Honest Opinion on Half-Life 2

[Levenmouth]

So like where are all the games with great facial animations that aren't mocap

Mocap is better. It can look dumb, but HL2 characters consistently look like Mark Zuckerberg with Parkinsons.

So like where are all the games with great physics that aren't literally just that

Snowrunner. Objectively better physics than HL2 in every way.
Besides, physics in HL2 are literally "just that". It's a few puzzles ham-fisted into the game so that they can show off the engine. They don't even make interesting use of it like Tribes Ascend, and they don't even need to be there for the story or the remaining gameplay to work.

So like where are all the games with great visuals that don't look like they're glazed in fakesauce

Now you're just trolling. HL2 looks like fucking Pathalogic and not the new one.

Again, it was interesting when it came out, but nobody would be excited for any of the above points if it came out today.

 

[NecroLord]

Mocap is better.

But it can be expensive, dude. Better to save money on the game rather than wasting it on actors.
VTMB had good facial animations. Half-Life 2 also does.

 

[Lemming42]

The facial animation in HL2 was really good when it came out but idk if I'd say it's aged well. It looks like some Dreamworks shit. Especially on the 2007 Source Engine that Valve auto-"updated" HL2 to on Steam, where all the characters look like they're soaked in lotion.

 

[Levenmouth]

But it can be expensive, dude. Better to save money on the game rather than wasting it on actors.

It's significantly less expensive than having your animators add tiny subtle winkle animations whenever someone smiles. Given the low fidelity of faces in HL2, there wouldn't be much to add anyway, but maybe don't hire Gary Oldman if you want to cut costs.
You can also absolutely go for a caricature look, but that's beside the point.

 

[El Presidente]

Oops, I forgot the Codex delves into Reddit territory at every new HL2 thread (LOCAL CULTURE SAYS THIS IS BAD SO I SAY THIS IS BAD, PLS UPDOODS AND BADGES!!), time to press the unwatch button for the first time I've been here since 2008

Half-Life 2 is the worst thing ever!

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[NecroLord]

Oops, I forgot the Codex delves into Reddit territory at every new HL2 thread (LOCAL CULTURE SAYS THIS IS BAD SO I SAY THIS IS BAD, PLS UPDOODS AND BADGES!!), time to press the unwatch button for the first time I've been here since 2008

Half-Life 2 is the worst thing ever!

This
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Nice.
This guy _____s.
Logged in just to upvote this
Underrated comment
I know this will never be seen but
Why is this getting downvoted?
This will be downvoted to hell/buried but,
I found this gem
Am I the only one who
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ok boomer
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Give this man some gold
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Nice!

 

[Average Manatee]

Ravenholm proves that HL2 could have been a great game, the problem is that the other 80% of the game is dominated by gimmicks that detract from the core FPS experience.

Gravity Gun? Easily take cover with you wherever and the game specifically makes grenades very slow to explode and come with blinking lights so you can always throw them back. Game also comes with enemies designed to be trivialized by it (the drones with blades). Puzzles are for 60 IQ tards.
Car/Boat? Comes with an overpowered infinite ammo gun that trivializes everywhere.
Antlions? Shouldn't even have to talk about this, a whole level turns into an extended cutscene.
Endless AI allies? Honestly probably the least offensive since IIRC they kind of sucked.
Overpowered end game gravity gun? I mean, it just obviously makes the game stupidly easy.

The game is also short. If you take the 14 levels and subtract out the gimmicks and cutscenes you're left with maybe 4-5 levels worth of real FPS gameplay. There's Ravenholm, the intro level where you're running away, and like one level later in the game where the "gimmick" was that you could put up turrets to help you defend against waves of enemies, which is pretty inoffensive. Ravenholm also had its own gimmicks of course but the fact that it also had deadly aggressive enemies and the gimmicks felt natural meant it was still good. Outside of these 3 levels you get like one random pisseasy fight on foot with no allies or gimmicks to rely on every once in a while, then quickly get shuttled away to the next gimmick.

 

[NecroLord]

Ravenholm proves that HL2 could have been a great game, the problem is that the other 80% of the game is dominated by gimmicks that detract from the core FPS experience.

I, for one, liked Ravenholm.

 

[soutaiseiriron]

So like where are all the games with great facial animations that aren't mocap

hl2cuck be like: i sure do love playing my facial animation!!! straight fye!!!!
notice how he doesn't bring up gameplay, because half life 2 sucks COCK when it comes to gameplay.

So like where are all the games with great physics that aren't literally just that

it's havok, dog. it's not even implemented particularly great, just ok.
look here, and start going one by one https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Video_games_using_Havok

So like where are all the games with great visuals that don't look like they're glazed in fakesauce

it has good textures and pretty rough lighting. the game was outdone within a year in all respects.

