Half Life 2: Episode 3.... Skipped for Half-Life 3?

[Space Herpes]

I'd like a real update from them.  That would be nice.  Something along the lines of "we have been working on ep3 non-stop.  We haven't finished it because x, y, z and some other reasons we can't say right now.  Because of this, we can't say when it will be done.  We'll update you further as new details crop up."

It'd be nice if they threw the fans a bone.

[Sarkus]

It would be nice, but it's not like it's a mystery that they are working on it.  Last year they hired the creator of one of the better "mod" episodes and he specifically announced he was going to be working on Episode 3. 

I think it's odd that it's taking this long, but then again that's Valve's history.  Tons of stuff was developed for HL2 that they later ended up not using (elements of which can still be seen in the game).  It wouldn't surprise me if they've planned, coded, and then later discarded a bunch of stuff.  Personally I'd like to see them wrap up the HL2 story, even if the episode doesn't represent a significant leap forward, but like what happened with the Duke Nukem development, my guess is that they feel the need to do something "amazing" or not do it at all.

[PaulBot]

It will be done when its done, and not a moment sooner.

[CeeKay]

Rumors are going around about the possibility of an announcement.... This was supposedly grabbed before it disappeared.


(thanks MO!)

[Beer Goggles]

Sure.

[EddieA]

"After about 4 years of silence, Valve decides to open it's mouth.  Excited?"
An awkwardly phrased sentence and a misspelling - I'm guessing it's fake.

[Gryndyl]

"After about 4 years of silence, Valve decides to open it's mouth.  Excited?"
An awkwardly phrased sentence and a misspelling - I'm guessing it's fake.

I don't frequent Game Informer so I don't know how their copy-editing skills usually play out but, yeah, "it's" makes this scream 'fake'.

EDIT: Yeah, quote from the guy that posted it: "...I made a funny fake pic that HL3 was announced on GI and everyone started flaming me."
My guess is that he's calling it "funny" primarily because he got nailed on it and probably would have happily let people believe it otherwise.

[metallicorphan]

"After about 4 years of silence, Valve decides to open it's mouth.  Excited?"
An awkwardly phrased sentence and a misspelling - I'm guessing it's fake.

I don't frequent Game Informer so I don't know how their copy-editing skills usually play out but, yeah, "it's" makes this scream 'fake'.

EDIT: Yeah, quote from the guy that posted it: "...I made a funny fake pic that HL3 was announced on GI and everyone started flaming me."
My guess is that he's calling it "funny" primarily because he got nailed on it and probably would have happily let people believe it otherwise.

bah,people are assholes,why do they do this????..I have been checking GI.com to see when the pic changed and it changed today,but now has Crystal Dynamics as their lead story,i hadn't even read the sentence underneath the HL2EP3 pic,maybe then i wouldn't of been taken in as much

[CeeKay]

possible episode 3 link in Portal 2? or just people desperate for any possible news about it?

[Sarkus]

possible episode 3 link in Portal 2? or just people desperate for any possible news about it?

I thought that was old news - it's always been pretty obvious that the Borealis stuff will be dealt with in the next HL episode/game/whatever.  And since there is a link between Portal and HL, there obviously will be some hints and such.

[TiLT]

Yeah, this isn't news. It's widely known that even Portal 1 ties into HL2:Episode 3, so that Portal 2 ties in as well isn't really surprising.

[Kagath]

This reminds me I should probably get around to playing Ep2 sometime.

[jersoc]

Pretty sure even Valve forgot about Ep3. Won't happen until I'm preloading this on steam. I had more faith in DNF than shit game ever coming out.

[leo8877]

Hey guys, remember when HL2 came out of nowhere after years of silence?  Yeah.

[jersoc]

except half life 2 is a full game, with a brand new engine that took 3 some years to make alone.

So horrible comparision.

[Kagath]

Hey guys, remember when HL2 came out of nowhere after years of silence?  Yeah.

Or when we still had to wait a year for the actual release after the reveal? Yeah, they've said it wasn't going to make it out in 2003 when it was revealed.

[Sarkus]

My favorite part is when they announced the HL2 "episodes" and said they were going that route because it would allow them to release one every few months.  Six and a half years later and we've had two episodes.   

[EddieA]

My favorite part is when they announced the HL2 "episodes" and said they were going that route because it would allow them to release one every few months.  Six and a half years later and we've had two episodes.   

