dont play the game.. but coming onto here bitching is pointless..because your obviously the minority here. HALF:LIFE has been going on for a veryyy long time..all of its expansions, mods etc. ..all of them exist because HALF:LIFE MAKES MONEY... trying the fight there proven formula for a game on a forum is retarded..just stop.

 

[Nomanslander]

I don't know...

I think we've seen the best Valve has to offer with HL and it can only go downhill from here.

So I careless as big a HL fan as I might be.

Plus that whole Vortigaunts overpowering the G-man thing just didn't sit right with me, because now we see a weakness in him.....what's next is the explanation of who he is and who he works for, these are some of those mysteries best kept as a "mystery," and if episode 3 tries to explain it...=/

 

[JPRanger]

I don't know...

I think we've seen the best Valve has to offer with HL and it can only go downhill from here.

So I careless as big a HL fan as I might be.

Plus that whole Vortigaunts overpowering the G-man thing just didn't sit right with me, because now we see a weakness in him.....what's next is the explanation of who he is and who he works for, these are some of those mysteries best kept as a "mystery," and if episode 3 tries to explain it...=/

I share your concerns, every good story reaches a point where it gets very.."delicate"..or in other words..easily fucked up if continued wrong. Valve deffinetly succeded in creating one of the most amazing gaming experiences in recent history...and if anyone is capable of continuing this story in a compelling way..its them..and I reallyyy hope they dont butcher it.

 

[hermes]

Yes, but there is a difference between complications and filler.
Complications: Events that create tension and action.
Filler: Complications that take you away from the plot.
For example, the combine attacking a missile silo is a complication. Needed to spend an hour doing something unrelated to the main plot is filler.

Under that assumption, wouldn't everything that happened between the teleporter malfunctioning to you reuniting with the resistance (about 80% of the game) be a giant filler?
I think you are confusing filler with plot twist: something that changes the direction of the main plot.

 

[hermes]

And BehattedWanderer: The fact that Valve keeps their story simple and based around only a few characters doesn't mean that there is little story to their game. If you want "lots" of story, play Metal Gear. Go ahead, be happy with your 8 hours of passive cutscenes. Game stories have to be simple, or so constructed that they don't get too confusing but still staying deep á la Bioshock.

And then you use Half Life 2 as an example? A game whose ending made little sense this side of noby noby boy in years? And still not explained two games after?

 

[duchaked]

duke nukemed forvered.

ouch haha

hmmm good point with the stuff being "filler"
didn't notice that lol
but I suppose ValvE is hoping Left4Dead1-2 are keeping us busy in the meantime

 

[dududf]

I'll tell you where its not...on my "must buy" list.

Fuck you Valve. Other developers make good games that don't take 15 years to make. Episode 3 is going to end up like Duke Nukem Forever at this point.

Hold up a tic, it's only been 2 years since episode 2. Yes I know they are episodic games and should be released more frequently, but just treat it as a normal game and you're patience rises

Then don't make them episodic. I'm not going to suddenly treat it as an full game, when its meant to be an episode. This game better be the second coming of Jesus, or else I'm just going to kill Valve. And it better be at least a 8 hours at this point. I don't want the 3 hours of Episode 1, or the 5 hours of Episode 2.

Eep!

Hypno Toad is displeased! Run for the Hills Run for the Cellars! Run away!

(Not being sarcastic, just want to defuse the anger of zee hypnotoad before it makes me into a stool.)

 

[JPRanger]

Every week some obnoxious Valve fanboy makes that thread convinced it will make Valve release it tomorrow or something. I however have figured out what is taking them so long, hopefully this will put an end to that thread topic.

I recently played through the entirety of Half Life 2 and it's episodes in the interest of backing up my opinions because one my friends insisted that 2 hours of gameplay was not enough to label the entire game as "Meh" (Turns out he was wrong.)

Those of you who want episode 3: They would be done with the series if 90% of Half Life 2 weren't padding. Think aboot it: You are aboot to teleport to the next part of the story? Nope, headcrab screws it up and you need to go through that annoying hovercarft part. You are aboot to kick some Combine ass with the Shoehorned in physics gun? ("We made a physics engine, and we are going to make you care!") Rubble blocks your way and you need to run through Ravenholm. I forget the reason you needed to use that dune buggy that steered like gremlins were wrestling over the wheel but I am fairly certain that was filler as well. Those are the most noticeable instances in the first part.

