Half-Life 2: Episode Four

Megalith

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Is it weird that we seem to know more about Episode Four than Episode Three? The story is that there were a couple of Half-Life spin-offs in development that were eventually cancelled; this was Arkane Studios’ version: "Return to Ravenholm."

…these new screenshots come to us via the personal portfolio of Robert Wilinski, a Senior Environment Artist at Arkane Studios between 2007 and 2008, who was likely an important component within the "Return to Ravenholm" and "The Crossing" projects. A deeper discussion of these screenshots can be found in the Spotlight Exclusive episode listed above.
 
Sadly - Valve has no real reason to release even a single further game. Steam is such a lucrative revenue stream - they have no real need to do so.

It does make me a little sad that we will likely never see another installment with Gordon though.
 
Third post in a Half-Life thread...

HL3 CONFIRMED!
 
Valve really need to get the thumb out, people have been screaming for more from the half life series especially after the cliffhanger we were left on. Its really getting farcical how they virtually ignore any question on the subject, nice way to treat the fanbase that made you. =/
 
Valve really need to get the thumb out, people have been screaming for more from the half life series especially after the cliffhanger we were left on. Its really getting farcical how they virtually ignore any question on the subject, nice way to treat the fanbase that made you. =/

its been so long i dont even remember how ep2 ended.
 
its been so long i dont even remember how ep2 ended.

It's been longer since Ep2 than it was between the release of HL1 and HL2.

I wish they'd at least confirm that they're planning to release a followup or have abandoned the series.
 
It's been longer since Ep2 than it was between the release of HL1 and HL2.

I wish they'd at least confirm that they're planning to release a followup or have abandoned the series.

GabeN Said a few years back (off the cuff) that HL3 was still in development, but not in any major way. It's still on the cards, but it's not at all a priority.
 
Well thanks for ruining it for the people who has not played the series yet..... Sheesh :rolleyes:

Honestly for Valve to release HL3 would be a HORRIBLE HORRIBLE IDEA. It could never live up to the hope & expectations people have of the series.
 
yeah -- i bought into that episode crap... and then just got left hanging.

Fuck em'

Same here. I bought the first Sin episode, then the dev, Ritual Entertainment, went to casual games and like Valve with HL, basically abandoned the series.
 
Old man died.

Young girl Cried.

G man Lied.

I laughed! That's pretty much what I can recall from the series as well.

I agree in either case, myself included, that some game dev has the fanbase to make quite a profit if they do well at continuing the series. The Source engine is still lots of fun to play on to this day, even with some other advanced engines these days. Why doesn't someone cash in already on this so we can all move on?! :confused: :p
 
ep3 or 4 would be pointless by now unless they put everything into a new engine. even if you say "duh, what matters is gameplay and story" valve would hardly be able to keep up with expectations. they should just move everything into HL3 with current tech and start where ep2 ended.
 
I think it would be perfect if they released Episode 4 and just skipped Episode 3. It's become such a huge part of the internet gaming culture that it'll be sad to see it go.

With that being said, I think the next installment of HL is being stored for the next major iteration of the Source engine. I'm also calling it early that Counter-Strike will be re-released as a free-to-play game with the new engine.
 
With all the hype and expectations around more Half Life games anything they release will never be as good as people hope it will be. Bad games get slaughtered and ripped to shreds. Even good games get massacred by the immature masses on Steam with their knee-jerk reactions. On top of that you have Valve trying to push it's steam controller, big picture and even VR in a blind effort to be 'cutting edge'.

Valve would be crazy to release something now and I hope they never do. I'd love them to finish the story but I'd rather it was a few movies or TV show.
 
With all the hype and expectations around more Half Life games anything they release will never be as good as people hope it will be. Bad games get slaughtered and ripped to shreds. Even good games get massacred by the immature masses on Steam with their knee-jerk reactions. On top of that you have Valve trying to push it's steam controller, big picture and even VR in a blind effort to be 'cutting edge'.

Valve would be crazy to release something now and I hope they never do. I'd love them to finish the story but I'd rather it was a few movies or TV show.

And this is what they have said. Nothing they can release will ever live up to the hype / expectations that are out there for the game. Instead you end up with another mass effect 3. So there will never be another game.
 
And this is what they have said. Nothing they can release will ever live up to the hype / expectations that are out there for the game. Instead you end up with another mass effect 3. So there will never be another game.

Valve is partly to blame. You don't start episodic delivery of a sequel to one of the most well-received games of the era and leave it on a cliffhanger for years, while still stringing the fans along not telling them the project is dead. And now, it doesn't fit into their business model anymore.

This is why you never leave money on the table.
 
With all the hype and expectations around more Half Life games anything they release will never be as good as people hope it will be. Bad games get slaughtered and ripped to shreds. Even good games get massacred by the immature masses on Steam with their knee-jerk reactions. On top of that you have Valve trying to push it's steam controller, big picture and even VR in a blind effort to be 'cutting edge'.

It seems pretty clear to me for awhile now that if and when they release HL3 they want it to tie in with another Valve product. Similar to HL2 and Steam and they will keep delaying until they find the right tie-in. Right now it seems to me that would be VR, Cloud based streaming or a combination of the both.
 
I never understood why such a popular series was allowed to die on the vine. I guess they don't need any more money.
 
Valve is partly to blame. You don't start episodic delivery of a sequel to one of the most well-received games of the era and leave it on a cliffhanger for years, while still stringing the fans along not telling them the project is dead. And now, it doesn't fit into their business model anymore.

