HL 2 Expansion pack predictions (minor spoilers within)

[NewHampshireDem]

I have not read anything official about an HL2 expansion pack, but I'm sure there will be one before summer--barring anymore "stolen code"--wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more.

What do you think the expansion pack will be?

My guess is that it will be another parallel game, like Blue Shift or Opposing Force. In fact, I think it will be like Blue Shift--you'll get to be Barney again and find out exactly how he ended up pinned down by those snipers!

[AZCat]

1. Valve has said that one of the expansion packs...

will have you (the player) playing as Alyx with Dog as a sidekick. I don't know how many expansion packs (or expansion levels - another possibility) they will release. There is talk that work on HL3 has begun already and I don't know if this will take precedence. After all, who wants to wait another six years?

[TroubleMan]

2. Good.....Dog kicks ass

That should be fun, but it sounds easy, because Dog is so damn powerfull.

[AZCat]

4. I imagine they will factor that in

Perhaps we will face some of the things seen in the citadel near the end that require a little more "bang" than the weapons available to us, and we will have to direct D.O.G. in some way to destroy them.

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

3. I believe Valve has stated that HL 3 will be using the Source engine.

So it won't take six more years. (I hope) I'm guessing one year. Maybe two at the outside. Valve might tweak Source, but it's a damn fine engine, and in the meantime, they're coming out with new levels and someone is making the expansion that you mentioned (the one with Alyx and Dog.)

And I agree. Dog rules.

[AZCat]

5. I'd say 2-3 years

Valve seems to have a number of intermediate projects going - DOD:Source, fixes/updates to HL2, HL2DM, CS:Source, the expansion packs/levels. I expect them to divide their resources for a while. The story might be written for HL3, but I don't know what percentage of the resources from HL2 (other than the engine) Valve will be able to use for HL3. If they could reuse textures and models then I would expect HL3 much sooner.

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

6. Okay. 2 to 3 years sounds more realistic.

Still, there's gonna be a ton of mods out there for HL2, so at least I'll have something to play in the meantime.

[AZCat]

7. Shoot, there are still HL1 mods coming out

Some of the mods have taken the HL1 engine miles beyond it's original iteration. I am excited to see what happens in the next couple of years with Source - the possibilities are mind-boggling. Have you picked a couple of mods to watch yet? I haven't, but it's still early. I'm going to wait until March or so to see which mods make it through the initial stages and which die out.

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

8. I'm waiting to see if Neil Manke does a "They Hunger" mod.

His survival horror series was fantastic, and freaking scary at times.
With Source at his disposal, he could make something really great. (Ravenholm freaked me out several times.)
I'm actually going to try doing a little modding myself, sort of using the Source engine to make some short movies. I think they call it Machinima.
Of course, that means getting to know the Hammer level editor and completely understanding how to use the Face Poser to script out dialog, importing new textures and modeling several vehicles, weapons, and other various items. I get nauseous just thinking about the sheer amount of things I need to learn, but with the near-perfect lip-synching that Source has, it's something I've wanted to do for a while.

[bvar22]

9. Just finished HL2.

I've never played HL1, but I notice Half Life Platinum Pak on the shelves.

Is Platinum Pak updated??
or will HalfLife 1 be a disappointment after the KICK ASS HL2?

[SheepyMcSheepster]

10. there is half-life source now

which i believe is a version of the original half life ported to the source enging, so it should be a little cooler than the original. so i would recommend playing the half life:source, i had never played half life all the way through until last year and i really enjoyed it.

i had mainly bough half life to play mods.

also, here is a link to a very informative site as to HL mythology: http://fragfiles.org/~hlstory//index.htm

[bvar22]

11. Thanks!

:thumbsup:

[NewHampshireDem]

12. What are the good HL2 mods sites?

Most of the ones I had bookmarked in the past are now defunct--they died waiting through all of those delays I guess :(

PlanetHalfLife doesn't seem to have really anything much about HL2 at all.

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

13. I would start here and look around...

www.halflife2.net/index.php
They cover most of the mods, and on the right side of the page there are links to other HL2 sites that are active.
Good hunting.

[Ladyhawk]

14. Team Fortress 2? We've been waiting--what?--six years? n/t