In their defense, they never explicitly said "earth-months".

[CeeKay]

the year is almost over, so Valve needs to stir the pot again:

Valve employee spotted wearing Half-Life 3 shirt.

at this point any hope I had for Episode 3 is gone, son bring on a proper Half-Life game!

[Chordian]

The number and lambda sign has been switched around compared to the second game:





That could be a good indication that the shirt is fake.

[Turtle]

Companies have been known to switch the number and the main logo, or just place emphasis on the number for a sequel that everyone's expecting.

In this case, we've been expecting it for a looooong time.

[Chordian]

Companies have been known to switch the number and the main logo, or just place emphasis on the number for a sequel that everyone's expecting.

Maybe. To be sure that the number is visible from a long distance, which is important on a shirt.

Another thing that grates, however, is the color cycling scheme in the logo. It looks a little bit "busy" or overdone even for Valve. But perhaps that's just me.

[Turtle]

It's a shirt.

Shirts don't lay flat on the body.

If you look, every one of those color variations is due to the waves in the shirt causing the usual changes in light and dark you'd expect shadows of that type to have. The effect is just exacerbated by how saturated the orange is for the logo, the harsh lighting, and the bad camera.

Just take a look at the raised parts of the black shirt and how they coincide with the color changes in the logo.

[CeeKay]

plus it doesn't help whoever took the picture used a flash.  they're claiming it's a Valve employee wearing the shirt, which brings up the question of if it's not real is Valve purposely toying with the public?

[Turtle]

They're both toying, and they're not.

We all know that Half-Life 3 is coming, eventually, regardless of whether there will be a Half-Life 2: Episode 3.

Considering that the only Valve products we know of in the works are, relatively, side projects in the form of CS:GO and DOTA 2, it's pretty clear that they're getting far along on development of whatever the next half-life product will be.

It'll happen, and most likely in 2012, unless they announce some other FPS of course.

[Chordian]

It's a shirt.

Shirts don't lay flat on the body.

If you look, every one of those color variations is due to the waves in the shirt causing the usual changes in light and dark you'd expect shadows of that type to have. The effect is just exacerbated by how saturated the orange is for the logo, the harsh lighting, and the bad camera.

Yes, I can see it too now. I stand corrected.

[CeeKay]

wow, desperate grasping at straws or genius by Valve: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/12/12/valve-vga-vid-appears-to-offer-hl3-clues/

[CeeKay]

Gabe Newell talking about Ricochet 2 .....

[Kagath]

At this point wake me when they release something HL related.

[CeeKay]

At this point wake me when they release something HL related.

well, apparently nVidia is sending out crowbars to promote an announcement coming tomorrow night 

[Suitably Ironic Moniker]

At this point wake me when they release something HL related.

well, apparently nVidia is sending out crowbars to promote an announcement coming tomorrow night  

Half-Life Kart Racing.

Or maybe it's Half-Life 3: Left for Dead.

[Chordian]

Or maybe it's Half-Life 3: Left for Dead.

Half-Dead?

[Turtle]

Not a bad concept. I mean, 4 resistance fighters on the run after the destruction of City 17, dealing with all sorts of half-life monsters and trying to make it to the next lambda room.

[Lordnine]

Not a bad concept. I mean, 4 resistance fighters on the run after the destruction of City 17, dealing with all sorts of half-life monsters and trying to make it to the next lambda room.

Now give one of the four members a portal gun and another a gravity gun and you've sold me.

[CeeKay]

Not a bad concept. I mean, 4 resistance fighters on the run after the destruction of City 17, dealing with all sorts of half-life monsters and trying to make it to the next lambda room.

Now give one of the four members a portal gun and another a gravity gun and you've sold me.

there will be two portal gun, but one can only do the blue portals and the other can only do the orange portals.

oh, and Numerology Proves Half Life 3 will be Announced at E3.

[EngineNo9]

Only 2.5 hours until the live announcement at Geforce.com, so not much longer to make fake predictions.   

[Kagath]

It's a crowbar in TF2 you can wear as a hat.

[leo8877]

It's Gordon Freemen themed portal bots.

[CeeKay]

Only 2.5 hours until the live announcement at Geforce.com, so not much longer to make fake predictions.   

10 minutes until all Half Life 3 hopes are smashed by the nVidia crowbar!

[CeeKay]

and it's official.....

Spoiler for Hiden:

don't tease Half Life 3 if you don't want your live stream to crash