I'm beginning to hate Valve.

[DoPo]

Just because Valve isn't actively advertising it doesn't mean it's not anticipated.

It does mean they haven't lied about anything.

Plus you have to consider all the teasers and hints that have been going on for years.

The...leaked artwork? And...I dunno there was a sound snippet or something, I think. Also leaked. And few other rumours none originating from Valve themselves. Nothing official. What's Valve's fault of, some stuff of dubious validity that they didn't release?

Every couple of months, new HL3 information bubbles up and we all get excited for it until we realize it's just another false alarm and then we forget about it until the next image with a lambda and a three pops up.

Are you saying it's Valve releasing them? I don't follow. What the fuck are you talking about? If I were to start a rumour about Blizzard, are you also going to fault Blizzard when it turns out to be false?

I don't think you're aware of how "responsibility" works - you usually have to do...like anything to be to blame.

But the fact the valve has made April fools jokes

They haven't. Care to actually back your words up?

Similarly, Valve is not going 'Hey let's build up hype for HL3 and then never ever ever make it!' After the release of Episode 2 they never hyped HL3. I suspect part of the reason they're so tight-lipped about it is to avoid this kind of backlash from building up expectations.

To be fair, they did do that thing on April Fools Day where they 'revealed' a pre order for HL3 this year. It was all in good taste, but that is kinda like bating your audience and then wrenching right from out under them.

That wasn't Valve - that was a completely separate website and a completely separate people doing it. I thought everybody knew that about 5 minutes after they found it or at most an hour or maybe a day later when they found some extra info like a news article or something.

Actually, the site is still up [http://storestteampowered.com/app/4411/] And it does outright tell you it's fake. when you click anywhere.

 

[templar1138a]

...I think you need to adjust your perspective. Valve is not a game developer, not anymore. They're a digital retailer - and they're excellent at that - that occasionally spits out its own content.

Also, Half-Life 3 isn't coming. It's the new Duke Nukem Forever, both in the sense that 1. It's never going to be finished (if it's being made at all) and 2. If it IS made, everyone's expectations for it will be way too high, and everyone's going to be thoroughly unhappy with it.

 

[Khaine the betrayer]

They do what they must, because they can.

On a side note I don't really mind that they take their time for the games, I mean sure it is annoying but Valva also has steam so every time I want a new game I just wait for a new steam sale and viola there is a good game for an extremly good price in the batch.

 

[Edguy]

The problem with Valve, as a game developer, is that they don't have any incentive to make games. Steam makes them enough money that developing games isn't really a necessity.

 

[WanderingFool]

I know that's akin to sacrilege among gamers, but I was just playing Half-Life and it occurred to me that it has been 5 years since Episode 2 came out. 5 years. The entire thing they said about releasing them in episodic format was so that we wouldn't have to wait so long. Well that was fucking bullshit.

And that's what gets me. Valve blatantly lies about their plans, stays all secret and then someone thinks because they are Valve it is all okay to treat their fans like shit. And yet people eat it up and defend them. "Oh, that's just how Valve does things," people say. "They're probably waiting for the next engine/console/big gaming thing to be ready." "Valve never releases 3's of their games"

We don't take that shit from other companies. This whole fiasco with Bioware and Mass Effect and more recently Gearbox and Aliens proves that. So what makes it okay for Valve? How is blatantly lying about their plans for a game any different from releasing bullshit like ACM?

I don't get it. I don't think it would be so much of an issue if they would just communicate and say they were not interested in making it right now or that they were indeed waiting for the technology to catch up with the vision. But nope. They're content to treat us all like shit and then people defend them tooth an nail.

What do you think? Agree? Disagree?

I honestly hope your weren't planning on a getting any real conversation out of this, save for maybe a bunch of hero worship of Valve.

 

[Silvanus]

Companies aren't under any obligation to release these products when we want. I don't mean this just legally; I mean it ethically/however-you-want. I feel no sense of loyalty tarnished here.