This is why you never leave money on the table.


Yes, they are partly to blame. As soon as they pushed back the date a few times they were too far out to do anything any more with this series. At the same time a major part lies with gamers being fucking bitches now. It doesn't matter what is released they will cry and bitch and moan that it isn't what they expected and come out with pitch forks. Lets look at Fallout 4 as an example. Game came out within the expected timeframe. It has some minor bugs but nothing that makes the game unplayable like other games. There was major hype, everyone was excited about the game. Then it came out and people complained that the graphics weren't as photo realistic as they expected, that the world wasn't as massive as they expected. And that is with a game that was released as expected. It is only going to be so much worse for a game that is released many years late.
 
I still think they should release it.

And I also think that it would be fitting to use the same engine as the previous HL2 games.

Just finish up the series with that engine, and then they can change engines if they want to release another.

Not sure how there would be any letdown as far as hype goes. What hype?
 
My guess is it's goi to be released with VR, maybe not on launch day but that's what they are waiting for. I mean back with dk1 hl2 was one of the only real games you could play in VR. I think they are working on it but want to make sure it's amazing before creating hype. they know people will buy it so why try and sell it more?
 
Same here. I bought the first Sin episode, then the dev, Ritual Entertainment, went to casual games and like Valve with HL, basically abandoned the series.

They were bought up by another company, as the first episode wasn't profitable enough to keep them afloat.
It's not like they just decided to start making casual games, it was forced on them, unfortunately.
 
My guess is it's goi to be released with VR, maybe not on launch day but that's what they are waiting for. I mean back with dk1 hl2 was one of the only real games you could play in VR. I think they are working on it but want to make sure it's amazing before creating hype. they know people will buy it so why try and sell it more?

No, I think them saying they aren't working on it and don't plan on working on it means they aren't working on it. They aren't waiting for some special new device, they don't want to make the game and have not done anything toward making the game as nobody there wants to.
 
I never understood why such a popular series was allowed to die on the vine. I guess they don't need any more money.

How can you fail to understand such a simple concept? Valve went where the money was. Its what lots of businesses do.......
 
At this point, since Valve has really been enjoying mindfucking Halflife fans, they should just release Half-life 3 and start it with Barney and G-man. No context or explanation, just the two of them cracking jokes and working together to rescue G-man's alien hybrid daughter (whom Barney is now engaged to).

That should be enough to fill Valve's Half-life troll quota for at least a year or two.
 
The game would never live up to everyones nostalgia. Would be a PR nightmare that could only hurt them. Your never going to see HL3. If it does happen it wont be anytime soon.
 
Ok, it's time for me to admit it. I'm the reason EP3, or HL3 is not released yet. Because I haven't finished Episode 2 yet. I'm mid way trough it. Have been since orange box was released.

I promise I'll try to finish it in the next 6-10 years, so HL3 or EP3 can come in say 2025?
 
its been so long i dont even remember how ep2 ended.

Eli got brain bugged and I was left wondering WTF HAPPENS NEXT!? I really hate Valve for doing that to its fans. It's like JK Rowling saying she got bored of Harry Potter after the Half Blood Prince, who the fuck does that!?
 
just follow the EP2 formula and valve will be cashing in billions
 
Ok, it's time for me to admit it. I'm the reason EP3, or HL3 is not released yet. Because I haven't finished Episode 2 yet. I'm mid way trough it. Have been since orange box was released.

I promise I'll try to finish it in the next 6-10 years, so HL3 or EP3 can come in say 2025?

You sonofabitch!

Wait...

M76 = three letters
7th letter: G
6th letter: F

Mister. Gordon. Freeman. !!!
 
The game would never live up to everyones nostalgia. Would be a PR nightmare that could only hurt them. Your never going to see HL3. If it does happen it wont be anytime soon.

This.

The internet was a different time for HL2, standards were different as well. This game would have to be a godsend of a game but would cost a fortune and there really wouldn't be as big of a user base nowadays as people would think.

If they were to do a HL3, they would first have to remake the first 2 to test out the waters and see if people can handle that kind of game now.

So many people bitching about the simplicity of the new doom game already, they tried to recreate the old quake feel and it isn't going well. I would imagine that HL3 would end up in the same pot. If they changed it too much they would be blamed for just abusing the IP for profit, if it was true to original then they would be lazy programmers.
 
This.

The internet was a different time for HL2, standards were different as well. This game would have to be a godsend of a game but would cost a fortune and there really wouldn't be as big of a user base nowadays as people would think.

If they were to do a HL3, they would first have to remake the first 2 to test out the waters and see if people can handle that kind of game now.

So many people bitching about the simplicity of the new doom game already, they tried to recreate the old quake feel and it isn't going well. I would imagine that HL3 would end up in the same pot. If they changed it too much they would be blamed for just abusing the IP for profit, if it was true to original then they would be lazy programmers.

Valve already remade Half-Life. Herp Derp.
 
With all the hype and expectations around more Half Life games anything they release will never be as good as people hope it will be.

HL might be game version of Greta Garbo. She stayed famous for decades just being "mysterious" and on the edges of popular culture. A "Garbo sighting" somewhere was almost treated like Elvis. If Garbo had done another film in her 60s it could easily have wrecked her. HL might be in the same boat. Then again maybe Valve is waiting for tech to take some leap to bring HL back. Maybe when games are halogenic and Freeman can run around your room shooting zombies.
 
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