Poll: Will Valve ever make/use another engine?

[Caradinist]

You guys think maybe they are also constructing a few more games and bundling it all up with an even "orangier" box?

Although Half-Life 2 and it's Source Engine has shown it's age, even may have fell victim to the bloom-i-nator (HDR), but the gameplay is still unrivaled. Simplistic in some aspects you might say, but unrivaled.

Also...

I think it is time for an upgrade of the Source Engine, definitely. And I hope that is why ep3 is taking so long, because they are doing a major engine/model/texture upgrade.
The models and textures are, IMO, what makes the Source Engine look weaker than it actually is. In ep2 they reused models from HL2, a game that came out in 2004. ep2 came out in 2007, big difference.

Source has an amazing facial animation system, but when the models are now 5 years old, it can't old a candle to stuff like this:

Spoiler

That was Crysis, released the same year as The Orange Box.
This is Alyx from ep2:

Spoiler

Well, the difference is, Crysis does not run on my computer well, and Half-life 2 runs phenomenal. So i'd have to pick Halflife 2

 

[thiosk]

Escapist Headline: April, 2089

Hello, fellow tweedlethrowers! We here at Das Eskapist has some new news about a new source engine, DONG MA?! The Cyber-Obama administration has decreed that you MUST PURCHASE THE NEW VALVE GAME. The new Source2 shall be the highest caliber of software making, and if you don't believe it, you are a cronyist stooge of the rebel Fox forces, who want you to buy their sex on a multilaser disc!

Their Source2 Engine will someday have to be made.

It is amazing that they can code one engine and release and license as many games as they have. And that garrys mod guy made an incredible amount of money selling that.

 

[suhlEap]

As long as people keep buying their games I doubt they will. I played the L4D2 demo and thought it looked horrible, but it was still fun. Although I think the game Cryostasis(?) used the source engine and that game actually pretty good. I know everyone here loves Valve but they sure seem like a lazy developer lately to me.

i didn't think it looked that bad, but you're right about them being lazy... to an extent. they're contantly updating the source engine so it's not like they do nothing!

also... ziltoid the omniscient? awesome! good to see someone that likes that album!

 

[sneakypenguin]

How does L4D2 look any worse than any other modern game? What, exactly, is missing in this engine? As far as I can tell, the answer is "nothing" - people are just expecting them to upgrade because they know the engine is 5 years old and they don't understand the concept of modularity.

It looks vvery plain, there doesn't seem to be much color/texture/detail to stuff. Kind of like the ps3 version of r6v2 where 360 had a wall with cracks paint pealing and such the ps3 wall would be plain almost single colored.

The source engine (as seen in HL and L4d) is just missing a lot of details. Be it on peoples armor or weapons, or the environment. Take even Alex vance her clothes are very plain not very detailed, her face (and other ppls) are very generic plain faces, her animation while good in 04 was looking a little rough by the time ep2 came out. And the outdoor environments are just not up to par with most fps's i've seen this gen.
The environments look "dead" for lack of a better word, the lighting seems kind of "stationary" rather than free flowing (i'm not sure of the technical term)

 

[Ziltoid]

As long as people keep buying their games I doubt they will. I played the L4D2 demo and thought it looked horrible, but it was still fun. Although I think the game Cryostasis(?) used the source engine and that game actually pretty good. I know everyone here loves Valve but they sure seem like a lazy developer lately to me.

i didn't think it looked that bad, but you're right about them being lazy... to an extent. they're contantly updating the source engine so it's not like they do nothing!

also... ziltoid the omniscient? awesome! good to see someone that likes that album!

I thought the first L4D looked perfectly fine, but playing the demo for the second game and seeing everything in daylight really changed my opinion on the game. Also I was wrong Cryostasis does not use the source engine. I was thinking of Zenoclash (don't ask why I got them mixed up) and it looks ok.

And ya I love that album! I'm really liking Devin's two new albums alot as well.

 

[Elite Guard Lethleane]

Perhaps you are right. The question i'm looking for is, if they can create something that was great looking 5 years ago and more than half a dozen highly profitable games from that initial development, why are they not still creating an engine and visual presence that surpasses the likes of the cryengine?

 

[AnarchistAbe]

My prediction: Source Engine 3 will come around the same time as the next generation of consoles.

 

[comadorcrack]

The Moment Half Like 3 comes out (Not episode 3. Half Life 3) then will will have the new engine. AND IT WILL BE EPIC!

 

[Durxom]

Perhaps you are right. The question i'm looking for is, if they can create something that was great looking 5 years ago and more than half a dozen highly profitable games from that initial development, why are they not still creating an engine and visual presence that surpasses the likes of the cryengine?

Because they want more people to be able to play their games??? Not everyone can run Crysis, but most people can run all the games that use the Source engine, meaning more availability=more players=more money.

 

[Yumi_and_Erea]

Quite frankly, why would we ever want this?
Perhaps you feel that L4D and Half-Life look ugly but personally, I think they look just fine.
Graphics are pretty much the least important aspect of a game and ultimately, the only thing that matters is whether the games are fun. Which they are.
Valve struck upon a winning formula and stuck with it.
And honestly, who can blame them?

 

[IanBrazen]

I think the real question is will valve ever release halflife 2 ep.3?
and no i dont think they will change engins for awhile.

 

[JWAN]

Of course they will, stop loading topics with stupid questions. L4D2 looks fine and to the people who complain that it looks just like HL2 I would suggest they go and actually PLAY both games before they make a comparison.

 

[Elite Guard Lethleane]

Thats an interesting theory. But the company that makes every single PC player register with steam (i know it stops some piracy), when many still dont have internet access surely aren't that supportive to the masses. And the PS3 players get dirty 3rd party ports because Valve can't be bothered... They certainly don't get Valves great fan loving service.

 

[smithy1234]

As long as Valve keeps making good games that look half decent I don't really care. It's less costly for them to keep using Source rather than build a whole new engine and I don't think they'll do that until everyone throws up their hands and demands for them to upgrade.

 

[Mantonio]

The Source Engine is still a competitive gaming engine (hence why it's still in use). Of course they'll update it when necessary, but it's aged well and, well doesn't really look like it NEEDS an update right now.

 

[Kiutu]

Remake it to be better yes, but it would seem weird if Valve didnt re-use props and sounds from past games.

 

[JohnReaper]

valve and a new engine is like sunlight to a vampire never get along till some one makes sunscreen

 

[gerrymander61]

... Halo was a good game you can all go to hell

 

[MiracleOfSound]

Don't get me wrong, i like Half Life2 and L4D. But seriously, the games may have pace but they're really starting to look pretty ugly. As well as that, they barely produce much more than add ons, with the likes of L4D2 being some DLC in a better world, and HL2 episode 3 probably being a couple of hours like 1+2... Again don't go on an all out attack, but wouldn't it be nice to play a good looking(by current gen standards)Valve title?

I tried pointing this out recently and got torn apart by rabid fanboys to the point where I actually had to post a picture of L4D2 next to a pic from Dead Space to show that the Source engine has some catching up to do.

I love Valve to bits, and yes gameplay is more important than graphics bla bla but hey, games are more immersive when they look pretty.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Yeah.