 

[Average Manatee]

To expand a bit further:

- Delete the ~75% of levels reliant on gimmicks.
- Squish remaining content down to being the first 25% of the game and make new ones where non-FPS gameplay don't take up more than 10% of the game time.
- Add a few high tier enemies. Ideally for each enemy type (aliens/zombies/combine/antlions). One reason Ravenholm was good was that the fast poison zombie felt like the one enemy in the game that was actually threatening and scary.
- Add a few more high tech experimental weapons like HL1 had.
- Ramp up difficulty.

HL2 is now at least 8/10.

 

[octavius]

Oops, I forgot the Codex delves into Reddit territory at every new HL2 thread (LOCAL CULTURE SAYS THIS IS BAD SO I SAY THIS IS BAD, PLS UPDOODS AND BADGES!!), time to press the unwatch button for the first time I've been here since 2008

Half-Life 2 is the worst thing ever!

This
Came here to say this
Nice.
This guy _____s.
Logged in just to upvote this
Underrated comment
I know this will never be seen but
Why is this getting downvoted?
This will be downvoted to hell/buried but,
I found this gem
Am I the only one who
An upvote for you, good sir
You are a gentleman and a scholar
You magnificent bastard
ok boomer
This made me wheeze/snort
Give this man some gold
F's in the chat
Good doggo/pupper/boi
Username checks out
I did a thing
I made/did X I guess
Oof
Thanks hooman
Why are you booing me? I'm right!
I'm not crying, you're crying
I’m in this photo and I don’t like it
Take my <fucking> upvote
Same
Thanks, I hate it
M'lady / tips fedora
Someone give this man reddit gold
Edit: Thanks for the gold, kind stranger!
Anne Frankly I did nazi that coming
That escalated quickly
To the top with you!
Lost it at X
This is why we can't have nice things
Faith in humanity restored
Whoa
mind = blown
Manly tears were shed
Cutting onions
I know that feel, bro
Right in the feels
Risky click
Shots fired
Nailed it
You. I like you
I regret that I only have one upvote to give
Was not disappointed
Laughs in X
Wait, why do I have you tagged as X?
What did I just read?
Da fuq?
Weird flex but ok
What are you doing, stahp
For science!
That's enough internet for me today
x/10 would (not) Y
What is this I don't even?
How is this WTF? / How is this funny?
Circlejerk is leaking
Said no one ever
/s
/thread
This is my first post, please be gentle
Edit: wow I can't believe my top comment is about X
EDIT: Seriously front page? Thanks guys!
EDIT: Obligatory front page edit!!!
Are you me?
No, this is Patrick!
Directions unclear - dick stuck in X
I laughed way harder than I should have
Plot twist:
X here: can confirm / can confirm: am X/
your mom
Mom's spaghetti
[X intensifies]
rekt
Doctors/Moms/Etc HATE him/her
To be fair,
ITT
Relevant username
I have the weirdest boner right now
Would bang
I can fap to this
Sigh...unzips

How much XP do you get from fighting all those stawmen?

 

[Morenatsu.]

Mocap is better. It can look dumb, but HL2 characters consistently look like Mark Zuckerberg with Parkinsons.

And it's a waste of time for most games. If you're going to mocap every single piece of dialogue, might as well make a movie, why not. Unless it's a cutscene or something equally as in-your-face, why bother? But if you have something like in HL2, the computer can do it for you and that NPC that takes up 3% of your screen can have a working face. Of course, no one should expect a two decade old game to be as technically advanced as current year games, and yet there has been no advancement.

Snowrunner. Objectively better physics than HL2 in every way.
Besides, physics in HL2 are literally "just that". It's a few puzzles ham-fisted into the game so that they can show off the engine. They don't even make interesting use of it like Tribes Ascend, and they don't even need to be there for the story or the remaining gameplay to work.

Some driving game? Physics-focused games don't count, as I said. And no, untrue, completely. Again you are being a point-missing retard. If you think it doesn't need to be there, that's again the reason why tech that should have been improved upon was thrown out and ignored. I know the puzzles make codexers rage super hard at their existence, but that's a matter of level design and not the system itself. It makes the world feel more naturally interactive, and even though it's 'not even needed', why not do it. It's like saying half of the features of an immersive sim should be removed. HL2 isn't an immersive sim at all, but it feels no need to remove all interaction despite being a game where you run and shoot in a straight line to get to the next unskippable non-cutscene. But physics in any other game is just a purely visual effect, because consoles can't handle anything and neither can the developers. They don't want it interfering with their fake movies that don't want you to be able to do anything yourself at all.

Now you're just trolling. HL2 looks like fucking Pathalogic and not the new one.

Again, it was interesting when it came out, but nobody would be excited for any of the above points if it came out today.

Is that supposed to be a bad thing? Valve made some of the last games that had actual colours without being covered in Xbox grease and filters. No u

 

[Morenatsu.]

hl2cuck be like: i sure do love playing my facial animation!!! straight fye!!!!
notice how he doesn't bring up gameplay, because half life 2 sucks COCK when it comes to gameplay.

dont care nigger

it's havok, dog. it's not even implemented particularly great, just ok.
look here, and start going one by one https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Video_games_using_Havok

a list of games where physics don't matter? wow i'm so impressed

it has good textures and pretty rough lighting. the game was outdone within a year in all respects.

oh man hl2 sucks it doesnt have DYNAMIC SHADOWS. lmao lightmaps remain unmatched and forever will, even quake had better lighting than 99% of games after it

kys fgt

 

[9ted6]

Wasted potential, but it doesn't matter because it's dead now anyway.