They are under an obligation to deliver a product of reasonable quality when we've paid for it, but they're not obligated to stick to some schedule to produce it. They made no deal with us to do so. We have no side of a bargain to uphold, in order to say that they are not upholding theirs.


Obligation to us begins only when we've given them money for the product. They owe us nothing more.



Quite recently, fans were getting their wicks burnt over George R. R. Martin's time taken to write installments of the Song of Ice and Fire series. People were writing him letters, sending him emails, saying that he'd somehow betrayed them, by not writing as quickly as they wanted him to.

When a fan took this grievance to Neil Gaiman's blog, Gaiman replied, "George R. R. Martin is not your *****".

He's right, and it's the same deal with the HL series.

 

[CyanideSandwich]

You're upset at a game publisher because they're creating new IPs instead of diluting the same one year after year? The exact opposite thing that people ostracise Call of Duty and Assassin's Creed for doing? That's just bizarre to me. Valve hasn't lied to anyone because they never once said that Half-Life 3 is ever going to happen. They don't owe us a game.
Also, I've never played a Valve game that I haven't thoroughly enjoyed.

 

[CriticalMiss]

So Valve haven't released a game they never put a release date on and have since said they aren't working on... The bastards! They've released plenty of games, rather good ones in fact, in the time since Episode 2. They constantly improve Steam and support Team Fortress 2 with updates of a hatly nature, let's just say that they have been keeping themselves busy. Sure they left the series on a massive cliffhanger but they aren't 'blatant'liars. If they were they would say that Episode 3 is just around the corner.

If you are beginning to hate Valve because they haven't released a game yet that they have not said they are working on then you probably need to get that looked at. Developers shelve projects all the time. Valve are no different in that respect and if they have decided not to work on Half Life for a few years that is their choice. Plus I'd rather wait a few years for a polished game with a decent story than have shitty yearly releases that ruin the franchise.

 

[Gearhead mk2]

I don't hate Valve, and I think the OP is a reaching a bit for stuff to complain about. That said, I think they do get away with some stuff that over companies couldn't, like some of Steam's practices and them not balancing TF2 in freaking years.

 

[jklinders]

As others have mentioned, Valve has been pretty damn busy. They have released several other games with their typically high polish. I've never played Portal as I really don't care that type of game but for those who like it they say it's amazing. TF 2 is supposed to be riot to play and seems to have loads of personality. Plus they are working on a new hardware architecture to break into the console market, running Steam and maybe somewhere in there they have a team working on the game you want. Wouldn't count on it as they have made no claims on that recently.

Here is the thing though. they only owe us what we pay money for. No one has paid money for a Half Life 3. If you have, please show me a link to the pre order location. If no money changes hands then there is no moral or legal obligation. Seems like wasted energy really to get so mad at them for not releasing a game when it actually has cost you nothing.

 

[bug_of_war]

That wasn't Valve - that was a completely separate website and a completely separate people doing it. I thought everybody knew that about 5 minutes after they found it or at most an hour or maybe a day later when they found some extra info like a news article or something.

I was unaware of that. Thanks for enlightening me on that detail. I still think they should either come out and say, "we're making it" or, "we're not making it" because it's just something any half decent company would do. Ah well, we'll see what happens, and hopefully they might make some adjustments with their current (debatable) issues once their console thingy comes out.

 

[secretkeeper12]

I don't get it. I don't think it would be so much of an issue if they would just communicate and say they were not interested in making it right now or that they were indeed waiting for the technology to catch up with the vision. But nope. They're content to treat us all like shit and then people defend them tooth an nail.

This is probably Valve's biggest problem. A lack of corporate structure doesn't mean they can't give some hints as to what they're up to. If they have no plans say so. If they do, keep us up to date on them. Q&A sessions are done with them all the darn time, after all.

I beg [http://kotaku.com/5040417/team-fortress-2-updates-coming-to-xbox-360-later-this-year]to differ [http://kotaku.com/5319824/todays-team-fortress-2-xbox-360-update-is-not-the-one-youre-looking-for]. This is the exact problem OP is talking about. If they would just say they lost any plans for updating console TF2, all would be good. They haven't, though.

