Valve

PostRe: Valve by **Dark Ritual** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 6:16 pm

Don't care how long HL3 takes to be honest. I know it'll be worth the wait.

PostRe: Valve by **SEP** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 6:21 pm

Valve are one of the best developers in the world. Some of their ideas I may disagree with (not a fan of the whole microtransactions thing myself, least of all for cosmetic stuff, it's all a bit Horse Armour for me), but their actual games tend to be amongst the best in the world.

PostRe: Valve by **BID0** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 6:27 pm

Does anyone have a spare CS Source? :shifty:

I've lost the login details to my 5-6 year old steam account with my HL2 disc registered to it :fp:

I'd quite like to play CS again.

Not sure if it's possible to gift it too me though as I have no purchased games on my current account and I think that's a requirement these days for adding a game? I know some friends had to buy Civ3 or something so they could add their CIV5 retail keys.

PostRe: Valve by **The Alchemist Penguin** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 6:31 pm

Somebody Else's Problem wrote:(not a fan of the whole microtransactions thing myself, least of all for cosmetic stuff, it's all a bit Horse Armour for me).

Cosmetic stuff seems like the best kind of microstransactions, personally. Valve are using microtransactions in a way that has absolutely no impact on individual players or the overall playing experience. The game remains constant for everyone, regardless of the amount they spend.

PostRe: Valve by **TheTurnipKing** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 6:32 pm

The Alchemist Penguin wrote:
Somebody Else's Problem wrote:(not a fan of the whole microtransactions thing myself, least of all for cosmetic stuff, it's all a bit Horse Armour for me).

Cosmetic stuff seems like the best kind of microstransactions, personally. Valve are using microtransactions in a way that has absolutely no impact on individual players or the overall playing experience. The game remains constant for everyone, regardless of the amount they spend.

This.

PostRe: Valve by **Cuttooth** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 7:27 pm

There's no denying they're one of the best consumer friendly developers/publishers going, and suggesting this recent ARG is taking precious time and resources away from making a new Half-Life is pretty damn silly. It's not like someone's run up to Gabe to tell him they've finished the first chapter of HL3 and they need him to take a look, only for him to turn round absent mindedly and say "I'm seeing potatoes."

I'm starting to not feel that fussed over Episode 3 or Half-Life 3 anyway. Like I've come to accept that it's not coming out any time soon, so almost want Valve to move on to some incredible new single player IP that'll blow everyone away in the time being, instead of being firmly rooted (for now) within their main franchise's universe. But that's just me.

PostRe: Valve by **Captain Kinopio** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 8:12 pm

Wow, how bloody lovely.

PostRe: Valve by **Songwriter** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 8:42 pm

I adore Valve. Their ideals about games are perfect. They produce incredible storytelling that push boundaries beyond anyone else in the industry. Adore them. Favourite Devs that have produced my favourite game.

However, prolific they aint!

I wish they’d double their work force though and produce quicker. Not as if they dont' have a market.

PostRe: Valve by **melatonin** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 8:52 pm

Songwriter wrote:I adore Valve. Their ideals about games are perfect. They produce incredible storytelling that push boundaries beyond anyone else in the industry. Adore them. Favourite Devs that have produced my favourite game.

However, prolific they aint!

I wish they’d double their work force though and produce quicker. Not as if they dont' have a market.

It's a strange one though. Taken from a Eurogamer article published a few weeks ago:

Since the 2007 release of Half-Life 2: Episode 2 and Team Fortress 2, Valve has launched Portal, Left 4 Dead, Left 4 Dead 2 and Alien Swarm. Portal 2 is imminent and DOTA2 (Defense of the Ancients 2) has been announced with a tentative 2011 date.

Look at those games again:

Portal was created by a group of students Valve went on to hire.
Left 4 Dead was created by a developer Valve went on to hire.
Alien Swarm was developed by a mod team Valve went on to hire.
DOTA2 (Defense of the Ancients) is being created by a modder Valve has hired.

Which effectively means that they haven't produced a game of their 'own' in nearly four years. But when you consider that, with Steam, they're effectively making money hand over fist merely by acting as a dedicated retailer for other companies on the PC platform, it's hardly surprising that's where most of their talent is being funnelled into. Money shouting rather than talking.

...

Still. I think we'll see Gabe make another appearance at E3 this year. :shifty:

PostRe: Valve by **Knoyleo** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 8:56 pm

Peter Crisp wrote:Maybe not that specifically but I do feel that Valve are taking resources away from the development of the next Half Life game for other stuff which is rather annoying as I know the next Half Life game will be amazing but the wait is becoming ridiculous.

