Honest Opinion on Half-Life 2

[430am]

My honest opinion is that I honestly loved it, I don't care what anyone says. Especially for all the side user-made content like mods, maps, custom gamemodes. Gmod 9 back in like 2007, awesome mods like The Hidden, custom stuff on CS:S back when it still felt like and was new, HL2DM, fun maps on Obsidian Conflict, and so on. It's left behind a big legacy.

 

[Levenmouth]

Being a coomer isn't an excuse for hating HL2

But coomer videos made by a guy who’s been edging for the past six hours making a better use of the physics engine than HL2 is.

 

[NecroLord]

Being a coomer isn't an excuse for hating HL2

But coomer videos made buy a guy who’s been edging for the past six hours making a better use of the physics engine than HL2 is.

This reminds me of that infamous mod where that german guy turned Alyx into a brazilian pornstar or somesuch.
Ugh....

 

[Semiurge]

 

[Levenmouth]

Is there also a version where she's not dressed as a hobo?

 

[NecroLord]

Yes, that's the one.

 

[Ash]

whoa. She has a really tall, inhuman abdomen. Note the space between her tits and her pelvis.

 

[Ismaul]

whoa. She has a really tall, inhuman abdomen. Note the space between her tits and her pelvis.

just enough for muh dick, amirite?

 

[Icewater]

FULLY

MODELLED

 

[Levenmouth]

Clearly a very old mod. No bulge.

 

[Ravielsk]

Anyway, what do YOU think?

I think way too many people forget that the Half-Life 2 we got is essentially an abridged version of what Valve was making. Because the game got leaked in 2003 Valve scrapped huge chunks of what they had been working and retooled what they could to make it distinct from the leaked beta.
Just for example in the beta the combine were explicitly stated to have come to Earth to strip it of its natural resources, in the released version its not even entirely clear whether the combine are even aliens and what exactly they want with earth is even more opaque.
Same with level design, the beta had a very heavy gothic industrial look to it which the final game replaced with commie blocks. Which while still oppresive in nature makes for a fairly repetitive and boring environments.

Point is the leaked beta is from 2003 but in comparison with the finished 2004 game it may be an whole different game altogether. Meaning the changes and reworks must have been really extensive. As an end result is it any surprise that the actual gameplay of Half-Life 2 is kinda meh? The tech is certainly impressive and to this day looks good but the actual game used to sell it is essentially a abridged version of what it was supposed to be.

This becomes extra obvious when you compare the base game and episodes 1 and 2. Not only do they reuse elements from the leaked beta but are also far more... "eloquent" in what they do. Gameplay wise the episodes are just better on almost every front and the story is not only better delivered but is actually eventful enough that no level feels like filler.
Speaking of episodes I would say that the biggest issue harming the perception of half-life 2 as a whole is that its a game without an ending. A good finish can salvage even a mediocre game and by that same metric a bad ending can ruin even the best of games. HL is somewhere in the middle of that scale with a bunch of cliffhangers and no real ending in sight. I think that if the actual third episode got released the general perception of the game would be far better.

 

[d1r]

FULLY

MODELLED

FERNS!

 

[NecroLord]

Anyway, what do YOU think?

I think way too many people forget that the Half-Life 2 we got is essentially an abridged version of what Valve was making. Because the game got leaked in 2003 Valve scrapped huge chunks of what they had been working and retooled what they could to make it distinct from the leaked beta.
Just for example in the beta the combine were explicitly stated to have come to Earth to strip it of its natural resources, in the released version its not even entirely clear whether the combine are even aliens and what exactly they want with earth is even more opaque.
Same with level design, the beta had a very heavy gothic industrial look to it which the final game replaced with commie blocks. Which while still oppresive in nature make for a fairly repetitive and boring environments.

Point is the leaked beta is from 2003 but in comparison with the finished 2004 game it may be an whole different game altogether. Meaning the changes and reworks must have been really extensive. As an end result is it any surprise that the actual gameplay of Half-Life 2 is kinda meh? The tech is certainly impressive and to this day looks good but the actual game used to sell it is essentially a abridged version of what it was supposed to be.

This becomes extra obvious when you compare the base game and episodes 1 and 2. Not only do they reuse elements from the leaked beta but are also far more... "eloquent" in what they do. Gameplay wise the episodes are just better on almost every front and the story is not only better delivered but is actually eventful enough that no level feels like filler.
Speaking of episodes I would say that the biggest issue harming the perception of half-life 2 as a whole is that its a game without an ending. A good finish can salvage even a mediocre game and by that same metric a bad ending can ruin even the best of games. HL is somewhere in the middle of that scale with a bunch of cliffhangers and no real ending in sight. I think that if the actual third episode got released the general perception of the game would be far better.