And before people say they have released many games over the years, aren't dota 2 and CS GA both betas? That have you pay to enter nowadays, and yes I am aware that right no CS GA is no free to try and will be on sale for half off for those that played it, but still a game in beta that has to be pay for, Anyone else think that is wrong?

Just a nitpick: Dota2 invites have been given out like candy for over a year now. Only a sucker would actually pay for one nowadays.

 

[IamLEAM1983]

Honestly, I'd rather have a publisher that goes back on its words for good reasons, rather than a publisher who never retracts specific statements and still presents a certain product as being finished.

Valve *figured* they might be able to release episodic content more often, and that conservative estimate wasn't something they could reach. Ergo, they haven't rushed out something shitty to appease the nay-sayers and enrage the fans expecting something of a substantial quality level.

On the other hand, you have EA's philosophy, where turds are polished and frankly offensive gimmicks pushed forward because, hey! Promises were made at last year's E3!

I really don't mind living on Valve or Blizzard Time, as a whole. The Sagrada Familia isn't finished yet, the Sistine Chapel wasn't finished by Michaelangelo's lifetime, and more Half-Life 3 is a prospect that's apparently deserving of time and consideration. I'm not some petulant teen anymore, who's going to absolutely die if last year's professed killer app doesn't come out right this instant.

You can't rush art, and I'm saying that knowing that this is subjective and that I might seem like an ass-kisser.

 

[TrevHead]

I used to be pro Valve but have just gotten sick of them as of late.

#1 They stopped making the games I like, too many MP focused games and not enough SP games I like. Also I agree that HL3 is a fricking joke, it's one thing to not hype a game, but it's another to keep gamers in dark not knowing what the hell is going on. This blind faith in a delayed game = quaity will backfire in fans faces as when HL3 finally does come out there is going to be alot of massively disappointed ppl who hate the changes made or not made from HL2 gameplay. Time doesn't automatically equal quality when we have had ACM, Duke Nukem Forever and Diablo 3 which had much of the mechanics thrown out in beta. Infact it wouldn't surprise me if the current build of HL3 looks like DNF with a miss mash old old and new content.

#2 Greenlight has made it so I rarely buy indies from Steam nowadays as not a single game I've voted for has made it. Before Greenlight a good varied selection of games made it to steam, but nowadays Steam has grown more into this platform for Johnny come lately indies gamers, In the past it used to be just XBLA timed exclusives like FEZ and Dust but now the same is happening with PC indie game as games are on other PC stores for ages while on Steam the game is stuck on Greenlight. This has prompted me to buy my games from elsewhere rather than sit and twiddle my thumbs wondering if the game I want will win the digital equivalent of the X factor (which won't happen as I have niche tastes and don't give a hoot about trends and gimmicks).

#3 Imo Valve has gotten too big for it's boots and should be whipped into shape, but sadly most PC gamers are so in love with Valve and Steam that most criticism is white knighted or ignored. Yeah Valve "saved" PC gaming but that doesn't mean they're 100% infallible.

#4 Selling "Alpha" builds on Steam is BS

 

[ProfessorLayton]

Also, they released CS:GO last year so...

CS:GO was a $15 arcade game and also an abomination. Portal 2 was the last full price retail game they've put out.

Are you saying it's Valve releasing them? I don't follow. What the fuck are you talking about? If I were to start a rumour about Blizzard, are you also going to fault Blizzard when it turns out to be false?

I don't think you're aware of how "responsibility" works - you usually have to do...like anything to be to blame.

Yes, I am saying Valve is releasing them. They released a Saxton Hale comic thing, where the covers contained threes and lambdas. This was quite a while ago, though. Either way, you can go here, [https://twitter.com/Ekanaut/status/142476850931834880] here, [http://i.imgur.com/fT5LA.jpg] or here [http://www.teamfortress.com/images/posts/mailstorm.jpg] to see some examples of official Valve teasers. So yes, they are releasing stuff like that. Come on, all it takes is a quick google search and you'd be able to find plenty of Half Life teasers that were released by Valve.