Taking away resources in just the same way as they did to ~~develop Left 4 Dead, Left 4 Dead 2,~~ (thanks a lot, Melly

) produce far more than 100 free updates for Team Fortress 2, and develop Portal 2. Sure Valve could focus solely on Half Life (Episode) 3, but then that wait for it would be all the more barren as a result. Besides, they're only going to release it when they're happy with it, and if they genuinely don't need their entire staff working on just Half Life all the time, as they most likely don't, it's just making the best use of resources to get them to do other projects on the side, just like this.

I didn't really get too involved with the ARG myself, just didn't have the time for it, but I picked up the easy potatos, and idled a few games, and it was overall a pretty fun experience, that made waiting for Portal a bit more exciting than checking the unlock time on the Steam Store page. As for gifiting the Valve complete pack, that's really great of them. Can't understand the hate for this ARG. If people didn't like it, they didn't have to take part, and Portal would have released on it's original stated date anyway. To deliberately review it poorly because of that is flat out retarded.

I can understand the microtransaction hate, as I think it's pretty poor form. It's not as bad in Portal 2 yet, but if it goes the way of TF2, then it really is a bad way to see the games going. Yes, it's largely cosmetic, but TF2, originally a very styslised game, now looks strawberry floating ridiculous on almost any server, and there are massively gameplay changeing items available, too (melee Demoman :fp:

) that although available through random drops, have turned the experience into a weird FPS RPG hybrid with a distracting economy in virtual tat running throughout it. Even so, it doesn't actually make Portal 2 any worse a game by it's presence, and you don't have to buy these things. Valve are offering overpriced cosmetic skins for idiots and autistics/OCD sufferers tp lap up, and some will. If it keeps Half Life 3 chugging along and other proper updates free, so be it.

tl;dr Valve :wub:

, Microtransactions

PostRe: Valve by **Songwriter** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 9:00 pm

The thing is.... they have to come back with something amazing. Like a brand new engine or CS2 alongside...or
Release date? 1 weeks time....

One of them would be fine.

PostRe: Valve by **Memento Mori** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 9:05 pm

Half Life Episode 3 announcement at this year's E3. Believe.

PostRe: Valve by **Knoyleo** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 9:07 pm

Gaben to turn up at E3, talk for ages about some new Steam features/Left 4 D3ad/some other bullshit nobody really cares about, for half an hour, then just say, "Oh, btw, if any of you guys are logged in to Steam right now, you should see Episode 3 downloading already, free of charge. Final level available from the Episode 3 store for just $69.99"

PostRe: Valve by **melatonin** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 9:08 pm

Knoyleo wrote:Gaben to turn up at E3, talk for ages about some new Steam features/Left 4 D3ad/some other bullshit nobody really cares about, for half an hour, then just say, "Oh, btw, if any of you guys are logged in to Steam right now, you should see Episode 3 downloading already, free of charge. Final level available from the Episode 3 store for just $69.99"

*Exit stage left, eating a raw potato which nobody can recall seeing him pull out of his pocket*

PostRe: Valve by **Cuttooth** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 9:55 pm

melatonin wrote:Which effectively means that they haven't produced a game of their 'own' in nearly four years.

Take it back further and you could say the only games they've ever started internally are the Half-Life series. They have the Source versions of Counter-Strike and Day of Defeat, but both those original games started as third-party mods.

You have to wonder what they get up to a lot of the time, aside from making the best games ever at their own pace. Doodling quite a bit of concept art by the looks of it.

PostRe: Valve by **Donk** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 9:58 pm

I don't mind waiting for the next episode of The Best FPS Ever 2. I know Valve will get it right.... again.

PostRe: Valve by **Memento Mori** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 10:03 pm

Cuttooth wrote:You have to wonder what they get up to a lot of the time, aside from making the best games ever at their own pace. Doodling quite a bit of concept art by the looks of it.

PostRe: Valve by **Shadow** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 10:49 pm

That is amazing by Valve, there is only a handful of developers in the world who can afford to do something like this, it's a shame Valve is the only one that does.

PostRe: Valve by **Tafdolphin** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 10:59 pm

It was quietly revealed by Forbes not too long ago that Gabe is very close to becoming a billionaire. Who knew?

http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2011/0228/ ... ayhem.html

PostRe: Valve by **Knoyleo** » Wed Apr 20, 2011 11:09 pm

Memento Mori wrote:
Cuttooth wrote:You have to wonder what they get up to a lot of the time, aside from making the best games ever at their own pace. Doodling quite a bit of concept art by the looks of it.

Valve

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