Valve Approved Half Life 2: Update Is The Closest Thing To Half Life 3 Yet

[qubit]

Wicked. Can't wait.

Valve has approved Half Life 2: Update, a fan-made Half Life 2 mod that will be released for free tomorrow. Half Life 2: Update will be available as a free download on Steam. Its noteworthy features include enhanced textures, improved lighting and effects, a ton of bug fixes, and more.

All of these additions put together contribute towards giving players the best Half Life 2 experience yet. Half Life 2: Update has been in development since 2009. It has been available for download for years now, but a release supported by Valve on Steam will enable it to gain a much larger traction.

Download Half Life 2: Update from Steam for free. You can watch the Half Life 2: Update introduction trailer, and the comparison trailer down below.

There are two videos at the link, too.

http://www.nextpowerup.com/news/195...-is-the-closest-thing-to-half-life-3-yet.html

 

[rtwjunkie]

There is precedent for this, as Valve already allowed a fan-made mod of Portal 2 which fleshes out and continues the story. Haven't gotten it yet, but it looks interesting. I'll have to take a look at this too, although I really like HL2 right as it is...a time capsule that still plays well and even looks pretty good.

 

[m0nt3]

Cinematic Mod still looks better, but I can see how this is a nice update to keep it with the original feel.

 

[Frag_Maniac]

A remeaster that slightly improves lighting, shadows and world detail, with no added content whatsoever like the Metro Redux titles have, is more of an insult than something close to HL3. In that sense it's the farthest thing from HL3.

 

[R-T-B]

A remeaster that slightly improves lighting, shadows and world detail is more of an insult than something close to HL3. In that sense it's the farthest thing from HL3.

It's not like they are billing for it.

 

[qubit]

A remeaster that slightly improves lighting, shadows and world detail is more of an insult than something close to HL3. In that sense it's the farthest thing from HL3.

The lighting in the demo video wasn't even correct in various places. That incandescent lamp on the corner stairs in particular with the bright round splash of light on the wall.

It's a nice project, but I think it was a bit of a waste of effort. I'll play it a bit and see what I think.

 

[manofthem]

I must be in the incredible minority, but I didn't love HL2 like everyone else. I think I only played it through once; I started again one time but didn't get very far.

(edit: I didn't dislike it, nothing like that. It's just me apparently)

So, yeah I'll have to replay this game and maybe with this update to see what it does for me now.

 

[Frag_Maniac]

It's not like they are billing for it.

Of course they aren't who would pay for this, would you?

My point is they put their loyal fanbase through torture waiting endlessly for closure to HL, and then they insult them with this. On a thread elsewhere discussing devs issuing too many remasters, it was actually joked about that Valve would do this, and sure enough, they did.

I forgot to say above that it comes with zero new content like 4A put in Metro Redux (edited my post though). I'd rather pay $20-$25 for a more substantial remaster and at least SOME new content, esp if it explained the cliffhanger ending of HL2 Ep2.

Bottom line, Valve are just ultra lazy these days. They'd rather build on someone else's work (Portal, L4D), than create or continue their own.

 

[erocker]

Well, HL2 is now in line with the graphics from episode 1 and 2. I suppose it's about time I play through them again. I'm pretty sure not so close to HL3. The changes are very subtle.

 

[RejZoR]

Quite like it. Especially indoor lighting and the Ravenholm feels even creepier. Maybe it's time to replay HL2 again...

 

[manofthem]

Alrighty decided to download HL2 again and give it a go. While I'm at it, i'm DLing Ep 1&2 sine I've never gone through those either.

Above all things, this thread shall get people replaying HL again

 

[AsRock]

I have always liked FFCMod
http://cinematicmod.com/

 

[qubit]

I must be in the incredible minority, but I didn't love HL2 like everyone else.

Let the floggings begin!

 

[64K]

Half Life 2 was one of the most immersive fun games that I have ever experienced. I don't know why exactly. The game just drew me in constantly. It was fun for me. I would rate it as a solid masterpiece of a game imo.

 

[R-T-B]

Of course they aren't who would pay for this, would you?

Hellz no, but that's a given.

My point is they put their loyal fanbase through torture waiting endlessly for closure to HL, and then they insult them with this.

It's an approved mod. I wouldn't call it an insult because Valve didn't make it, they just threw us a bone by making it available on Steam. It never was marketed as a HL3 replacement. That's just this threads chosen title, which I don't agree with.