You know what, I rather like Episode Two, now that you've mentioned them. One does tend to get on my nerves, but the Citadel Reactor is pretty cool

 

[Ash]

Proud to say I've never played the episodes, and everyone that has is suspect. Base game was mediocre so why would you want more mediocrity?

 

[janior]

Proud to say I've never played the episodes, and everyone that has is suspect. Base game was mediocre so why would you want more mediocrity?

episodes are much better than the base game

 

[NecroLord]

Proud to say I've never played the episodes, and everyone that has is suspect. Base game was mediocre so why would you want more mediocrity?

episodes are much better than the base game

For one, they are shorter.
I thought the base game did drag for quite a while, it's longer than it should've been.

 

[Morenatsu.]

I think way too many people forget that the Half-Life 2 we got is essentially an abridged version of what Valve was making. Because the game got leaked in 2003 Valve scrapped huge chunks of what they had been working and retooled what they could to make it distinct from the leaked beta.

This is entirely false. The leaked beta is just an extremely bare-bones version of the final game, which they had already started working on almost a year before the leak. Even before that, most of the early concepts were already being toned down quite a lot.

I mean, the game was already shown at E3, and the amount of stuff that the leak could have spoiled is not actually that high considering how much of the game simply didn't exist at that point. It's weird how this rumour has stuck around so long when even just a few minutes of checking anything would show otherwise.

 

[Chanel Oberlin]

I liked it at the time of release but I tried replaying it not long ago and couldn't be bothered to finish it. The fact that the combine enemies were so spongy and didn't react to my shots bothered me greatly. The weapons minus the gravity gun and the crossbow felt unsatisfactory to use.

 

[Average Manatee]

You thought combine were spongy? Shotgun can take them out instantly at close range, quickly at mid range, headshots with anything do it really quickly. I thought they were fairly appropriate on that front. And the ragdolling when you throw shit at them/pop them in the head with the magnum/kill with the crossbow is still quite satisfying. My only complaint about the combine is that the higher tier version isn't really an improvement except that it has the bouncing ball of fuck you instant kill that if shot is basically RNG whether it misses you or causes an immediate quickload.

The marines in HL1 were way more spongy and took a ton of bullets to take down, arguably a bit too many.

 

[Lemming42]

I mean, the game was already shown at E3, and the amount of stuff that the leak could have spoiled is not actually that high considering how much of the game simply didn't exist at that point. It's weird how this rumour has stuck around so long when even just a few minutes of checking anything would show otherwise.

I've always been suspicious of the rumour that the whole game was thrown out because some German kid hacked them, but at the same time it's really odd how they did so much work on the beta verison of the game and created a very striking visual aesthetic, had a clear tone in mind, and a whole story written out, only to suddenly make an 11th-hour shift to something (IMO) much more boring and toned down.

Has anyone at Valve ever explained the sudden change in direction? It's even weirder because you can still occasionally see bits of the beta story left over in the finished game, but in a way that doesn't make sense anymore, like the ocean clearly having receded in the coast chapters but without any explanation since the plot of the Combine taking Earth's resources is no longer in the game.

 

[Ravielsk]

I mean, the game was already shown at E3, and the amount of stuff that the leak could have spoiled is not actually that high considering how much of the game simply didn't exist at that point. It's weird how this rumour has stuck around so long when even just a few minutes of checking anything would show otherwise.

I've always been suspicious of the rumour that the whole game was thrown out because some German kid hacked them, but at the same time it's really odd how they did so much work on the beta verison of the game and created a very striking visual aesthetic, had a clear tone in mind, and a whole story written out, only to suddenly make an 11th-hour shift to something (IMO) much more boring and toned down.

Has anyone at Valve ever explained the sudden change in direction? It's even weirder because you can still occasionally see bits of the beta story left over in the finished game, but in a way that doesn't make sense anymore, like the ocean clearly having receded in the coast chapters but without any explanation since the plot of the Combine taking Earth's resources is no longer in the game.

Let's not downplay what happened. The kid did not leak some pre-alpha build from 2001(there were some levels from that time included though) he leaked the full work in progress game to the internet. At that point Valve could not really release just a bit more polished version of said beta because not only it would invite unfavorable comparisons with the beta(the potential of what could have been will always outstrip what is) but also because at that point they would be essentially charging 60 bucks for a level pack to something most already played or have at least been spoiled about.