Episode one has the least filler with the only part that distinctly stood out as filler being the underground zombie part.
Episode 2 is basically filler until you get to that obnoxious sticky bomb part. *Train gets de-railed* Looks like you have to walk. Alyx is mauled and now you need to save her for some reason despite the much more likeable generic soldiers (Because they don't make stupid puns like "Zombines", and don't get in your way on narrow pathways as much.) being killed off left and right, so you have to go to this base located in the middle of an antlion nest(What idiot thought that would be a good spot for a base?). Whats that? You need to journey to the heart of an antlion nest to find a macguffin needed to save that unlikeable sidekick. Now you need to find a car. (This is the least noticeable instance of filler, because if not for that train wreck at the beginning you wouldn't need the car in the first place) Then you actually start advancing the plot again.

If Valve weren't so dedicated to their filler, they could have finished the Half Life series, noticed that the only thing they excel at is puzzles, and turned their focus to puzzle games.

What are your thoughts?

Edit: Also, it has only been 2 years since episode 2. There is a longer wait for Mario games.

If you don't like HL 2 it doesn't mean its a bad game, most of the world thinks differently, as you can see from reviews and awards, and all the people praising it. If you want the entire story to end in 2 hours with nothing going wrong, go to the cinema and see a movie. Its a video game and the longer it is the better it is. I think its taking so long cause they are making it much longer than EP 2, and because L4D took off so well so no one wants to stop milking that just yet.

now this guy has the right idea, a video game isnt supposed to be quick... and without plot twists that you keep dubbing "filler" it would end to fast and be a terrible game. Just because your not going straight to the primary objective in a game doesn't mean its bad... now sure there are of course bad ways to go about making a plot twist but I think that valve did a great job, I liked the canal and driving chapters...I thought they were a nice change up to the usual encounter after encounter in the Half:Life games.

 

[Superior Mind]

What the OP deems to be "filler" for the most part I deem to be "pacing". Look, you can just have gameplay event followed by gameplay event a'la a game like Call of Duty, (pick one,) for the most part it works well enough but if you want to introduce a player to a world, a situation, a coherant story then you can't just blindside them with a whole lot of events that they have to gun their way through.

Take the movie/game comparison that I like so much. If a movie got rid of all it's "filler" you'd have a film like, I don't know, "Crank" - which is fun right but you wouldn't call it a good film by any means. Single-player games also have a story to tell and if it tells it in a slew of gameplay events then you may get a fun game but not neccesarily a good one - and to be honest there's a lot of "Crank" games around. It gets boring.

 

[LWS666]

well, they're still making updates for TF2, they had to arange a free weekend and an update for it not too long ago, and the haloween maps and models aswell.
and L4D2, and DLC for L4D2.

they've actually been quite busy.

also, vavle aren't that bad at adding filler. take the original half life (my personal favorite), at the part with the three big green tentacles. they could have just made it "go down this pit" but they put a big thing in the way and made you wander miles around the compound to start a rocket engine to kill the thing. none of it seemed crowbar'd in or un-nessasery. i wish the bosses in other HL games were like that, as opposed to "shoot the big thing for a while, then kill two clones morre". note, i am refering to the antlion guard.

 

[LiquidGrape]

I resent this perception of what constitutes "filler".
Judging by your rhetoric; any given narrative device which attempts to draw a complete arch is nothing but padding.
Myself, I think that Half-Life 2 is a minutely paced experience, and the best example of what interactive storytelling is capable of.
We must remember that any attempt at presenting the player with a linear story within an interactive context is something of an oxymoron.
The progression of things depend on the players ability or, indeed, will to press on.
In this aspect Half-Life 2 excels; as it is teeming with sympathetic characters and beautifully designed vistas to inspire gameplay - and story.

 

[Dr.Sean]

I'd like to speak to the OP on a personal level, troll-to-troll. Half-Life 2 Episode 3 is most-likely coming out in America, Canada, Mexico, Russia, England, Germany, and every other country America didn't embargo that isn't Australia. I responded to the question presented in the thread's title, therefore we should all leave the thread, because the thread wasn't about when it's coming out, it's about where it's coming out.

 

[YuheJi]

I'd like to speak to the OP on a personal level, troll-to-troll. Half-Life 2 Episode 3 is most-likely coming out in America, Canada, Mexico, Russia, England, Germany, and every other country America didn't embargo that isn't Australia. I responded to the question presented in the thread's title, therefore we should all leave the thread, because the thread wasn't about when it's coming out, it's about where it's coming out.

Or you could argue that it is in Valve's offices in Washington.