 

[Frag_Maniac]

^Yeah but why would they approve this since Fakefactory's Cinematic Mod is already available and so much better? It only further validates what I'm saying that they'd rather let others do the work and rest on their laurels.

 

[R-T-B]

I guess I can understand that perspective, I just don't take much issue with it personally.

 

[Frick]

. I'd rather pay $20-$25 for a more substantial remaster and at least SOME new content, esp if it explained the cliffhanger ending of HL2 Ep2.

I disagree about the content thing, it needs to be a full game or nothing. Releasing a few hours of new stuff would just make it worse.

And in a sense I don't really need HL3. It's like the ending of Inception, I don't have to know how it "really" ends, because it's not about the ending. It's proof of how good HL2 and the episodes really are; you can actually put them side to side to literature and cinema. Other games can do that as well (The Longest Journey, System Shock 2, Beyond Good & Evil springs to mind), but they are few and far between. And I'm continually amazed by how HL2 manages to have some of the best storytelling and character development in gaming, and it's "just" a FPS.

 

[qubit]

That's just this threads chosen title, which I don't agree with.

I know what you mean about the title, but I copied it verbatim from the NextPowerUp article - blame them!

btw, I played the modded version a bit and yeah, the graphics looked a bit better, but mainly the game is just so grabby, even more than a decade later. No wonder I played it all the way through three times. The problem now of course, is that I remember it too well, which spoils it. Where's that memory wipe when you need it...

 

[BiggieShady]

These videos show very little visual upgrade. What would have actually made the difference? They should have included parallax occlusion mapping shader that transitions to tessellation shader for maximum level of detail for those static objects that are still blocky ... oh, and double the resolution of every texture.

 

[Frag_Maniac]

I disagree about the content thing, it needs to be a full game or nothing. Releasing a few hours of new stuff would just make it worse.

And in a sense I don't really need HL3. It's like the ending of Inception, I don't have to know how it "really" ends, because it's not about the ending. It's proof of how good HL2 and the episodes really are; you can actually put them side to side to literature and cinema. Other games can do that as well (The Longest Journey, System Shock 2, Beyond Good & Evil springs to mind), but they are few and far between. And I'm continually amazed by how HL2 manages to have some of the best storytelling and character development in gaming, and it's "just" a FPS.

Really? Why get emotionally and physically vested in a series only to not care how the story ends? That's almost like saying it wasn't interesting enough to play for you to care. I feel this is an issue where only serious HL fans need apply.

 

[AsRock]

^Yeah but why would they approve this since Fakefactory's Cinematic Mod is already available and so much better? It only further validates what I'm saying that they'd rather let others do the work and rest on their laurels.

FFCM is so much better how ever people are saying it spoils what the game was when it was released. To me FFCM totally owns this crap hands down.

Each to their own i guess but after watching those video's giving it a try i was not impressed at all it just made me uninstall it.

I wish they would support the FFCM as well as and let us decide what we want and not this crap.

 

[RejZoR]

Well, if you want just subtle changes, this is better imo. FakeFactory changes way too much and not necessarily for the better. I liked the original Alyx more...

 

[Frick]

Really? Why get emotionally and physically vested in a series only to not care how the story ends? That's almost like saying it wasn't interesting enough to play for you to care. I feel this is an issue where only serious HL fans need apply.

Have you read the Dune books? Breathtakingly brilliant work that ends in a massive cliffhanger. Did that diminish the books in any way? Hell no. Inception. You don't know how the story ends, but that is part of what makes it so great. A HL3 would be great, but we have HL2 and that is ... it's enjoyable. Plus there's the chance of HL3 being like Hunters/Sandworms of Dune, pretty dissapointing even if it does finish the story (I assume it does, I haven't bothered to read the last 100 or so pages).

This is a tangent, but It's the worst bit about todays media consumption, and the reason mini series is the ultimate form of TV: Everything is so big you gorge yourself on it, and that ruins the experience. Heroes would have been awesome if it didn't take a million hours to do everything. Firefly would not have been as nice as it is now if it had run for ten seasons, with two musical episodes.

One wouldn't eat a pound of the finest chocolate in the world, but one would eat a pound of crap.

 

[blobster21]

i downloaded the mod during the night, and this morning i launched the game once. wow we finally get to see the face of the valve guy when the game start.

Then, wait, it's just HL² with updated graphics ? Well too bad, i went through the game and both episodes this last month, no way i'm going to do it all over again.

I never considered the gman teasing as an efficient way to build a story that span several episodes. He is frustrating most of the time, and incomprehensible at best.

That's just me of course !