Thoughts

[Gandalf]

Originally posted by Benny@Nov 24 2004, 12:02 PM

Hmm...challenging? No. I don't think so. It's a challenging as eating cake whilst standing up.

you can eat cake standing up?!  :worship:

[Red_Thunder]

Well said Benny !


I still like it, i like the carrying thing tho altho i think u should be able to see his hands, and who would carry a barrel with their arms stretched out :S

[smite]

Originally posted by Red_Thunder@Nov 24 2004, 09:20 AM
Ghost, u reading a little deep into this , u been studying somthing with dramatic/ romantic irony? Agamemnon or somthing ? lolz

[post=69951]Quoted post[/post]

[/b]

I was thinking it looked a lot like Cut'n'Paste  :winkiss:

[Sc00by_d00]

"As it's touted as the greatest game ever it does come over as a disappointment. Valve did so many things right and then left so many things wrong that it's a tragedy. "[/b]

Sorry, I have been playing games for a long time - and this is the best I have seen, the excitement, story, game play, GRAPHICS, PHYSICS, and SOUND (apart from Thief 3 in terms of sound) are fantastic!!  

I love this game so much - It is the BEST GAME I EVER PLAYED!  

What the F*^k are you people looking for, "virtual reality on acid", well HL2 is nearly about as good as it gets on 32 bit machines.  If you looking for anything better, you will have wait for 64bit technology to really take off!!! Get back to reality in terms of the technology, this game is as good as it gets at the moment guys!

You have just experienced the best FPS ever!!!  RELAX!!!  


Did mean to say, smilodon and et al. if you can do any better - why don't you give it a go - and we will give you the feedback m8's  

[smilodon]

I don't make my living from designing games so you'll have a long wait   .

Don't get me wrong it's a really good game. As a FPS it's a corker. But as for being the greatest game ever then it's more down to personal preference. For example I'm a Real time strategy freak and so enjoy playing Rome Total War far more than I do HL2. But that's just me. However RTW is flawless as a game. There's no bugs and absolutley nothing missing from the game. Within the limits of what is technically possible it's perfect. Likewise Vice City (a game I used to dislike!) is, second time round for me, a stunning game. Having played further through it, the game is brilliant. And it looks like San Andreas is going to be even better when it hits the PC.

On the other hand there are things that are clearly wrong with HL2. And they are lazy errors. The Gravity gun holds stuff just in front of you when you use it. Obvioulsy Valve used the same code when you pick stuff up by hand. But while things are supposed to float a foot in front of you with the gravity gun, they're not supposed to when you pick them up. Where are your arms? Sloppy.

Likewise when you look down where's your torso? Many modern games now give you a re real physical presence. Some don't, but if HL2 wants to be the best game ever, it should do as well.

The physics engine, while great isn't perfect. The jeep gets stuck on the daftest bits of wood and stuff and flips over at the slightest bump , yet the boat can drive over anything and can't ever flip over.

Moving through water or jumping onto boxes is rubbish just like HL was originally.

The enemy AI is fairly ropey. Some games can produce quality AI (Halo on the hardest setting for example). If HL2 is so excelelnt then why is the AI only average?

Theres some nasty clipping and a crapy skybox you can hit your head on. In Ravenholm zombies will spawn from areas you know to be clear, which is a cheat and sloppy design.

The game plays like it's on rails with no freeform roaming. That's no problem if done well, but it's so obvious with HL2 it's annoying.

There are far too many load screens. It's technically possible to precache areas so there are no load screens, but HL2 doesn't do this. Dungeon Siege from several years back did it, so why not HL2.

There are other problems but they're probably just my personal preferences. For example I don't like the way your character never responds to conversations. Not one word. Some people like that, as it makes them feel they are playing the part of Gordon Freeman themselves rather than driving a character through the game. Me I don't like it.

So HL2 is a really great game and one of the best three or four FPS ever. And hats of to Valve for that. But what it isn't for me, is the best game ever.

[Whitey]

I love Rome Total War and have played it to death since it's release but it does have some flaws (or is it part of the realism when troops don't go were you ask or just let the enemy run past you when you've asked them to attack ?! ).  I don't think any game can be flawless for everyone. Different people expect different things from games and HL2 more than lives up to my expectations and for me it is the best FPS ever.  On the down side I do hate those long, frequent loads.

[Sc00by_d00]

Some very valid points made above smilodon!

1.  It's got a number of minor bugs - but a lot of games do on their initial release - I expect these will be patched.  No good really to the people who are playing it atm I know!

2. "Likewise when you look down where's your torso?" yep OK valid point again!

3. The physics engine IMHO is superb - no other game ever released gives you this!! The developers of HL2 and Source have spent so much time on this aspect of the game. Also I think the graphics are jaw dropping!!!

4. "The game plays like it's on rails" You have a very valid point here, lots of scripting in this game"!

5. "There are far too many load screens. It's technically possible to precache areas so there are no load screens, but HL2 doesn't do this. Dungeon Siege from several years back did it, so why not HL2."  I think the developers have made it this way so the game will also play fine on lower spec systems - I might be wrong?