 

[UltraPic]

Yeah Valve "saved" PC gaming but that doesn't mean they're 100% infallible.

When, and more importantly how ?.

 

[Lilani]

I started getting a bit pissed when Half Life 2 came out. It's a great game blah blah, everybody loves it yadda yadda, but I'm wondering if and when an ACTUAL sequel to Half Life 1 might be in the works? If you renamed HL2's Gordon Freeman to say... Cliff Stone, then Half Life 2 would have basically nothing to do with the first game. No similarities in tone, setting, plot, anything. Just the name of the main character, and a crowbar instead of a knife. Oh well, I'll always have OpFor.

I think you don't quite understand what a sequel is. A sequel doesn't mean similar tone, setting, or plot. In fact, doing JUST those things would give you a duplication of the original, not a sequel. A sequel is simply a continuation of events. It continues the narrative, but doesn't necessarily have to have the same tone or setting. And that's exactly what HL2 is.

Spoiler: Sort of spoilers for the ending of HL1, putting it in this just in case.

HL1 was basically a test issued by the G-Man and whomever he works for to see if Gordon Freeman was the person they wanted. At the end of HL1, Gordon is "hired," and basically put into stasis until they need him. Since the G-Man appears to have some sort of ability to travel through time and space, it makes sense he'd just cart Gordon around to whatever events and places he's needed. At the beginning of HL2, the G-Man is waking Gordon up on Earth 10 years after Black Mesa.

So to summarize, the G-Man is using Gordon to stir shit up. HL1 was his test run, and HL2 was his first big assignment.

 

[MrHide-Patten]

It's their choice if they want to release a sequel, frankly I don't think Episode 3 is something you can tackle lightly, in no part thank's to threads like this perpetuating it. It's Duke Nukem Forever all over again, people are going to over hype this game into a black abyss and will never be happy with the final product. Although I expect something of measurable quality from Valve as opposed to what produced DNF.

 

[rob_simple]

I'm sure it's already been pointed out here, but the stunning waves of entitlement radiating off the OP compelled me to throw my two cents in:

The difference between Valve and the other studios you mention is that they didn't lie about a product which they actually released. Gearbox showed false footage of a game they then released and received money for; Bioware (allegedly) lied about what Mass Effect 3 was going to be and then made money off of that. Valve have not released anything so all they've really done is gone back on what I'm not even sure they actually promised; just what they said was their plan.

All developers lie out their arse, no matter what industry we are talking about. I remember reading an interview with the director of Aliens Versus Predator 2 (the movie, I mean) where he said that the first movie sucked because it focused on the humans too much so he was going to make his all action, and what did we get? A fucking ninety minute episode of Dawson's Creek that happened to feature Predators and Aliens.

Game developers are no different: they spin you bullshit to keep you interested because that is how PR works. Sure, it is a bit dishonest, and in Valve's case even if they said, 'it'll be ready when it's ready' I'm sure most fans would still eagerly await it, but it is no reason to hate a company when the practice is commonplace in literally every institution with a marketing department.

When Valve release Half Life 3 and it's just Half Life 2 but Gordon is wearing a hat, then maybe you'll have a point, until then, try and remember: everybody lies.

 

[Lilani]

Also, Half-Life 3 isn't coming. It's the new Duke Nukem Forever, both in the sense that 1. It's never going to be finished (if it's being made at all) and 2. If it IS made, everyone's expectations for it will be way too high, and everyone's going to be thoroughly unhappy with it.

...Except the situation surrounding Valve is nothing at all like the situation that was surrounding the dev of Duke Nukem Forever. Unlike that situation, Valve is not failing, Valve is not short on money, HL is their flagship franchise, and there have been no major power shifts in the company. You really are comparing apples and oranges, here.