The leak was really no different from Valve accidentally releasing the full game on a demon disc(as sometimes happened with PSX games in the past). And therefore they can never openly admit this. Never ever will anyone admit that they had to rapidly overhaul the game because they got hacked. Not only does it sound and look absolutely terrible but it also invites more attacks like that when you admit it worked.

Sure, internally I am 100% there was more to the sudden pivot than just the hack. But the leak was definitely the final nail in the coffin that forced Valves hand.

 

[Morenatsu.]

Let's not downplay what happened. The kid did not leak some pre-alpha build from 2001(there were some levels from that time included though) he leaked the full work in progress game to the internet. At that point Valve could not really release just a bit more polished version of said beta because not only it would invite unfavorable comparisons with the beta(the potential of what could have been will always outstrip what is) but also because at that point they would be essentially charging 60 bucks for a level pack to something most already played or have at least been spoiled about.

The leak was really no different from Valve accidentally releasing the full game on a demon disc(as sometimes happened with PSX games in the past). And therefore they can never openly admit this. Never ever will anyone admit that they had to rapidly overhaul the game because they got hacked. Not only does it sound and look absolutely terrible but it also invites more attacks like that when you admit it worked.

Sure, internally I am 100% there was more to the sudden pivot than just the hack. But the leak was definitely the final nail in the coffin that forced Valves hand.

The build in question:


Most of the actually existent content in this was in the final game. What everyone thinks of when they think of HL2 beta is the WC map pack, which has many, many maps from across three years of development, not just 'some'.

Has anyone at Valve ever explained the sudden change in direction? It's even weirder because you can still occasionally see bits of the beta story left over in the finished game, but in a way that doesn't make sense anymore, like the ocean clearly having receded in the coast chapters but without any explanation since the plot of the Combine taking Earth's resources is no longer in the game.

Um, I'm pretty sure the lack of water counts as being 'in the game'.

 

[Lemming42]

Um, I'm pretty sure the lack of water counts as being 'in the game'.

Sure, but it doesn't connect to anything. You could try to paint it as an exciting eerie mystery or "environmental storytelling" or w/e, but since we know that it was actually a full plot point previously, and there's otherwise no mention or even suggestion in the released version's story of that still being the case, it seems more like an odd holdover. If they're still meant to be stealing Earth's resources, you'd think someone would mention it at some point, or that the outrage of the drained ocean would be a rallying point for the resistance when it kicks off, or that you'd come across some kind of machinery designed for that purpose (akin to AirEx, also cut from the game). Especially weird since Earth's biosphere is totally fine otherwise, and there's no need for the gasmasks and such from the alpha/beta. The Combine are apparently just stealing water. Why?

It's one of the things I really don't get, along with the removal of the clearly-alien Combine variants, like the weird slug soldier and the "Alien Assassin". They had some good ideas and some distinctive visuals, and they decided at the last minute "nah, let's ditch our whole plot and make the antagonists human men in gasmasks". No matter how good the hacker kid was, it's still such a confusing move.

 

[NecroLord]

Shame you never faced an Advisor in combat. However, if they are like anything shown in Episode Two, then it's probably for the best, they could've been boss type enemies.

 

[Morenatsu.]

Sure, but it doesn't connect to anything. You could try to paint it as an exciting eerie mystery or "environmental storytelling" or w/e, but since we know that it was actually a full plot point previously, and there's otherwise no mention or even suggestion in the released version's story of that still being the case, it seems more like an odd holdover. If they're still meant to be stealing Earth's resources, you'd think someone would mention it at some point, or that the outrage of the drained ocean would be a rallying point for the resistance when it kicks off, or that you'd come across some kind of machinery designed for that purpose (akin to AirEx, also cut from the game). Especially weird since Earth's biosphere is totally fine otherwise, and there's no need for the gasmasks and such from the alpha/beta. The Combine are apparently just stealing water. Why?

It's one of the things I really don't get, along with the removal of the clearly-alien Combine variants, like the weird slug soldier and the "Alien Assassin". They had some good ideas and some distinctive visuals, and they decided at the last minute "nah, let's ditch our whole plot and make the antagonists human men in gasmasks". No matter how good the hacker kid was, it's still such a confusing move.

You could ask why about anything the Combine do, cut or uncut, and you still wouldn't really get a clear answer. Air Exchange was already being cut in 2002, I think? And they were already going to be mostly guys in gas masks from very early on. And it isn't confusing to cut things that haven't really been worked on. Besides, there are still obviously alien things in the game anyway.

Also actual climate change and nobody cares and it doesnt matter lmao