However, I still vote it the best game I ever played because unlike any previous games - this game stimulates and excites me so much more than anything I have ever played!!.  This will be one of the few games I just know I will want to play a second time...

I am not saying the game is "perfect!" - Its just the best game ever IMHO!!!

[Benny]

aye, it's a bit sh1t though innit.

[Benny]

And now you're all fuming.

It's a great game, I don't regret buying it.
The character interaction is poor. Am I missing something fantastic about the 'physics'? Maybe I'm taking it for granted, gimme some examples.

If you ask me, Far Cry was better. But as everyone says, each to their own.

[smilodon]

I have to agree. I think a big issue here is how you like to play the game.

I remember a game called Star Trek Bridge Commander. I hated it, but more importantly I hated the player interaction. Basically you sat in the big armchair on the bridge and NPC's like Spock, and Ururuhuhuruhu would speak to you. You're character never responded though. I had this horrible feeling that after Spock says " Captain, the enemy has raised their shields." I was supposed to shout "Open Fire! All weapons!" at the screen and hit the fire button. It was like some terrible geeks role play game  

It seems that might be the idea for HL2. I am supposed to be Freeman. When people speak to him they speak to me. And I guess I'm supposed to answer back to the screen? I hate that style of game play but I can see how others like it or just don't care that Freeman never says a word to anyone.

Jack Carver, Max Payne and Garrett are characters in their own right. I'm not them. I just guide them about the game. They are characters with a history and a presence in the game, usually shown by cut scenes and dialog voice overs.

It's a matter of personal taste but I prefer the Farcry style to the HL2 one

[A Twig]

IMHO Deus Ex had some of the best character interaction I have ever come across, personally I have enver found a game which comes close. If there is one please please please tell me what it is! Could just be me though...

[Maus]

Originally posted by smilodon@Nov 25 2004, 12:41 AM
But while things are supposed to float a foot in front of you with the gravity gun, they're not supposed to when you pick them up. Where are your arms? Sloppy.

[post=70019]Quoted post[/post]

[/b]

This is a technical limitation. Valve would have to create an animation for EVERY item tht it is possible to pick up. Not only that, but it would only be able to handle objects that are oriented in one particular direction. I for one like that the object appears in front of you with no arms, just like I've liked a couple of shooters I've played where you just had a gun in front of you, and no arms.

----

I have to agree with people here and say Far Cry is better than HL2 though. I have played through Far Cry maybe six times now, and ever time I find new routes to take, and new things to see and do. The dialogue may be unbelievably dumb, but it fits the game okay.

Also, it has a greater variety of vehicles that all handle better than HL2 vehicles, better water effects (maybe not close-up, but look at distant water in HL2 and how obviously it tiles) especially inderwater, with the swimming arms. A more satisfying array of weapons with an almost-perfect four-weapon max (I was incredibly disapointed when I found you could carry every weapon at once in HL2 - the part where he tosses a shotty aside to grab a rocket launcher in the binks was great). Also, Far Cry feels much longer - it is the perfect length for a game, and though the AI can feel flawed sometimes, by and large it reacts better than HL2 AI.

Far Cry does have a couple of game-breaking bugs (mosly when the woman is following you - she can get stuck quite easily), but it provides a much better challenge than HL2, and manages to do so while looking much better - its gorgeous outdoor areas are something Source could only dream of, and its less-interesting indoor areas still kick HL2's backside, in no small part due to its dynamic lighting.

And it does all this while performing better than HL2 (also, Far Cry on low detail still looks pretty great - HL2 on low detail looks like HL1), and with no mid-level load points.

[smilodon]

Originally posted by Maus@Nov 27 2004, 02:07 PM
This is a technical limitation. Valve would have to create an animation for EVERY item tht it is possible to pick up. Not only that, but it would only be able to handle objects that are oriented in one particular direction. I for one like that the object appears in front of you with no arms, just like I've liked a couple of shooters I've played where you just had a gun in front of you, and no arms.

A very fair point. However it seems to me that on other games wher you can carry stuff it doesn't look so obvious. Still it's a very minor point. I'm really beginning to love the gravity gun now. The options for wiping out Combine troops and zombies is endless. Plus the crane section on the coast was an absolute gem  

As I play further through it HL2 is growing on me. Still not as good as RTW though  

[Devian_Game]

Its a good game , i havent played in for a long time untill now , just a couple of hourse and i love it , Far Cry its good but the story a litlle less then in HL2 , the feeling may get the edge hl 2 needs to beet others games at its level , and i really like the soldiers

[Liberator]

The ending is a bit easy and I also found the hardest part was in the prison with the 3 turrets.

I would have liked to have had a go at some of the aliens that you see on your scenic trip around the citadel.

I was disapointed with the lack of alien weapons, the Antlion pods were nice, but they are useless after NovaProspect. The gravity gun was good in the Citadel with the ragdoll physics in all its glory, but everything else was just guns.

Yup, must admit FarCry is better with the amount of freedom you have to achieve your goals and none of the annoying "Loading" messages. The weapons were just right as well.

I'm sure when the mods come out we will really see what the "Source" engine can do. After all, its the mods that made the original last as long as it has.