 

[NecroLord]

Wasted potential, but it doesn't matter because it's dead now anyway.

Waiting for Half-Life 3 be like

As I always thought, It's never gonna happen (probably for the best).

 

[Tehdagah]

Both Half Life 1 and 2 are boring. The best things about them are the mods.

 

[luj1]

Thread title.
What is your honest opinion on Half-Life 2? Is it better than the original? Is it guilty of opening the way for scripted cinematic bullshit in FPS games?

Personally, I find it pretty good, not better than the original, of course, but it has some cool moments. The Grav Gun is OK, I can see how using tools found in your environments can be used to kill enemies. The scripted scenes do get on my nerves however. Voice acting is great, facial animations are really good, as per Source Engine (VTMB as well).

Anyway, what do YOU think?

HL1 is a cult game which took shooters in a story direction


previously i was a big fan of quake (wolf3d was my first pc game)


my best friend who is a prestigious connoisseur like me, claims HL2 is a must play before you die (and I believe him)

 

[JarlFrank]

Besides, physics in HL2 are literally "just that". It's a few puzzles ham-fisted into the game so that they can show off the engine. They don't even make interesting use of it like Tribes Ascend, and they don't even need to be there for the story or the remaining gameplay to work.

Yeah HL2 is basically a tech demo for their engine, which was admittedly amazing for the time and still holds up well enough today.

But as a game, it never really went beyond "let's show off all the cool things our engine is capable of!"

 

[potatojohn]

HL1 is and was a great game.

HL2 was also very good. The levels, enemies and weapons are more boring. There's an increased focus on characters, but they all just speak in millennial quips and have no personality (or the same personality).

HL2 expansions are forgettable IMO.

 

[JamesDixon]

Thread title.
What is your honest opinion on Half-Life 2? Is it better than the original? Is it guilty of opening the way for scripted cinematic bullshit in FPS games?

Personally, I find it pretty good, not better than the original, of course, but it has some cool moments. The Grav Gun is OK, I can see how using tools found in your environments can be used to kill enemies. The scripted scenes do get on my nerves however. Voice acting is great, facial animations are really good, as per Source Engine (VTMB as well).

Anyway, what do YOU think?

HL1 is a cult game which took shooters in a story direction


previously i was a big fan of quake (wolf3d was my first pc game)


my best friend who is a prestigious connoisseur like me, claims HL2 is a must play before you die (and I believe him)

You misspelled linear path...

 

[Ash]

Of course it's not even debatable that HL2's engine was impressive. HOWEVER, the benchmark will always, for me, be big complex levels featuring 100s of monsters like the good ole days. And no modern game engine can handle that alongside all the graphics whoring everyone pushes so hard. Some have forever blamed consoles for the decline, but that just ain't the reality. The reality is graphics whoring. "Boo hoo sexbox, Invisible War was shit, linear tiny maps, low object count!" And? That's exactly what Doom 3 and HL2 were too, which were fricken PC tech demos meant to demonstrate the peak of what was achievable at the time. Dumb fucks. The so-called "console design" awfulness that wasn't even a thing until the 2000s was all shit envisioned by PC devs too. Gears of War, Invisible War, Halo. Regen health, Objective Markers, Vita Chambers. And then some. Sellout PC devs all responsible during the hostile takeover of the console market in the 00s. Play a 90s console game they do not feature such things. tons of glorious games that rival the PC offerings in quality. Most notable of them were brutally difficult (more so than the average PC game), and many pushed design + tech boundaries in their own right.

 

[NecroLord]

HOWEVER, the benchmark will always, for me, be big complex levels featuring 100s of monsters like the good ole days.

Doom slaughter maps.

 

[Ash]

Nah. I'm not really a fan of those because they largely turn doom into simple arena shooters and quicksave/load spam, significantly diluting the complexity of Doom's level design and leaning mostly into the combat which alone is great but not without wanting*. Well, I should clarify, I am a fan, but in moderation. Take Doom 2 for example: 30 whatever maps, but just a few are arena shooter-like for variety such as the final level, O of death or Dead Simple.

I do like slaughter wads and I even like Doom eternal, I just think Doom (well, all FPS really) should be more than that. But both are valid and fun styles nonetheless.

*I only speak of the slaughterwads I have played though. Not too many. Maybe there are some that keep the level design focus. Secrets, navigation challenge, tricks and traps, complex interconnectivity, wide variety of smaller (and bigger) combat rooms with unique setup, all that good stuff.

 

[Dr1f7]

my honest opinion of hl2 is that the grav gun is cool af and it's a tragedy that running through the whole game flinging toilets at people isn't really viable

 

[Morenatsu.]

Old games barely even have more than a hundred enemies per level, and usually not even that.