Half-Life 3 Won't Be At E3 2014, Says Valve

[Vigormortis]

By true game I mean actual installments that either further the games story(or end it) or is simply something new.
I'm not going to count TF2 on that front because while yes- the updates do indeed have a story- they are in every sense an episodic kind of thing with a bit of continuity that matches the timeline.

Fair point. But by that definition both Global Offensive and Dota 2 are full installments. Both building on the prior games, as well as adding a wealth of new content, features, and services.

It does not take that long to make a game though does it?

You'd be surprised. We're only now approaching a similar amount of time as was seen between the release of Half-Life and Half-Life 2. So, given that they are making a full game, and not just Episode 3, it's not as far fetched as one might think to have a development cycle this long.

As I've said earlier there is having too tight of a deadline, and there is having so much free time to do something that when they say something is in "development" it could very well mean "we will work on it when we feel like it" which could be anything from having full staff working diligently 24/7 or a couple dozen people throwing around story ideas, a few character models here and there, a bit of coding, and maybe an actually polished model at uneven intervals of time.

Very true. Honestly, had Newell and others not talked on the progress of the title in interviews over the past few years I'd be thinking the same thing.

But they've made it abundantly clear that the game is in active development. And, while it's not entirely clear what the size of the team working on it is, what is clear is that the game is a fairly high priority among those working at Valve. I mean, we regularly see left-over content or code-bits in other game releases. Hinting that bits of Half-Life 3's development are bleeding over into other projects.

My guess is, at some point during development of Episode 3, they decided to scrap the whole thing (including the Ravenholm-themed episode 4) and build a full title. It's also very likely it is being built on Source 2, given that, based on Newell's statements, Source 2 was probably in the design/early coding stages at that point.

By that reasoning, Half-Life 3 may have only been in development for as little as three years.

I could be wrong, of course. Even though we have some info to go on, there isn't much. Still....I'm with a lot of others in wishing they'd say something. Silence at this point is only becoming detrimental.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On a side note, I wanted to add that it is very unlikely that you'd find anyone at the Valve offices just sitting around doing nothing.

Though they have an open project structure, their actual pay-checks are based on peer ratings. Those ratings are based on several factors including ones productivity and completed work-load.

Ergo: if they're not doing much they aren't getting paid much.

 

[Dragonbums]

By true game I mean actual installments that either further the games story(or end it) or is simply something new.
I'm not going to count TF2 on that front because while yes- the updates do indeed have a story- they are in every sense an episodic kind of thing with a bit of continuity that matches the timeline.

Fair point. But by that definition both Global Offensive and Dota 2 are full installments. Both building on the prior games, as well as adding a wealth of new content, features, and services.

It does not take that long to make a game though does it?

You'd be surprised. We're only now approaching a similar amount of time as was seen between the release of Half-Life and Half-Life 2. So, given that they are making a full game, and not just Episode 3, it's not as far fetched as one might think to have a development cycle this long.

As I've said earlier there is having too tight of a deadline, and there is having so much free time to do something that when they say something is in "development" it could very well mean "we will work on it when we feel like it" which could be anything from having full staff working diligently 24/7 or a couple dozen people throwing around story ideas, a few character models here and there, a bit of coding, and maybe an actually polished model at uneven intervals of time.

Very true. Honestly, had Newell and others not talked on the progress of the title in interviews over the past few years I'd be thinking the same thing.

But they've made it abundantly clear that the game is in active development. And, while it's not entirely clear what the size of the team working on it is, what is clear is that the game is a fairly high priority among those working at Valve. I mean, we regularly see left-over content or code-bits in other game releases. Hinting that bits of Half-Life 3's development are bleeding over into other projects.

My guess is, at some point during development of Episode 3, they decided to scrap the whole thing (including the Ravenholm-themed episode 4) and build a full title. It's also very likely it is being built on Source 2, given that, based on Newell's statements, Source 2 was probably in the design/early coding stages at that point.

By that reasoning, Half-Life 3 may have only been in development for as little as three years.

I could be wrong, of course. Even though we have some info to go on, there isn't much. Still....I'm with a lot of others in wishing they'd say something. Silence at this point is only becoming detrimental.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On a side note, I wanted to add that it is very unlikely that you'd find anyone at the Valve offices just sitting around doing nothing.

Though they have an open project structure, their actual pay-checks are based on peer ratings. Those ratings are based on several factors including ones productivity and completed work-load.

Ergo: if they're not doing much they aren't getting paid much.

To me, at this point anything reported on Half life 3 better be more substantial then "we are currently working on it" or "we aren't going to be showing HL3 at [insert tech/game convention here]it's just not going to cut it for me anymore.I'd rather news reports focus on other things then continue to heckle Valve about HL3. When Valve actually has something to show us, then I will believe it.
Code from HL inside other games could very well be the remnants of a long since scrapped game that had useful coding functions that were recycled over to other games.

 

[Vigormortis]

To me, at this point anything reported on Half life 3 better be more substantial then "we are currently working on it" or "we aren't going to be showing HL3 at [insert tech/game convention here]it's just not going to cut it for me anymore.I'd rather news reports focus on other things then continue to heckle Valve about HL3. When Valve actually has something to show us, then I will believe it.

Oh, I completely agree with this. Wholeheartedly.

The only reason gaming sites even bother with the blatantly-obvious-this-is-fake rumors is to drum-up page hits. And, at this point, it does nothing but feed into the efforts of the people trying to troll the gaming community.

It's gotten so bad now that the "Half-Life 3 confirmed" meme has reached near mythic proportions. I've even heard people using it when they don't even know who Valve is.

Though, to be fair on one thing, Valve hasn't said the game won't be at E3 2014. They just said the comment from Noshitshurlock.com was a forgery.

But then, they didn't say it will be at E3 2014 either. So no info either way. Again... -___-

Code from HL inside other games could very well be the remnants of a long since scrapped game that had useful coding functions that were recycled over to other games.

Indeed it could. And in many cases, that's probably true.

But like I'd said, Half-Life 3 is still very much in active development. Now whether it's the same game they started building in 2007 is another question entirely. One nobody outside of Valve has an answer for.

(all the more reason a little clarity on their end would be nice)

Gotta say, though, that I'm actually less curious as to when it'll be released, and more curious as to whether it can ever live up to the expectations being lumped on it.

 

[Auron225]

If it ever does come out, I really hope it gets boycotted on a phenomenal scale. They can't expect fans to stay excited for decades.

 

[Dragonbums]

-snip-

At this point, more people are simply interested in how the story ends more then the game itself.
I personally would be happy if they just released a bulky graphic novel detailing how it all from the last HL game.

Yeah you won't be able to PLAY the game, but as everyone has said already, too many devs have built upon and exceeded Valve in terms of how a first person shooter can play. If the story isn't bad, then people will rag on it for the "bland" gameplay.

I just want a conclusion. That's what everyone wants.
If making the game isn't interesting to you, then...just release a rad ass book.

I mean, Hyrule Historia destroyed sales in the US before the thing was even shipped overseas, and it was just a concept art book.

Imagine the sales Valve will get just by releasing a damn good final story book.